High Seas Series : The Mary Joyce

Pat told his father that school was about out and he had graduated anyway, so he would just stay on the Mary Joyce and come home with him. Wil did some counting on his fingers and said, "But, you are only a Junior!" Pat grinned and replied, "Nope, I tested out, I am a full-fledged High School Graduate now!" As they were plowing across the Pacific Ocean, Wil came upon the Squad Leader of the Seal Team sitting in the sun on the foredeck. Wil sat on a nearby bollard and began a conversation with the younger man. They were talking about what the team had to do to get them out of the prison and the young man said, "Cap'n we ain't nothing compared to that there boy of yourin'. He's pure Hell on Wheels! You know, he backed Captain Jenkins into a corner and 'toll him he WAS commin' on this here jaunt, that he were DUMBO and' iffin he didn't like it, he would get the Air Force ta' spring ya'!" He concluded, "That man is scary, I tell ya, pure scary!" When they finally got home and tied up to their own pier, there were four Filipino/Irish/American boys latching onto their Daddies and their Daddies were told that they would NEVER be allowed to go off like that again, unless they were with them! The boys meant every word of it too, and the next intelligence mission would have all four of them standing watch over their fathers to make sure they didn't get in trouble again!

The Intel Team headed by Navy Captain Jenkins was due into San Francisco Airport that evening and they had requested an immediate meeting with Wil and his crew.

After the set to he had with his son, Patrick, Wil didn't even bother to hide the fact that the team was on its way, he told them all at lunch that there would be a meeting with the Intel Team right after supper. Pat didn't say anything, but he glanced at his brothers and nodded his head, they all nodded "yes" back at him. Jose, Oscar's son, was a little bit younger than Pedro and Jesus, but no less determined to accompany his Father and Uncles on their intelligence mission.

Captain Jenkins was accompanied by the Seal Team Leader Navy Lieutenant William Quinn and they arrived at the house a little after seven O'clock, after they had completed their evening meal. The Captain looked at the boys and nodded as he said, "I see we have some new members of the team."

Pat spoke for his brothers and cousin. "Yes sir, and we will be accompanying our Dads on this trip."

The Captain just nodded and began the meeting. He began, "The local government on Java reports pirate activity along the South Java coast. They have been unable to stop the pirates and they think the pirates are operating out of Christmas Island. Our take of the problem is that it is the Chinese again, trying to destabilize the Jakarta Government. There is really nothing there for pirates to steal, South Java is pretty sparsely populated and what there is, are mostly agricultural plantations. I can't see the Chinese stealing bananas and coconuts."

Wil asked, "What about minerals?"

The Captain replied, "There are a couple of phosphate deposits that are mined irregularly and a recently discovered bauxite deposit the government hopes to develop. Neither of these sites are high value, we just don't see anything for them to steal, other than to destabilize the local government."

After they had discussed the problem, Wil said, "OK, I guess the Mary Joyce is headed to the South Seas for the summer, well, winter down there."

The Seal Team Leader, Lt. Bill Quinn, spoke up and said, "Captain O'Toole, could you handle another passenger, I am a qualified Radio Operator and I have my Third Mate's License. I am a graduate of the Maritime Academy here in California."

Wil looked around the table for any negative response, but everyone seemed quite willing to let the Seal come along with them.

Captain Jenkins got out a portfolio of maps that detailed Christmas Island and also of South Java. He told them that Northwest Point on Christmas Island was pretty well isolated, a typhoon two years earlier had washed out the only road to that part of the island, and it had never been repaired. He surmised that, if the pirates, or whoever they were, were using the island as a base of operations and that would be a likely place to find them.

Wil then turned to their sons and said, "Patrick, you are the oldest, you are going to have to be in charge of the boys, if we get busy and have to shoot our way out, you are going to have to protect your brothers and cousin. Once we are at sea, I will give all you boys side arms and rifles or shotguns and teach you how to use them."

Pat thought that was a good idea, although Uncle Joe was not at all happy about them even going, let alone carrying firearms.

They began to make the Joyce ready, Lt. Quinn grabbed his sea bag out of the rental car as the Captain headed back to the airport. He had left them with a satchel full of hundred dollar bills and the charts he had brought with him. As he said goodbye to Wil at the front door, he said, "Captain O'Toole, that boy of yours, Patrick, is one helluva young man. When he is ready, my boss, Admiral Forthright, says that he will see to it that he gets accepted to the Naval Academy at Annapolis."

 He left for the airport wondering if the Naval Academy would survive young Patrick Wilson O'Toole, also known as DUMBO!

They flushed the water tanks and filled them, then they started up the air conditioning system and the refrigerators, making sure everything worked properly. They would top off the fuel tanks as they sailed and Wil went over to Alameda and drew five semi-automatic shotguns and five M-1 rifles, along with ammunition for both types of weapons and he also drew five Smith & Wesson .45 caliber semi-automatic pistols and ammunition.

The Weapons Clerk threw in the belts and holsters for the pistols, saying that they went with them. When Wil asked if there was any charge for the weapons and ammo, the clerk replied, "No sir, this has been approved by SecNav, the order said I was to give you anything you asked for."

Wil said, jokingly, "How about a 5" deck gun?"

The clerk replied with a perfectly straight face, "That might take a day or two sir, are you going to bring your ship over here or do we need to deliver it to you over in Daly City?"

Wil left the Weapons Depot, shaking his head and wondering if the clerk was serious or not.

As soon as the door had closed, the clerk couldn't hold it any longer, he had to sit down he was laughing so hard. He said to himself, "GOTTCHA, Cap'n O'Toole!" Wil did not remember the young clerk who had worked for him when he was in the Navy. In his younger days, he had idolized the dashing young Captain and he had not changed his mind since.

They took the boys over to the local Police Range and got them used to all the weapons. He noted that Pat was a natural shooter and was making perfect scores on his targets. Pedro was the next best, it was readily apparent that either boy would bring down whoever or whatever he was shooting at!

By the time they were ready to sail, Uncle Joe had resigned himself to being home alone until the Mary Joyce returned from the Far East. He stood on the pier, tears of loneliness were running down his face. He stood there, long after the Joyce had turned toward the Golden Gate and he could not see her any longer.

They made good time to Hawaii, two weeks after they had sailed from home, they were rounding Diamond Head. They had radioed ahead and were instructed to tie up at the Honolulu Yacht Harbor and someone would come pick them up for a conference.

The boys were excited at being in fabulous Hawaii and wanted to hit the beaches. When they saw the radio message, all thoughts of the beaches were dropped, they WERE going to that meeting!

The Navy sent a fifteen passenger carry-all for them and they all piled in. After seeing the look on his son's face, Wil decided not to protest the boys going with them.

Instead of heading for the Navy Base, the carry-all continued up the highway and turned into Makalapa Hill, The headquarters for the American Military Forces in the Pacific. (author's note-until recently, it was called CINCPAC and was always a Navy Admiral)

The driver pulled up in front of an old Quonset Hut, apparently left over from the Second World War. There were several MPs standing out in front, both were armed and were checking names off on a list. They looked a bit startled when the boys gave their names, but the names were on the list. The MPs just shook their heads in wonder about "What the Hell was going on"! It would be much later that they learned just who those boys were and what they had done!

Captain Jenkins met them at the door and laughed a bit when Lt. Bill Quinn came in with them, in clean, but faded clothing that clearly belonged to a civilian sailor.

Bill sat with the rest of them as the briefing began. Aerial survey maps were put up on the screen and Captain Jenkins used a pointer to indicate where they thought the pirates were based. He said, "We must be very careful here, Christmas Island is considered a sacred place for many of the peoples in South East Asia, there are statues and sacred stones all over the island and they must not be disturbed, if at all possible."

He then went on to discuss logistics and refuge points. Oscar stood up and asked, "Are we going to have any United States Navy support in the area?"

The Captain replied, "Not as much as we would like. Even though the Island is part of Australia, they do not have the ability to post a Navy ship there on a continuous basis. We are kinda between a rock and hard spot in this, we don't want to offend the Aussies, but we need to assist the folks of Indonesia. The island of Java is being assaulted by these criminals and they have asked our assistance in hunting them down. The Indonesian Navy has a small task force at Jakarta, but it is needed to protect the capitol. The Australians have promised to station a three plane fighter wing on the Island at their small airport. When you are ready, we will move three destroyers down from Singapore and into the Sunda Strait. Any closer and the pirates will notice them and hole up somewhere. Then, we will never find them!"

Pat stood up and said, "Captain Jenkins, Sir, that isn't good enough, if that is all the closer they will be, I want three 50 caliber machine guns and tripod mounts."

The Captain shuddered and bit and asked, "Who is gonna shoot them?"

Patrick grinned and replied, "We got the best teacher in the world, a decorated Seal Team Leader, Lieutenant Bill Quinn! What he doesn't know about machine guns isn't worth knowing!"

Bill Quinn's face went scarlet and he stammered, "Uh, Sir, I have already checked these guys out on 40 mm machine guns, you sure as hell do NOT want them shootin' at you, sir, not unless you got an early death wish!"

The Captain though for a few minutes and finally said, "OK, I guess we do need to give them something they can protect themselves with, I take it you are going in with them?"

Bill made a quick decision about what he had been thinking of for some time, "Sir, You will have my retirement request on your desk before we sail, I'm gonna hang my hat with these guys from now on."

Captain Jenkins did not argue with Lt. Quinn and, as they left the meeting, a Marine Major asked them to come with him. He led them to another Quonset Hut and knocked on the door. A Marine Corporal opened the door and showed them a trolley loaded with five 50 caliber machine guns and a dozen cases of ammunition.

The Corporal said to Bill, the fifth machine gun is for you. Make damned sure you kill those guys, Bill. For all of me, I wish to hell I were goin' with ya'!"

Bill looked at the Major and said, "Well, Major Lee, may he come with us?"

The Major laughed, "Bill, ain't you guys ever satisfied? Yeah, Captain Jenkins said to send Corporal Staggers along with you if he asked to go."

Bill laughed and turned to the Corporal, "Well, Mike, grab your gear and meet us at our ship down at the Yacht Harbor, we are the Mary Joyce O'Toole and it's berth 26."

They were still offloading the weapons and ammo when a grey Navy Jeep came racing into the Yacht Harbor parking lot and made a skidding stop. A Marine, dressed in cammies and showing no rank or rate jumped out, thanking the driver. He hoisted a full seabag onto his shoulder and carried a rocket launcher and a 40-millimeter machine gun in his hands. He spotted the Joyce and hollered, "Hey, guys, can ya' give a hand, I got a couple boxes of ammo here in the jeep!"

Patrick and Jose ran out to the parking lot and saw three large crates of rockets and a case of 40 mm ammo sitting there, Jose "whistled up" their brothers to come help.

They had the Corporal and his weaponry safely out of sight on the Joyce within minutes. The area was quiet and empty. There was no one to see them and what was brought on board the Mary Joyce.

Wil was beginning to wonder if it was safe to have the boys on a wooden fishing boat and all that ammunition, but he sure wasn't gonna go to war with Pat over it! He knew it would take an Act of God to make the boy change his mind and, even then it was a toss-up who would win!

They sailed the next morning after having topped off their tanks the afternoon before and put all the frozen food away in the freezer. Mike Staggers was to share a cabin with Bill Quinn, like Bill had said, "In the Seals, there are no ranks!" Pat sniggered and said, "Yeah, them and dead people!"

They left the harbor on the engines and didn't raise the sails until they were out beyond the breakwater. That way, they created no commotion and the white sails did not act as a pointer to the course they were on.

They were on their way to Java!

Had anyone been watching them, they might have wondered about the machine guns, but nobody in their right mind would be taking a bunch of teen boys into a danger zone. Whatever the reason, no word ever reached the pirates that the Joyce was sailing in their direction.

In the aftermath, they would discover that word in fact had reached the office of a "controller" in the Chinese Naval Headquarters, but he dismissed it as a mistake on the part of their observer in Honolulu. Boys DO NOT sail war ships, especially soft decadent American Boys!

It was a long crossing, the winds refused to cooperate and Wil had to steer south through The Gilbert Islands and hope for better conditions going through the Coral Sea and come at Christmas Island from the west, through the Timor Sea.

The conditions were not that much better, but, by that time, they were committed.

Wil turned the ship and called at Darwin, Australia as he had used a considerable amount of fuel battling the contrary winds. They topped off their fuel and water tanks and took on some food in Darwin. They had radioed the "Machinery and Distribution Company" back in Oakland and let them know they were going to call at Darwin and why.

They had no further orders or information for them, so as soon as their business was concluded, they said goodbye to Darwin Harbor and sailed west, directly for Christmas Island. Everyone were hardy sailors by then and several of the boys had tanned so dark, they almost looked like Indonesian natives! They could climb the towering masts like monkeys and they all had become proficient helmsmen. Wil and Oscar already knew they were excellent marksmen and kind of felt sorry for any Chinese sailors they came upon.

Pedro had taken an interest in the engines and machinery and the enginemen were teaching him about the mechanics of a ship. He loved to tinker and he made some changes to the fresh water distiller that nearly doubled its output, it was unlikely they would have to ever go on water rationing again! He threw the Operating Instructions over the side and had Bill type up a new set that he had written. The ship had originally been built for a much larger crew that included the men needed to work the fishing nets, so the fresh water distillers theoretically had much more capacity than it was turning out. Pedro tinkered with the equipment until it was putting out more that its rated capacity. He still thought it was "a piece of junk" and was determined to either buy a better one or make it himself.

They approached Christmas Island from the west, a side likely to be hidden from the pirates, who were thought to be nesting on the northwest peninsula.

Captain Jenkins sent them a coded message, that there was an Australian Prison on the west side of the island that was manned by the Australian Corrections Service and an old, abandoned road that ran from the prison to an area near the Northwest Point, where they suspected the Pirates were holed up. The Australian Government had moved two platoons of Australian Army Rangers to the prison to help support the American efforts and the Rangers had a radio that could reach The Mary Joyce O'Toole. Their call was "Croc One Four" and they would be waiting to hear from the Joyce.

Their Radioman got on the horn and called Croc One Four, they got an immediate reply, "This is Croc one four, I hear you well, Yanks"

The radioman, Jeff Stallings, replied, "This is Mary Joyce, I hear you loud and clear, Aussies." They set up a time schedule for radio checks and procedures for reporting in. The Australian Rangers would be appalled later, when they learned that the "Radio Operator" was a sixteen-year-old boy!

They made landfall off South Point of Christmas Island and followed the coast around to the west.

The Rangers reported heavy, dense vegetation covered the Northwest Point and there was a line of cliffs all along the south side of the point, hidden in dense jungle. They thought the pirates were holed up at the western end of a broad bay that extended along the north coast of the point.

The Rangers reported that the cliffs extended around the point and continued all along the north coast of the island and was completely hidden in dense jungle.

The Rangers warned them of several varieties of poisonous snakes, saltwater crocodiles and at least one variety of constrictors. They said the worst of the bunch were the crocs, they were huge and would attack anything that moved. They also ate whatever they attacked!

Wil steered the Joyce carefully along the coast and everyone had their binoculars out, searching the coastline for any signs of the pirates.

Mike Staggers and Bill Quinn had spent several days bolting the fifty caliber machine gun tripods to the top of the wheelhouse and the fore and after decks. They decided to put one just inside each door to the wheelhouse and the last one up on the lifeboat deck, just behind the engine stack.

Mike was a huge man, he was black and stood next to seven feet tall, he weighed in at three hundred pounds. Not an ounce of that was fat!

Mike could hold the forty mm machine gun and shoot "off-hand", the fifty's, he had to use both hands! In either case, whatever he shot at was dead! Usually, the 50s would cut a man in half and all that would be left was "parts"!

Mike made himself a "battle station" under the lifeboat and he had both machine guns and the rocket launcher laid out on a blanket where he was laying, using his own binoculars to scan the island. There were boxes of ammo right behind him, all he had to do was reach out and he could grab a rocket or another belt of ammunition for either of the machine guns. He had enough ammo stacked behind him to make a start on WW3!

Wil was wondering if they were going in with clubs rather when a fly swatter would be better, but he said nothing, Bill and Mike were the experts. He was to learn that, with these people, it was better to "killem" first, THEN countem'. He learned to agree with them, they were usually right!

They came around the point slowly, and Pat, who was up on top of the wheelhouse shouted, "Boats in the water, thirty degrees off the starboard bow!" Every machine gun on the ship was pointed at the boats.

Mike was just a bit lower down than Pat, but he caught the boats in his glasses, he screamed, "They are Chinese Army Motorboats! Coming in FAST!" (author's note - The Chinese Navy is part of their Army)

They could see the boats getting underway and they steered right for the Mary Joyce, all five of them!

Mike pulled out a dozen rockets and zeroed in on the lead motorboat. The Chinese boat began firing on the Mary Joyce and Mike put his first rocket through the motorboat's wheelhouse. The whole boat went up in a tremendous wall of fire and explosion.

The four others swerved around the stricken boat and continued heading for the Joyce. The boys opened up with their fifty caliber machine guns, the thud of the heavy guns was transmitted down through the roof and into the interior of the ship, it was an awful clatter. As the bullets hit the wooden motorboats, wood and pieces of planking were tossed in the air and in short order, the crewmen who survived were swimming for their lives in the shark and croc-infested water. None of them made the shore!

The radioman was on the horn telling the Rangers that they were under fire from the Chinese Navy and that they were working on sinking all of the five boats.

Pat got a lucky shot with his fifty, he hit the engine compartment and almost immediately the small boat was engulfed in flames and they could see men jumping off the boat into the shark-filled waters. Two down three to go, Mike kept pumping rockets at the remaining boats as the boys were going through ammunition like a waterfall.

They finally sunk all of the boats and then looked for survivors. They found one Chinese Sailor, he hardly looked more than ten years old! He was shivering in fright as they brought the boy on board.

Mike spoke Chinese and so did Bill, they questioned the boy and learned that a submarine was due to resupply the pirates. He had been grabbed from the jail of Shanghai to fill in for a crewmember who had gone AWOL! (absent without leave - deserted)

The boy said he was only fourteen and wanted nothing to do with the Chinese Navy or the people who ran it. He had no parents and would prefer living on the streets than working as a slave to that bunch of animals!

Wil anchored the Mary Joyce offshore and they all kept their guns pointed at the beach, while Jeff worked the radio, talking down the Australian Rangers working their way down the cliffs in their direction.

After several hours, they saw the Rangers hit the beach, driving several people in front of them. The Ranger radio operator reported, "These damned Chinese are using teen boys to do their totting!" Jeff laughed and replied, "Yeah, we got some too, who in the hell did you think sank all those Chinese boats?"

He could almost hear the Australian radio operator gulp as he was asked, "Are they pointing their guns in my direction?" Jeff replied, "No, but ya better walk carefully, they are tuff n' there ain't none of them older than fifteen!"

They put the lifeboat in the water and Wil and Bill went ashore to meet with the Rangers and tell them of the Chinese submarine that was due.

They decided to set up an ambush for the submarine, Lt. Carter, the Australian Ranger Leader said, "How about some of those fifties I could hear and the rocket launcher? Between what I got and what you have, we can really put the hurt on that damned sub!"

Bill agreed, but he said, "Don't be surprised at our gunners, there ain't one of'em old enough to buy a beer! I suspect that iffin' ya'll handed them a beer, you would lose yer fingers!"

When the boys began to come ashore, carrying their weapons and boxes of ammo the Rangers couldn't believe their eyes, they were children, Boys! Little Jose was only twelve years old and he was carrying the forty mm machine gun like a seasoned professional!

They had to wait two days before their lookout spotted the conning tower of a submarine rising up out of the calm waters of the bay. They had hidden the Joyce around the point, so it looked like the beach was deserted.

Apparently, the Chinese sailors had no fear that something was wrong with the motor boats not being there, they put over several rubber boats and began loading them up with supplies. They waited until the rubber boats were almost to the shore, the front boat had a man who was obviously in charge.

When the boys began firing, the man jumped up and started screaming at the sailors and pointing in the direction back towards the submarine. All the rubber boats were sinking and sharks began gathering.

Bill carefully aimed his rocket launcher at the sail of the sub and started peppering it with explosive rockets, there was a flash and the sail crumpled. The sub tried to submerge but, evidently, the hatch was jammed by the crumpled sail, so the submarine sailed out of the bay on the surface as fast as they could, leaving the officer and his men to the sharks.

The lone survivor of the Chinese team that had been terrorizing the Java coast, had latched onto Pat frantically. The boy had only a few English words and kept repeating, "Pease, pease me help, pease!"

Patrick felt sorry for the youngster and held him close, daring anyone to take the boy from him. He knelt down in front of the frightened youngster and said, "Me Pat, me help you come with us."

He wasn't sure the child really understood what he said, but the boy put a hammerlock on Pat's neck and was holding on for dear life.

The Rangers got a campfire going and the boys ferried some steaks from the freezer and contributed them to the cookout.

Wil was shocked when he saw Pat and Pedro drinking from a can of Aussie beer each! He said nothing, but decided to watch and see if it became a problem. Neither of the boys really liked the beer and they figured they would wait a while before trying it again! Neither young man ever took up the drinking of beer, one or two would suffice, for the rest of their lives.

The Rangers got on their radio and reported in and they were told the planes were up, that there were seven boats and only five of them were sunk.

Just before dark, one of the pilots called in and reported that the two missing boats were headed for Java, quite possibly a small village of Pantai Keburuhan. It was near some recent mineral explorations the Java Government had been doing along that isolated coast.

The pilot suggested the Mary Joyce investigate, they didn't want to shoot the place up from the air and possibly kill the villagers along with the Chinese invaders. He was sure, after the attack, the Chinese would have the villagers tied to trees as hostages.

Wil agreed and asked the Rangers if they wanted to come along for the ride. A sergeant and two corporals said, "Sure, why th'hell not."

They took off in the Joyce, running on both engines due to contrary winds and the need for speed. It was a three day voyage, their charts showed a tiny dot that was labeled as the small village and the chart showed no anchorage.

It was dark when Wil eased the Mary Joyce into the shallow cove, where two Chinese motorboats were pulled up on the beach. Bill led a team of Rangers and the boys ashore and then Wil drove the Joyce out into the bay and dropped the anchor, hoping it would hold.

They had left their little Chinese Boy castaway on board with Wil and the crew, they had learned the boy's name was Pio Tan and he was trembling the whole while the boys were away, holding on to Wil for dear life.

Wil and the crew heard the machine guns go off and it sounded like a young revolution!

Just at dawn, they saw a group of figures coming up the beach and the two motor boats suddenly exploded in a sheet of flame. The radio crackled, it was Bill, "Send the lifeboat in for us, we got one wounded."

Wil was frantic, had he not been needed to steer the Joyce, he would have walked on water to get to the beach, he had visions of a wounded boy, one of his own!

The lifeboat came back, heavily laden with people. Wil counted as the warriors clambered over the side into the Joyce's deck. He wondered, all his boys and the Rangers were accounted for!

He watched as a small body was passed up to the deck and carried up to the bridge. It was a small Java boy, one of the villagers. He had been caught in the crossfire and had been shot by one of the Chinese soldiers.

All of the Chinese soldiers had died, those who had not been shot with American bullets had been hacked into small pieces by jungle machetes! The young Java boy could speak some English and, as Wil was holding him, he looked up at Wil and said, "Be you me Papa now?"

Pat was standing beside his father and whispered, "Dad, he has no parents in the village, the Dam, er darned Chinese shot them. His Daddy was the village chieftain.

Wil grinned at his son and said, Son, if you are old enough to shoot that gun in your hands, you are old enough to say Damn!"

The two of them laughed and Wil gave the injured boy a kiss on his forehead, saying, "Yes, me you papa be." He didn't know how he was going to clear it with the American Authorities, but somehow, that boy WAS going home with them!

They dropped the Rangers off back on Christmas Island before they sailed to Jakarta to report to the Indonesian Authorities. Bad weather was brewing as they transited Sunda Strait, so Wil had the sails taken in and they headed as fast as the engines would drive them to the safety of the harbor at Jakarta.

They slipped in Tandjung Priok Harbor just ahead of the breaking storm. The Harbor Master directed them to a protected pier in the Koja Utara district and Wil scooted in before the typhoon's leading edge hit the outer harbor.

The winds screeched and howled as if in anger the Mary Joyce O'Toole had escaped its clutches. They spent the night and all the next day listening to the rain pound on the Joyce and the surging water bobbing them around like a rubber duck in the bathtub!

It was three days before it was safe enough to jump from the Joyce's deck to the wharf. Wil and Bill went over to the local Naval Office and made their report.

The Port Admiral, Vice Admiral Jun Tong Lok, asked Wil, "I understand that you have some Boy Warriors on your ship, Captain O'Toole."

Wil replied, "Yes sir, I do and they were true warriors, they faced the enemy without blinking and destroyed them totally. Now, I am left with another boy problem, Sir. I have two refugee boys, one who cannot be returned to his own country, China, as he will be executed for deserting and the other boy was the son of the village Headman and he cannot face going back to where the Chinese soldiers butchered his mother and father. My sons adopted them as brothers, but I have no legal papers allowing me to keep the boys or to get them into the United States."

The Admiral smiled and replied, "Well, Captain, I can help you with part of that problem and then, for getting them into the United States, you just take the adoption papers that my Force Chaplain is going to fill out for you and take the papers over to the American Consulate in Jakarta and they will issue passports for the two boys. Simple!"

He pushed a button on his interoffice telecom and spoke in his own language. An elderly Naval Officer knocked and entered the Admiral's office, after the Admiral told him what was needed, he smiled and asked Wil and Bill to come with him.

In his own office, the Chaplain pulled out a couple of forms and asked, "Please, what names are the boys?" Wil thought for a moment and then replied, "The older boy will be named John Patrick O'Toole and..." Bill interrupted and said, "And the younger boy will be named Robert William Quinn, Sir." Wil laughed and whispered to Bill, "Papa!" Bill smiled and shook his head in a yes and put up a finger for the boy being his first son!

The Navy Chaplain took them over to the American Consulate in his own official car and waited until the American Authorities had filled out all the papers and issued a "chit" that would allow the boys entry at Honolulu, where their passports would be waiting for them at the Navy Legal Officer's Office in three weeks.

Wil knew it would take them longer than that to get there, so he asked the clerk to put a note on the new passports to hold them for the Mary Joyce O'Toole's arrival.

The woman said, "I have heard about you guys, you are pretty famous, you know!"

Wil groaned and replied, "Really?"

The young woman said, "Yeah, my Dad lives in Oakland and he sent me the newspaper clippings, it was in all the newspapers! Now I can write him and tell him I met y'all!"

They made their way back to the ship and the waiting crew, everyone was excited about how they were going to take care of the two boys. Pat met his Dad at the gangway and said, "Well?"

Wil laughed and replied, "Well, what?"

Pat looked hard at his Father and said, "If you don't got some papers with Tio Pan's and Li Gok's names on them, you had better march back there and get them."

Wil laughed, "It's OK son, I got papers and a pass chit to get them into Honolulu, where their real passports will be waiting for them. You had better get used to calling Tio Pan by his American name, John Patrick O'Toole!"

Pat asked, "And what about Li?"

Bill spoke up and said, "He is now Robert William Quinn!"

The whole Band of Brothers were standing by to explain to the two bewildered refugees about their new names and their new Daddies. Both boys were soon marching around the Mary Joyce repeating, "Me Boy Melican, Me Boy Melican!" The look of pride on both boys' faces made the whole effort worthwhile!

The adults all loved those boys and they worked patiently in an effort to teach them English.

They had to wait another four days for the storm to clear, before they could start to make the needed arrangements to head for home.

They got a radio message off to the Machinery & Delivery Company telling of their "shipping arrangements" and that the package should be in Honolulu on the fifteenth of the next month. They also told them that there were two small packages accompanying the main package.

They finally topped off their tanks and restocked the food supply before heading out the harbor breakwater at dawn of the fifth day.

As soon as they hit the open sea, they got the sails up and shut down the two engines. The Mary Joyce cut through the water, practically silent. Only a slight whisper of sound came from the water being parted by the Mary Joyce's bow.

The Mary Joyce O'Toole was headed home!

They held classes for Johnny and Billy, every afternoon, Pat and Pedro were schooling them in English and what America was like. They were proud of their new brothers and made sure that Wil and Bill knew about their progress.

By the time Diamond Head came over the horizon, both boys were putting simple sentences together and could carry on a conversation in somewhat broken English.

They berthed in their regular slip at the Yacht Harbor, Berth 26 and got the ship properly tied up. After they ran the shore power cable out, they secured the generator and listened to the blessed silence.

Wil and Oscar took everyone out for a Chinese dinner at Wo Fat's, everyone was comfortably full, even Johnnie and Billie.

The next morning, they registered the refugee boys with Customs and Immigration and the Officer said, "The two boy's Passports are up at the Navy Legal Office at Makalapa Hill, we have already signed them and the Legal Officer can enter their date of entry."

They spent two days being debriefed by the Intel Officers, they were particularly interested in John Patrick O'Toole and they questioned him at length, they even brought in a Chinese-speaking Army Officer to speak with the boy.

Finally, Wil had enough and told them they were through. If they wanted more, they could come to Daly City and speak with John Patrick another time, when he was better rested.

Bill's retirement had come through and he joined the Joyce as they sailed out of Honolulu, headed for home at last. They made a fast passage to the West Coast, they were entering the Golden Gate just thirteen days after they had seen the last of Diamond Head.

Uncle Joe was on the pier, waiting for them, Wil docked the ship and Joe jumped across before the lines were made fast. He wanted to meet his two new nephews and he soon had them both in his arms.

Wil had not known that his Uncle spoke Chinese, he was fluent in the Mandarin Dialect and was able to speak with John O'Toole in his own language. They were chattering away and, suddenly, Joe screamed and grabbed hold of the boy for all he was worth. Both were crying, sobbing great heaving sobs with tears running down their faces.

Joe carried the boy up to the house and laid him in his own bed (Joe's) and sat with him until the child had fallen asleep. He smoothed the boy's hair before he left the room to tell Wil and Pat what he had learned.

Wil and Pat were waiting, with little patience, outside the door for Joe to emerge. Joe put his finger to his lips to silence them and led the way out to the back patio. He turned to Wil and said, "That boy has been raped repeatedly by the soldiers on that boat! He is frightened that you will no longer want him, that he is damaged goods!"

Wil sat down on the lawn chair with a thud and held his head in his hands, "My God, what else had that child been put through?"

Pat said, "Dad, I'm going back in there and sit beside my BROTHER, John Patrick until he wakes up. I want him to know that he IS wanted and that I will NEVER abandon him, EVER!"

Wil said, "I will sit with you son, BOTH of my sons need me!"

Patrick is a high school graduate now, it is time for him to apply for entrance to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. The rest of the boys will miss him, but, most of all, Wilson John O'Toole will miss him!