Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Page #3

- What?

The truth is, you didn't

marry me. I married you.

Oh, you did, eh?

The first time I saw you

in the library at LACC,

I said to myself, "Oh, oh, that's for me. "

And from then on,

clear up to the night we got the judge

out of bed in that little Idaho town,

nothing was an accident, Ted.

I planned it that way.

- You think you're pretty smart, don't you?

- I'm not sure whether I do or not.

You see, you didn't put up much of a fight.

I suppose you figured out on that baby, too?

That's something you'll never

know, flyer, you'll never know.

Boys are working late these nights.

Yes. Do you have any idea

how long you'll be gone?

But as soon as this job is over,

I'm going to ask for a leave.

Two, maybe three weeks.

We'll have that honeymoon

you're always talking about.

Yes, just the three of us.

Ted.

I do hope I don't get big and

fat like that lady in Chicago.

I want each one of you to know

something about the other man's job.

The pilots will practice

every job on the plane.

Navigators will learn the work

of bombardiers and so forth.

That's in case any of you get shot up.

There's one thing more.

It is inevitable that some of your planes

are going to fall into

the hands of the enemy.

For this reason, I have ordered

your Norden bombsights removed.

Captain Greening has designed a sight

which will be perfect for our job.

If there are no questions, I'll

ask Captain York to take over.

Just like I said, we patrol off Brazil.

Yeah, but what about taking

the Norden Bombsight out?

There's no chance of falling into the

hands of the enemy if you're hunting subs.

- I hadn't thought of that.

- That Doolittle's a cheerful cuss, isn't he?

"Just in case any of us are

shot up," a bundle of sunshine.

Oh, it's Ted, it's Ted!

George used to buzz me

when we were first married.

He doesn't do it any more.

They're not supposed to.

- I wonder if he still loves me.

- I wouldn't worry about that.

Every time Ski gets a new ship he

has a terrible love affair with it,

but he always comes back to me,

especially when he's hungry.

Just think, they'll be gone three months.

I think I'll get a job in a defense factory.

I couldn't stand just sitting around

in some little apartment and waiting.

What are you going to do, Ellen?

Oh, I'm just going to sit

around and have a baby.

- A baby!

- A baby!

Ellen, why didn't you tell us?

I don't know. I guess I just

never thought of a way till now.

As it turns out, it

wasn't hard to tell at all.

Well, I'm going to have one, too.

- What?

- Really?

Gee, I think it's wonderful.

George and I have talked about it,

but, well, with him away and all,

- I guess I'm just too scared.

- I thought I would be too, but...

Well, Ted and I figured that

everything since Pearl Harbor

has just been so much velvet.

And then I guessed that if

anything should happen to him,

only I know nothing will,

I'd have the baby, and that would

be a little bit of Ted still living.

I sometimes wonder how we'll

feel when it's all over.

Just think, being able to settle

down in a little house somewhere

and raise your children and

never be in doubt about anything.

We'll probably have exactly the same doubts

that we have right now.

For example, will he or will

he not be home for dinner?

We're about to enter the most

secret part of our training.

This field is patrolled on all sides

so no one can disturb you at your work.

Gentlemen, this is

Lieutenant Miller of the Navy.

He's going to instruct you in takeoffs.

Instead of the normal B-25 takeoff

in 1,500 feet at 90 miles an hour,

he's going to show you how to do it

with a full load of bombs and gas

in 500 feet at 50 miles an hour.

You will attempt no short takeoffs

from Eglin Field, where people can see you.

Lieutenant Miller will also give you

a few short talks on naval etiquette.

Now, if this gives you any

hints as to your destination

or as to what kind of

work you're going to do,

don't even discuss it among yourselves.

I'll ask Lieutenant Miller to take over now.

Gentlemen,

those flags out there are at

100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 feet

from the starting line.

The line down the center of the

field is to guide you in your takeoff.

The kind of work you're going to

do won't permit any deviations.

Now, the whole idea is to get up full

power before you release your brakes.

Then start, at maximum r.

p. m., manifold pressure

and with your wing flaps all the way down.

You'll have to rev your motors until

you think they're going to burn up.

And then, when they reach the right pitch,

and that's a matter of sound

and feel more than instruments,

release your brakes and hunt for heaven.

I don't expect any of you

to do it the first time.

- Gray.

- Yes, sir.

Suppose you and Manch try it first?

The rest of us will stay on the ground,

mark your takeoff and check the wind.

Yes, sir.

I think at first we can learn

as much by watching trial runs

as by actually flying the ships.

So let's all line up over

here and see how he does.

- What kind of surface wind, Ski?

- Eight miles an hour.

He didn't have his engines revved up enough.

Lawson, you go next.

Now remember, for our purposes,

if you get your wheels a foot off

the ground, that's good enough.

You don't need height, but

you've got to get your wheels off

before you hit the last flag.

A little later we'll try retracting

the wheels at around 450 feet

and relying on your motors to float the ship.

- Don't try that just yet, though.

- Right, sir.

Now, grab the column and pull her until

you feel the inside of your backbone.

Yes, sir.

Did you ever take off

a B-25 at 500 feet, sir?

No. But you men will. Don't worry about it.

Watch Lawson there.

You'll have to rev your motors at

least that high and maybe higher.

About 700 feet. He burned his tailskid.

Didn't pull his wheels up soon enough.

Brother, that takeoff

was strictly on the cob.

That airplane of yours looked

exactly like a ruptured duck.

How do you like this guy?

He takes off like an old lady in a high wind,

and then he's got the nerve

to talk about a real ship.

It's lucky you didn't have a muddy

field, or you'd still be there.

If I were you I'd worry about that turkey

you and Gray are pushing around the sky.

- The ruptured duck will get along okay.

- Oh, I'm insulted. Come on, fellows.

That won't take long to fix, sir.

Ruptured duck.

Ted.

Don't you think Linda's a

good name, if it's a girl?

Oh, yes, yes, it's fine.

No, maybe Nichola. Nichola?

That has a nice sound, don't you think?

What's that? Oh, yes.

Look, honey, we don't have to

decide that right now, do we?

No.

Ted.

He wasn't badly hurt, was he?

- Who?

- Johnny Adams.

- How'd you hear about Johnny?

- Those things get around.

- He wasn't hurt, was he?

- Of course not.

I don't know how those things get started.

Every time a guy does a noseover

on this field, it's a crack-up.

Ted.

You've been working ever since

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