man of G.o.ddard"s background and reputation would be invaluable to
you not only for his technical knowledge, but also as a public
relations weapon."
"Well, we"ll just have to get along without him."
"I guess so," Bradley said.
The sound of hammering from outside momentarily distracted the
general and made him glance out the window. Following his gaze,
Bradley saw some men in coveralls kneeling on the roof of the
adjoining building as they expertly nailed down some more beams.
When these buildings were completed, they would house the new
National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics as well as a branch of
the still too informal army air force intelligence. General Taylor was
currently the head and Bradley was an increasingly enthusiastic, but
unofficial, agent of the intelligence unit.
"It"s interesting that he should be so concerned with German rocket
development," the general said, returning his thoughtful gaze to
Bradley, "since that"s also what we"re concerned with right now." "The Pentagon isn"t," Bradley replied. "Since the White House has
adopted an isolationist stance regarding Europe, there"s no Pentagon
interest in German weaponry."
"I can"t speak for the whole of the Pentagon, let alone the White
House," Taylor said, "but I think I can say with confidence that we in
military intelligence are concerned with the growing militarism of
Germany particularly since Hitler was elected chancellor. It"s not our
belief that America will be involved in European politics per se, but
there"s certainly been enough concern to cause the air force to
informally gather information on aeronautical developments in Hitler"s
new Germany and, especially, on any further developments regarding
the..." The general glanced down at the notes on his desk... "The
Verein fur Raumschiffart, or VfR," he read, then looked up again. "Right," Bradley said. "The German amateur rocket society." "It"s wonderful," the general said with a slight, sardonic smile, "how
bright boys like you can bring back such interesting information from
their vacations in Europe."
Bradley knew what the general was getting at. He, Bradley, had
been a highly decorated pilot during the Great War, but had left the