The Career of a Naval Officer

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St. Cecilia’s Musical Academy, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 7, 1904
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    • Major Major

    St. Cecilia’s Musical Academy, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 7, 1904

    The music director was nervous.

    St. Cecilia’s had won a coup, hiring a composer and music instructor from Saxony. He had not entirely taken to the job when it was offered, but the Archbishop of Cincinnati had heard him play, and was able to offer a very good salary, thanks to a generous parishoner.

    So Richard and his wife Elisabeth moved to the United States. He had hoped to build a conservatory in his hometown of Saale, but the archbishopric had made relocating worth his while.

    And now his first child was in the process of being born. There were a lot of Jews in the city — he had turned down a woman named Goodman who wanted to do something with her reading — imagine, a woman getting a university education! He hoped that none of the physicians attending on Elisabeth was one.

    His thoughts were abruptly interrupted. “Sir, you have a son,” the nursing sister who had come into the waiting room unannounced said.

    “Is he well?”

    “Yes, and so is his mother.”

    And on that, Richard Bruno Heydrich left to go about his business.
     
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    • United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, June 15, 1926
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    • Major Major

    United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, June 15, 1926

    He had had to change his name. His birth name was too German, they said. His father had been harassed no end for being a “kraut”.

    Getting into the Naval Academy had taken some effort. Apologetic at having stood by and let the Germans be harassed, Archbishop Moeller had rounded up all the support he could get. Senator Pomerene had appointed him to the Academy.

    He endured the hazing. He became a champion fencer for the Naval Academy team. He would play the violin at Superintendent Wilson’s receptions.

    This made it possible for him to get in flight training. The Academy was beginning to offer flights, and he believed it was the way of the future.

    Not at the head of his class, but very high up, he graduated, throwing his cap into the air.

    And thus Ensign Richard Tristan Heydrich began the legal procedure to regain his birth name.
     
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    • USS Enterprise, December 7, 1941
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    • Major Major

    USS Enterprise, December 7, 1941

    “Prepare to launch.”

    The news from Pearl was not good. Somehow, the Japs had managed to attack!

    Lieutenant-Commander Heydrich of VF-6 sat in the seat of his Wildcat and waited for the order to launch. It had been a hard few years.

    He had married Claire King rather abruptly. Her father was always of the same mood — angry. Having got his daughter pregnant would have meant doom for Heydrich’s career, but marrying her gave him a patron.

    He admired Admiral Halsey, the commander of the Scouting Force, for his aggressiveness. The admiral had tolerated his attention to music.

    Now, the Enterprise was ready to go to battle.

    “Launch.”

    Heydrich gunned the engine, rolled down the deck, and lifted off. He circled the Enterprise until all the fighters were in the air, then set course for Pearl Harbor.
     
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    • Ford Island Naval Air Base, December 7, 1941
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    • Major Major

    Ford Island Naval Air Base, December 7, 1941

    The shattered Wildcat rolled to a stop. All around, buildings and airplanes blazed. The ground crews had been strafed, but some — enough — were still alive. They rushed out to the airplane. Some noted how shot up it was.

    The pilot rolled back his cockpit. He said, harshly, “Get me another plane!”

    But the ground crew had to pull him out of the cockpit. He had been hit in the left leg and how he got to the ground never quite seemed clear. They took him to the hospital, though he bellowed, “GET ME ANOTHER PLANE!!!” all the way.

    On Monday, Admiral Halsey himself came to see the patient. Heydrich said, “Sir.”

    “I understand you shot down six Jap planes yesterday,” Halsey said.

    “Get me a plane.”

    The doctor standing at Halsey’s side said, “His left leg took two bullets and he almost bled out.”

    Halsey leaned over the pilot. “Listen to them,” he said. “When you’re patched up, they’ll send you to me. That’s a promise.”
     
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    • Seawolf

    Huh, I am trying to figure out the PoD here...but it seems like Enterprise managed to at least briefly make contact with the Kido Butai....
     

    Somedevil

    Seawolf said:
    Huh, I am trying to figure out the PoD here...but it seems like Enterprise managed to at least briefly make contact with the Kido Butai....
    Click to expand...
    that what it sounds like. Maybe the Enterprise was closer to Pearl by a few hours and the Kido Butai did a third wave?
     

    NotBigBrother

    Monthly Donor
    Major Major said:
    On Monday, Admiral Halsey himself came to see the patient. Heydrich said, “Sir.”

    “I understand you shot down six Jap planes yesterday,” Halsey said.

    “Get me a plane.”

    The doctor standing at Halsey’s side said, “His left leg took two bullets and he almost bled out.”

    Halsey leaned over the pilot. “Listen to them,” he said. “When you’re patched up, they’ll send you to me. That’s a promise.”
    Click to expand...
    "Your ego is writing checks your body cann't cash."
    I guess ITTL imdb.com will write about TTL "Top Gun": ""Maverick" is loosely based on the famous WW2 hero Heidrich." He already did, politely speaking, a high speed pass over one admiral's daughter.
     
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    Salvare7097

    Salvare7097

    NotBigBrother said:
    "Your ego is writing checks your body cann't cash."
    I guess ITTL imdb.com will write about TTL "Top Gun": ""Maverick" is loosely based on the famous WW2 hero Heidrich." He already did, politely speaking, a high speed pass over one admiral's daughter.
    Click to expand...
    Speaking of ITTL, this version of Heydrich would be horrified of what our version Heydrich did.
     
    Washington, D.C., January 10, 1942
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    • Major Major

    Washington, D.C., January 10, 1942

    By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved 9 July 1918 (WD Bul. 43, 1918), a Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty was awarded by the Department of the Army in the name of Congress to the following-named officer:
    Lieutenant-Commander Reinhard T. Heydrich, United States Navy, commanding Naval Air Squadron VF-6, distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, USA. Leading his aerial squadron into battle, Lieutenant-Commander Heydrich shot down six Japanese airplanes although seriously wounded during the air battle. His outstanding gallantry and noble self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty reflect the highest honor on him and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Navy.
    Entered the service from Cincinnati, Ohio.

    He had been flown to Washington as soon as he could move. He hobbled into the Oval Office using a cane, but threw it to the floor as he stood before the President. Roosevelt read the citation, his voice trembling with pride, then permitted Commander Heydrich to lean over the Presidental desk to have the hanger of the Medal pinned on. (The neck ribbon was for formal occasions.)

    Having been invested, he was the target of the Press. All he said, though, was, “It is my duty to fight and I want to go back and join my men in the Pacific.”

    Instead, he was removed to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he would finish recovering. Admiral King visited his son-in-law as soon as he could, and reassured Heydrich that he would have all the fighting he could do. That seemed to satisfy him. He kept on nagging the doctors to send him back. He seemed to suspect that some of them were plotting to keep him out of battle.
     
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    • Somedevil

    he is what the first Ace of the war on the American side and one of the first MOH winners of the war likely the first MOH winner that is still alive. He will have a few war bond drives to do before they let him get back into the fight and likely a stint as a flight instructor in Pensacola also
     

    Anarch King of Dipsodes

    Major Major said:
    He had had to change his name. His birth name was too German, they said.
    Click to expand...
    Unlike, say, Nimitz (class of 1905), Mitscher (1910), Heinlein (1929), Kimmel (1904)...

    Or Coontz (1885), Eberle (1885), Strauss (1887), Bloch (1899), Kalbfus (1899), Denfeld (1912), Fechteler (1916) - all USN 4-star Admirals in the early 1900s.

    Or Drexler (1925), Schonland (1926), Bauer (1930) - Medal of Honor recipients.

    Or Deiter (1929) - Rhodes scholar.
     

    Major Major

    Anarch King of Dipsodes said:
    Unlike, say, Nimitz (class of 1905), Mitscher (1910), Heinlein (1929), Kimmel (1904)...

    Or Coontz (1885), Eberle (1885), Strauss (1887), Bloch (1899), Kalbfus (1899), Denfeld (1912), Fechteler (1916) - all USN 4-star Admirals in the early 1900s.

    Or Drexler (1925), Schonland (1926), Bauer (1930) - Medal of Honor recipients.

    Or Deiter (1929) - Rhodes scholar.
    Click to expand...
    But that was the World War, which was marked by the need to get rid of the Hun.
     
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