I listened to the speech, watched the wine bottle throwing, and played the scene with Somerville. After the launching ceremony, John was about to return home when a shipyard worker led a tall, thin middle-aged man over to him.

"Hello, Todd, are you looking for me?" John recognized that the Leng Du man in front of him, who looked very friendly, but had an unusually serious and rigid personality, and was quite a bit of a reversal charm, was Stimson's secretary and confidant Todd.

"The minister asked you to take his car back to Washington, and there was something to talk to you about on the way." After speaking, Todd stretched out his right hand and made a "please" motion. There was nothing wrong with the etiquette, but it exuded a strong sense of command, and it did not give John any choice.

"Okay." John shrugged his shoulders helplessly. In the past few days since I left the Klebo barracks, I really didn't stop for a moment. From the moment McNair and Embick talked to him, one unexpected situation after another. It was finally all done, and he was about to hide back in the army, when Todd stopped him. I didn't know what Stimson was looking for him this time.

But the boss called, and John couldn't help but go. He could only obediently follow Todd into Stimson's car. Before getting into the car, he threw his car keys to the shipyard staff member who led the way.

"You're Anthony from the Service Department, right?" John glanced at the nameplate on the other's chest before, knowing his name and department. "My car is in the No. 4 parking space of the Administration Building, so let people drive it back to Washington, and ask the director for the address."

"Yes, Mr. Vanderbilt." Being able to be arranged to serve at the launching ceremony, Anthony is still very discerning. Even if he hadn't met John before, he knew that he was one of his bosses, so he naturally had a very good attitude.

When John got into Stimson's 1938 Lincoln Model K, he found Stimson waiting for him in the car. Seeing John get into the car, Stimson just nodded to him and didn't speak. John glanced at Stimson's facial expression, and couldn't see any clue.

Soon, the car started and drove away from the Richmond shipyard. In the car, the driver, Todd, Stimson and John did not speak, and the atmosphere was silent and somewhat depressing.

It wasn't until the car drove out of the city that Stimson opened his mouth. "I heard you've been studying airborne operations lately?"

"Yes, I wrote a book with Captain Gavin about airborne operations." John understood that his performance at the Cretan Battle Seminar the day before yesterday had reached Stimson's ears.

"What are you going to do? To serve in a newly formed airborne division? Stimson asked very seriously.

"I think it's a good opportunity. The Airborne Forces are a new branch of the army, and the prospects for development should be good, and I will have more room to play there. In front of Stimson, John had nothing to hide, and directly said his thoughts.

John's answer made Stimson frown: "It's a good opportunity for others, but you're different. Have you ever thought about the risks? ”

"I understand, Uncle Stimson. I think I can handle it. "John was in the flying club and played skydiving for a while, and he was a master of skydiving. He was confident that he was much better than an ordinary army officer in this respect.

"No, you don't understand." Stimson's tone became very stern: "I asked you to serve in the combat unit to accumulate command experience, not to let you take risks." Go to the Airborne Forces, and once you go to war in the future, your chances of survival are not much better than that of an ordinary soldier. ”

"Uncle Stimson......" John was about to defend himself, but was interrupted by Stimson. You're still too young, and it's good to have ideas and drive, but you need to stay calm and not be too hot-headed when thinking about things. ”

"Uncle Stimson, I didn't do it on the spur of the moment, I thought about it seriously." John couldn't help but defend his idea again: "On the battlefield, which unit is not at risk?" Instead of looking ahead, it's better to find a place that suits you better. ”

"Then it depends on whether the risk is worth it!" Stimson was really a little angry at John's stubbornness: "What do you get by going to the Airborne Forces? Command? General rank? Is it worth your life? You're not like those ordinary officers! Think about your companies, and your family. If something happens to you, what will happen to Adele, Little Ella, and Eric? Eric isn't even a year old, are you going to make him never have you as a father in his memory? ”

Stimson's words silenced John. After calming down a little, he also found that as the war approached, his heart was indeed a little restless. As a traverser, he was unconsciously fascinated by the temptation of fame in history, just thinking about how to dominate and turn the tide on the battlefield of World War II, ignoring the risks.

Before, I just thought about the scenery of Ridgway, Taylor, Gavin, McAuliffe, and Zink. Subconsciously ignore the casualty rate of senior officers of the Airborne Forces. You must know that during the entire World War II, the total number of generals killed in the US army was less than 20 (including those who were posthumously awarded the rank of general), of which the airborne troops accounted for two.

In 1943, Brigadier General Charles Kirans, deputy commander of the 82nd Division, was mistakenly killed by Allied anti-aircraft fire during an airborne landing in Sicily; In 1944, Brigadier General Don Pratt, deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, died in the Normandy Airborne Operation.

Brigadier Pratt, in particular, is known to John for his death (described in Band of Brothers and in some films about the Battle of Normandy). At that time, in order to focus on protecting the safety of Brigadier General Pratt, the US military specially installed bulletproof steel plates on the glider he was riding. As a result, the glider did not handle well and crashed directly into a tree during landing. Brigadier General Pratt was crushed to death by the equipment box and jeep that had been shaken loose in the cabin. He became the first American general to fly into battle on a glider and the first to die as a result.

John was confident he would avoid a repeat of Brigadier Killance and Brigadier Pratt. However, in some battles, the casualty rate of the airborne troops was as high as 70% or more, which still made him a little uncertain.

Seeing that John was silent, Stimson added another strength: "John, you have done well enough in the past two years, and now many people are very optimistic about your ability." All you lack now is experience. Be patient, and settle down in the 82nd Division for a period of time, and the command and general title are a matter of time. There's no need to be in a hurry right now, just follow the steps. ”

"Is there already someone pushing for this?" John turned his head and asked another question. He suspected that someone within the Army was already pushing for him to be transferred to the Airborne Force, otherwise Stimson would not be in such a hurry to talk to him.

After staring at John for a while, Stimson replied in the affirmative. "Yes. Both Marshall and McNair approached me. Marshall wants to transfer you to William Lee for the preparation of a new airborne division. McNair, for his part, wanted to directly change the 82nd Division into an airborne division. ”

John's eyes lit up, he thought for a moment, and said firmly to Stimson: "I won't go to William Lee, but if the 82nd Division is reorganized into an airborne division, I won't leave." I am a soldier and cannot be a deserter. ”

Stimson was silent for a long time. As the Minister of the Army, he really couldn't say anything about letting a colonel officer be a deserter. Considering that John does have certain expertise in airborne combat convenience, it is not impossible to participate in the formation and training of airborne divisions. In the end, Stimson nodded in agreement with John: "Yes, but there is a little." If the 82nd Division really participates in the war as an airborne division in the future, I will transfer you out before entering the war. It's nothing negotiable, William will never agree to you taking this risk, and neither will I. ”