“You’re pulling my leg,” Graham said.
“I told the commander in chief that you would implement his suggestion, Colonel Graham.”
“No way, Bill. It’s a . . . nutty . . . idea.”
“After I tell you that FDR really warmed to his idea—he feels that not only would it enhance the image of the arsenal of democracy—”
“Meaning what?”
“That the arsenal of democracy, now in high gear, is so formidable that we can sell the very latest airplanes to friendly—or neutral—foreigners.”
Graham grunted.
“And, waving his cigarette holder around, the President smugly suggested that the OSS could probably find some advantage in having its own airline.”
Graham sadly shook his head.
“You want to tell him it’s a nutty idea, Alex?” Donovan asked.
“If I thought it would do any good, I’d be happy to tell him,” Graham said. “But since Roosevelt believes he is divinely inspired—”
“Between us—to go no further than this room—what’s wrong with the idea?”
“Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of things wrong with it. For one thing, even if Frade could get permission to set up an airline, which seems unlikely, he’s not qualified to run an airline. For God’s sake, he really shouldn’t even be flying the Lodestar he has.”
"Why not?”
“Because he’s likely to kill himself doing so. And we need him alive, not spread over some mountain in the Andes.”
“I somehow got the idea he’s a pretty good pilot,” Donovan said. “He’s an ace, right? And he has been flying the Lodestar he has?”
“He’s a Marine fighter pilot, a young one. He therefore believes he can fly anything. That is known as the arrogance of youth.”
“The President is very impressed with him.”
“Did the President suggest where the pilots to fly the airplanes of OSS Airways are supposed to come from?”
“Argentina.”
“And who’s going to train them? Frade?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I tried—hard—to dissuade FDR from this airline idea? And raised the question of pilots to him?”
“And what did he do? Flash that famous smile and say, ‘Oh, Bill, that can be worked out’?”
“What he said was that Arnold also told him that the pilot-training program has gone so well that they are getting ready to release the transport pilots commissioned early on to return to the airlines, and that they would be ideal, because of their experience, in setting up an airline.”
“You mean transfer them to the OSS?”
“He didn’t get into that. But that could be worked out.”
Graham snorted.
“Will have to be worked out,” Donovan added. “The bottom line, Alex, is that unless you can talk him out of this idea . . .”
“Huh!”
“. . . there will be an airline.”