Reunion

Road To Keflavik

How was the US Military to deal with the issue of father's past, much less that for all of the post-war Germans in the US Military employment?  They transferred him from sunny, balmy, California to the frozen wastelands of Iceland.  He was made a part of the Iceland Defense Force.  Based out of an old WWII Naval Air Station, near Keflavik, Iceland - the IDF was composed of Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force personnel as well as local Icelandic civilians.  In addition, there were a few Army and Coast Guard personnel attached to this command.

Actually, the base was loaded with ex-Germans at this time.  The official reason?  To do paperwork searches on each of them to confirm their role(s) in WWII.  Oh ouch!  For father this was going to be trouble now.

Iceland had had a moderate sized Nazi presence before and during the war.  This did not go well with the Jewish population of the island nation.  Though I can find no writing concerning open warfare between the two groups, before the end of the war in any event.  There were two rabbis on the island, so twin congregations - which I expect father was faithful to - if for no other reason than he was very motivated keep the US Intelligence Officers in the dark.  Just one little problem - guess whom else was in Iceland!  Yeah, his three buddies he had been captured with by the British patrol back in 1945!

No Shorts in Summer?

So, the military had suspected, the military had brought them back together, the military was looking for mistakes.  Eventually, they did cough up part of their past - but only  in respect to having worked with Heisenberg.  Heisenberg was dead as far as they knew, the atom bomb was now passe and they thought they were 'safe'.  No one could blame them for hiding the fact they had worked on the research to build a bomb.  As for the concept of the multistage rocket they had designed - well let that one lay, after-all, no one had one of those - yet.

But, as you will shortly find out: they were to be risking their lives in ways they never would have thought possible.....