Top of The Edge - Intro to Chlodwig

Altman's face twisted with anger as he continued to speak through the tears. "She's twenty-one, in the prime of her life, on the Dean's list for the third year in a row... and now... now it looks like Marie and I will be waiting on her hand and foot for the rest of her life. Now please, just leave us alone."

"I realize I'm asking a lot Mr. Altman, but will you allow me to arrange professional help for your daughter."

"Professional help?! And who's going to pay for that? Look around agent. Do we look like people of tremendous wealth? We spent every last dime we had on Suzy's education."

"As I stated before Mr. Altman, this has now become a matter of national security. You will not be asked to pay for anything."

"Leave...us...alone!"

Mrs. Altman now came from around the corner and stepped up next to her husband. Speaking softly to him she said, "Paul if there is even the slightest chance that we can get Suzy better... please, Paul... we need to take this opportunity."

Paul Altman nodded slowly to his wife and asked Smith, "So what do we need to do to get her this help?"

"If it's alright with you, I'll have a therapist drop by tomorrow afternoon to meet Suzy and work out the scheduling details."

Mrs. Altman replied quickly, "I'll be here all day, and I'm looking forward to the meeting. Thank you, Agent Smith."

Smith pulled a small note pad from his pocket and jotted down his contact information before tearing the page out and handing it to Mr. Altman. "I'm staying at the Francis Marion downtown. If you need anything I am usually in my room after 9:00 - Don't hesitate to call. We'll be going now. Thank you for your time."

As they pulled away from the Altman's home, Tuttle shaking his head, asked, "Who's going to pay for this therapist you're talking about? According to my dealings with the federal government, it takes a mountain of paperwork and a great deal of time to get them to pay for anything."

"At this point, I only know that these folks are not paying for it, but rest assured, I'm getting her the help she needs."

"Even if the therapist is able to get Suzy talking again - and who knows how long that might take - she still may not be able to help us put Professor Michaels behind bars." Then after a few seconds disgustedly Tuttle continued, "So that's it - we're just going to... wait, and see?"

"Of course not." Smith replied.

Patrols Start - Friday Evening October 23, 1942

For their first patrol, Oct 23-25, the ladies could not have asked for better weather. The few issues they experienced were merely incidental; where exactly to set up the tent, how to see and function without the use of artificial light, getting Ranger and Blue accustomed to being ridden at night on the beach.

By their fourth watch, Dec 4-6, the three of them, Cherry, Robyn, and Maryanne had their patrol routine down and operating like clockwork. Just as Mr. Smith had hoped, their patrols were uneventful and even a little boring.

To help with the chill of the December nights, and alertness, they packed 4 thermoses, two filled with coffee, one with hot chocolate, and one with chicken noodle soup for each night of their watch. As planned, one stayed in the tent while the other two performed the mounted watch. Then every hour on the hour they would rotate so that by the end of the watch, each had plenty of opportunity to get some rest and/or get caught up on studies. Studying and any reading had to be done with a flashlight inside the tent and under a blanket to maintain the blackout conditions of the Coastal Watch Initiative.

New year's day 1943 was the start of their 6th patrol. It was cold and all three were tired from staying up and partying too much the night before. Robyn packed two extra thermoses of hot chocolate, of which all three were more than happy to partake.

Introduction to Chlodwig

The Flotilla (Nazi U-boat Naval Base) at Lorient France was constructed to withstand pretty much anything the allied forces had in their arsenal. The U-boat bunkers there also known as "Pens" were constructed with both wet and dry dock facilities where repairs and maintenance were performed, and from which many U-boat missions were launched. The commander of U-155 was Kapitanleutnant Adolf Cornelius Piening. This would be his fifth U-boat patrol. All checks, maintenance, and services for U-155 were complete and Kapitanleutnant Piening had been given the order to launch within the hour. His primary crew of 45 was all aboard, but much to his disdain he still could not launch.

"Chlodwig, Chlodwig Fenstemacher!" Piening was calling out to his last-minute add-on passenger. Just as he was about to call out again, a young tall slender dark-haired, gray-eyed man casually stepped from around the corner so the Kapitanleutnant could see him. His arrogant condescending gaze made Piening want to pummel the brat and teach him some manners - not to mention a little military discipline. "We're shoving-off within the hour. If you're not on this vessel, I'm leaving without you." Of course, Kapitanleutnant Piening knew that he would never get away with such an act and he was pretty sure that pompous young cuss knew it as well.

Chlodwig was trained and hand-picked by the SS for this specific mission. Piening had heard that the Fuhrer himself had been involved in the planning as well as the selection of Fenstemacher. He also knew that if he were to actually leave Chlodwig Fenstemacher behind, he may as well keep going and never return. He shuddered to think of what they would do to him. But as empty as his threat may have been, it still felt good to have made it.

Chlodwig's parents, Friedrich Fenstemacher and Bertha Koch, were members of the original Nazi youth organization of the early 1920s, which is also when, where and how they met. Friedrich was 17 years of age and Bertha was 15. Within weeks after they began seeing one another, Bertha became pregnant with their son - Chlodwig. With the blessings of their families, Friedrich and Bertha became husband and wife as soon as arrangements could be made, and within remarkably short order.

When Chlodwig was only three months old Bertha Fenstemacher left him with her parents for the evening, so that she could take part along with her husband Friedrich Fenstemacher in Hitler's first attempt to overthrow the German government - the Beer Hall Putsch of 1922.

Things didn't work out as Hitler had planned. He was arrested and sentenced to 5 years at the Landsberg jail. It was during this time of incarceration that he authored his autobiography, "Mein Kompf".

Due to mounting political pressure from the Nazi party, Hitler's sentence was cut short and after serving only 9 months he was released on August 28, 1924. Coincidentally, this was also the date of Chlodwig Fenstemacher's first birthday.

"A good omen!" Bertha's father shouted out when he heard the news. "My grandson is destined for greatness!" Family from both sides were gathered for Chlodwig's first birthday celebration at the Fenstemacher's home. When they received the news of Hitler's release, Chlodwig's birthday party suddenly took on a whole new dynamic that lasted late into the evening. Numerous toasts were made celebrating Hitler's release, Chlodwig's first birthday, and the apparent good omen of both events happening on the same momentous day.

As Chlodwig matured, it became clear to all that his intelligence was well beyond anything anyone in his family could even come close to comprehending. By nine years of age, he was referred to, as only one of a handful of Nazi youth geniuses and without a doubt the youngest of that group. By the age of twelve, he was considered to be a virtuoso on both the violin and the piano and was regularly asked to perform at small Nazi party gatherings. By the age of 15, Chlodwig had become fluent in six different languages: English, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and Japanese. At the age of 16, he started his freshman year of college in the first Reichsuniversitat in Prague. His class was the first to attend the newly Germanized university which opened its doors on November 4, 1939. Chlodwig Fenstemacher received a Bachelor of Science in Physics May 31, 1941, and was immediately recruited by the Abwehr (German military intelligence) where they honed and sharpened his language skills as well as the latest and greatest espionage techniques. After nine grueling intensive months of training with the Abwehr, Chlodwig had developed the ability to easily blend in with the citizenry of any major US or British city. Not only was he fluent with both British and American English, but also with several of the various dialects and accents. For the next year he took part in spy and espionage operations impersonating a British news correspondent photographer behind enemy lines in Great Britain.