When Captain Fine reached Boca Rat on, he learned that the U.S. Army Air Corps Officers’ Reception Station had only three weeks before been the Boca Rat on Hotel and Club, an exclusive, very expensive resort.
The Air Corps had taken it over for the duration, rolled up the carpets, put the furniture in storage, closed the bar, installed GI furniture and a GI mess, and turned the place into a basic training camp for newly commissioned officers. Fine’s fellow student officers had also been lawyers, or doctors, dentists, engineers, wholesale grocers, paper merchants, trucking company executives, construction engineers, or other civilians whose occupations had a military application and who had been directly commissioned into the services.
He had been at Boca Rat on six weeks when his senator’s influence was again felt. Captain Fine was engaged in a class exercise in the administration of military justice. He was playing the role of prosecutor in a mock court martial when a runner summoned him from the classroom-which had been the card room of the Boca Rat on Hotel-to the station commander’s office. “I don’t understand this, Captain,” the station commander said, “but we are in receipt of orders assigning you to the Three-forty-fourth Heavy Bombardment Group at Chanute Field. It says for transition training to B- 17 aircraft. You’re not a pilot, are you?”
“I have a civilian license, Sir.”
“I never heard of anything like this before,” the colonel said.
“But orders are orders, Captain.” When he reported to the 344th Bombardment Group at Chanute, he was sure there was no way he would be permitted to become a pilot. “The only time you have is in Piper Cubs and a Beechcraft?” the colonel asked. “I’m afraid so, Sir,” Fine said.
“I hope you can fly, Fine,” he said.
“And not just because you know some important politicians and the general told me to give you every consideration.”
“I wanted to fly very badly,” Fine said.
“I thought I needed some help. That now seems rather childish. “If you can fly,” the colonel said, “I’d like to make you a squadron commander.
I’ve got a lot of very healthy, very impetuous young men who need a stabilizing influence. In my day, it took ten years to make captain.
Now we’re making them in a year, and then making them B-17 aircraft commanders with a hundred twenty hours’ total time. It’s working better than I thought it would, but I would still like as many officers like you as I can get. I really need officers with five hundred hours and some instrument experience. Who can really navigate.”
“I was about to say that I might well be more use as a lawyer,” Fine said. “That’s not my decision to make,” the colonel had told him.
“I have one other officer, Major Thomas son, who was an aircraft commander before last week. I’m going to introduce you to him, explain the situation, and see w iat t S. “Yes, Sir,” Fine said “On the basis of your extensive civilian aeronautical experience, Captain Fine,” the colonel said dryly, “Headquarters, Army Air Corps, has seen fit to designate you as a military aviator. You are now a pilot, Captain Fine.
Congratulations.”
He tossed Fine a pair of aviator’s wings still pinned to a piece of cardboard. 4C “If you can’t handle the Seventeen,” the colonel said, and I really hope you can, there are other places where you can be put to good use.”
The next day, Fine began what he was sure would be at least a two week course in the B-17 aircraft. Major Thomas son turned out to be a bright-eyed twenty-three-year-old West Pointer who told Fine that he had graduated from the last prewar, yearlong pilot training course.
Thomas son almost casually went through the B-17E dash-one with him for most of the day, then took him to the flight line for what Fine expected would be a hands-on explanation of the aircraft. “I’ve never seen one up close before,” Fine confessed. “It’s a pretty good bird, Captain,” Thomas son said.
“It’s the E model. I picked this one up in Seattle last week.” Fine had been introduced to the crew. There was a navigator and a bombardier, both officers, and an engineer, a radioman, and tail and turret gunners.