September, 1930
After long days of anxious waiting, with the people nervous and
excited, came the attack on San Francisco. The enemy planes attacked
from the West, the South and the North, slipping in silently in large
numbers. Poisoned gas was turned loose, bombs were dropped all over the
city and most of the important business and Government buildings were
destroyed. The destruction was the greatest in history, much greater
than the earthquake in 1906. Loss of life was terrific. General Pearson
ordered Captain Gordon and Kennelworth to lead the defense of the city,
using the Japanese planes which had been taken from the wreck of the
"Tokyo J-1." As soon as they got in high altitude over San Francisco,
they could see that this was a gigantic attack. Thousands of airplanes
were circling the air from every direction. It was evident that the
enemy intended to destroy San Francisco very quickly. Captain Gordon
and Captain Kennelworth were able to keep in communication thru their
Pocket Radio. They agreed that one of them should attack the enemy
planes approaching from the North and the other, the planes approaching
from the South and West, going as high as they could and if possible
getting above the enemy planes and dropping bombs on them. When
Captain Gordon got high in the air, he saw another mother ship anchored
and with the smaller planes taking off from it. He sailed over and let
loose his bombs and destroyed this ship. Other ships were coming from
every direction by the thousands. He sailed over them letting loose his
bombs cautiously.
Captain Kennelworth also encountered planes by the thousands coming
across from the West and succeeded in bringing down numbers of them.
Finally, the enemy planes turned on him and when he saw that escape
seemed almost impossible, decided to try to race back to headquarters.
The enemy planes were firing on him. One wing of his plane was damaged,
then a propeller was broken and as his plane was crashing to the earth,
he felt that he was sure to lose his life; tried to steer the best he
could and finally, seeing that he was going to land on a smooth spot
where there were no trees or buildings, he crawled out on top of one
of the wings. A few minutes after the crash he regained consciousness,
finding himself uninjured with only a few minor scratches. Fortunately
he was near one of the army bases and made his way quickly there. He
could see to the West that San Francisco was in flames and knew that
the destruction was complete. His first thought was what had happened
to his old pal, Robert Gordon. Feeling in his pocket and finding his
radio safe, he sent the distress signal which they had always used,
asking "Are you alive and where are you?" Minutes went by and no reply.
He was heartsick and feared that Robert had lost his life. He slowly
made his way to headquarters and reported what had happened.
Captain Gordon finally exhausted his bombs, but he estimated that
he had brought down several hundred of the enemy planes because he
had sailed over them where they were flying by the hundreds in wedge
formations, each division being followed by a giant supply ship which
could anchor high up in the air and supply more bombs when the bombing
planes exhausted their supply and returned for more. Robert thought,
"this is just what our Government needs. If there were only a supply
ship in the air now where I could go and get more bombs, I could bring
down hundreds more of the enemy's planes." He decided to make his way
back to the base or headquarters as he was powerless without bombs,
but his decision was too late. The enemy planes had located him and
were coming straight toward him. He speeded up and tried to make his
way to safety, fearing that any minute the enemy would fire on him or
drop a bomb on his plane, but the Japanese had discovered that he was
flying one of their own planes and they thought he was one of their
own aviators and had no intention of harming him. When they got close
enough to see that the plane was piloted by an American aviator, they
flew close beside him, signaled him to follow them, one plane leading
and two others falling in beside him. There was nothing else to do and
he was glad of a chance to save his life. They led him up, up, up,
thousands of feet in the air, finally reached a giant plane anchored,
where they landed, taking Captain Gordon a prisoner.
As soon as they had landed with him, his mind went back to the days of
his youth, when he had built his first bicycle to ride on the water,
and when he had read the Bible and talked about the wars to come and
made his plans for the great airship. He recalled the dream his mother
had which greatly disturbed her. She told him she dreamed that she saw
San Francisco destroyed by some terrible machine and that one of her
sons had nearly lost his life there. He thought of how his mother had
told him about his oldest brother losing his life in the San Francisco
earthquake and he wondered if now he was to lose his life there,
because he felt that the Japs were very treacherous and would probably
not keep him a prisoner but would take his life. He prayed for his dear
old mother and prayed for Marie that she might be safe and her life be
spared, no matter what his fate might be.
Through all this excitement, for the first time he thought of his
Pocket-Radio. Before he could get it out of his pocket, he received the
S.O.S. signal from Walter and answered, telling him what had happened
and where he was.
Ever since the first battle of Los Angeles, the United States officers
had felt certain that an attack would come upon San Francisco and
had prepared for it the best way possible. They had concentrated a
greater portion of their best airplanes there and had thrown them into
the fight by the thousands and they had gone down in large numbers,
not only being outnumbered by the enemy planes but being unable to
follow the enemy planes high enough to destroy them. When reports
were made the following morning, more than three thousand of this
country's airplanes had been lost. The loss of life in San Francisco
was appalling. Almost half of the population had been wiped out. Most
of the valuable buildings had been destroyed. All the ships anchored
in the harbor were blown to pieces. A poisonous gas which American
chemists had never seen or heard of before had been distributed all
over San Francisco and the people who were left were sick and dying by
the thousands. The waters in the bay had been poisoned and the fish
were dying from this deadly gas. It was indeed a time of trouble such
as the world has never known, as spoken of by St. John in the Book of
Revelation.
The capture of Captain Gordon and the loss of both of the Japanese
airplanes which had been captured at the destruction of the "Tokyo J-1"
was a disheartening blow, because Captain Kennelworth had reported how
effectively he had worked over the enemy planes and how many he had
destroyed. He was sure that Captain Gordon had destroyed many of their
planes. When a survey was made of the city it was found that several
hundred of the enemy's planes had been brought down. Most of this was
attributed to the work done by Captains Gordon and Kennelworth with the
high altitude foreign planes. When all reports were in, the commanders
of the United States armies got together for a conference. This
disaster in such a short time was bewildering and it required quick
decision as to the next move. They were at a loss to figure out what
the enemy's next move would be, remembering that after Los Angeles had
been surrendered and the white flag had floated over it, it had never
been molested. Knowing that another attack would finish the remains of
San Francisco, they decided to surrender it, and again the white flag
was raised over all the remaining buildings. When General Pearson saw
these instructions being carried out, he was overcome with emotion.
Tears were flowing down his cheeks and he exclaimed; "My God, my God,
is the land of liberty to be destroyed? Is there no way to prevent this
deadly destruction?"
As soon as the Japanese had captured Captain Gordon they knew who
he was. He was the man who had sold them the great silent muffler.
They brought him to headquarters in Mexico where he was questioned
as to what other inventions he had. He told them that the only
invention he had of value was the secret radio, with which he could
send communications without any sound in the air and without anyone
intercepting the messages, but made no mention of the other discoveries
that he had which he knew could be used in time of emergency and of
which he had never told the United States Government officials. The
Japanese offered Robert his freedom and a large amount of money if
he would sell them this invention. After communicating secretly and
silently with Walter, Robert had him tell the commanding General about
the proposition the Japanese had offered him and asked for instructions
as to what he should do. Their reply was to remain prisoner and not
give up any of his secrets to the enemy, because the situation was
bad enough at the best. But Robert knew that his services would be of
greater value to his Government and that it was bad judgment for him
to remain a prisoner. He felt that he could make another invention
for communications which would outwit the Japs, so he decided on his
own responsibility to give up the secret radio, and after they tested
it, they gave him his freedom and conveyed him safely out of the enemy
lines. Robert returned to headquarters near San Francisco and reported
to Colonel Davis just what he had done. He was immediately sent
before General Pearson who was then in command of the United States
Air forces. General Pearson after hearing the story and considering
Robert's splendid record, decided that clemency should be extended to
him but, before doing so, decided to communicate with the President of
the United States and await his decision and instructions. A meeting of
the Cabinet was called and they voted that Captain Gordon was a traitor
to his country, but decided that he should not be court-martialed and
shot, but dishonored. Orders were sent that his uniform be torn from
him and that he be held a prisoner. This was the greatest blow to
Robert that had ever befallen him since the loss of Marie, but he had
faith in God. He knew that he had done right and what was for the best,
just as the Creator of the universe does all things well and for the
best. He read his Bible that night while in prison and was consoled
by reading Job, where he said, "Lord, Lord, I'll wait until my change
comes." Robert knew that the time would come when he would be able to
demonstrate to his Government that his judgment was right and that
he was acting for the best. His heart and soul were with his country
and he would sacrifice time and money to be prepared to protect his
Government. He asked to be allowed to have a conference with Walter,
which was granted. Told Walter to say nothing about his sleeping gas
discovery or the "Demon of Death,"--the great light ray destroyer
which they could use, and to tell nothing of the great ship "Marie the
Angel of Mercy," which they had safely stored away in the Adirondack
Mountains. That when the Government came to realize the need of great
help and faced defeat, he would then demonstrate the inventions that he
had to save the country.
General Pearson was very much interested in Gordon's case. He
remembered the great feat of bringing down the "Tokyo J-1" and believed
that Robert was a genius and a valuable man to the Government. If
the officials had listened to Robert and taken the discovery he had
offered them, probably the defeat in San Francisco would never have
happened. He did not blame Robert for selling his invention to Japan in
peace time, nor did he condemn him for turning over his secret Pocket
Radio to the Japanese to secure his freedom. Believed he was loyal
to his country and acted as he thought best and had not done it for
a selfish motive. The General decided to visit Robert at the prison.
After holding a conference with him, ordered him removed and brought to
headquarters where he could keep him under his personal supervision.
Robert confided to General Pearson that if he could secure his release,
and let him return to his laboratory in New York, he could very quickly
complete another invention to enable the United States forces to
communicate secret orders from place to place, which the enemy could
not understand or use. He told him that he had an invention partly
completed which when placed a certain distance from an airplane would
prevent any communication by his secret radio and that with this it
would make the secret radio which he turned over to Japan, absolutely
useless. General Pearson believed his story and had faith in him so
communicated with the President of the United States and obtained
permission to send Robert Gordon to his New York laboratory. The
General realized that the situation was much worse than the newspapers
were letting the public know. The Government was suppressing their
weakened condition. General Pearson knew that with help from England or
any other foreign country, it would be easy for the enemy to take New
Orleans, Chicago and then sweep down on Washington and New York. The
liberty of the United States now hung in a balance and unless something
was done, and done quickly, their cause would be lost.
General Pearson wrote to the President that there was no denying the
fact that the situation was critical and that the enemy had something
up their sleeve and that unless every effort was made to forestall
their move, he feared a repetition of the terrible disaster at San
Francisco. He sent the record of Robert Gordon. Said that while he was
a young man, he was one of the bravest aviators that he had ever known;
that he was not only bright but brilliant. He believed he was a genius.
That he had had a long talk with him and that Gordon had asked to be
released and permitted to return to his laboratory in New York where
he believed he could complete a valuable invention which would prove
a great help to the country. The General recommended that Gordon be
released and permitted to return to New York and given a chance. Said
that this was the age of the young men because they were progressive
and up to the times.
The President wrote General Pearson to use his own judgment and send
Gordon to New York if he thought best. General Pearson gave orders that
Robert Gordon be brought to him. He communicated the good news, gave
him a passport and told him to proceed immediately to New York and work
just as rapidly as possible to perfect any kind of invention that would
help defeat the enemy's plans.