“And tonight the people of Pusan and all of South Korea rejoice. The sounds you hear behind me are the guns of American battleships sending their own forms of destruction against the enemy. Tonight, the United States and her allies have returned to Korea. Even now, the forces of freedom are engaging the enemy — pressing them back across the lands they thought they had conquered. For it seems the North Koreans have made the same mistake that other tyrants have made in the past. They underestimated the United States and what its citizens could do. They thought we would be crippled and unable to respond. But history shows that it is under these circumstances that Americans are at their best.
“In some ways it is almost a continuation of the Korean Conflict of the 1950s. The old weapons are still around. The very battleships of that era are even now pounding away at them. Yet newer weapons are also here. American Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles have been landed and have taken their fight to the enemy. I have been told that the entire might of the United States is coming to bear on this place at this time.
“But most of all, the South Koreans are celebrating because once again, they have realized they are not alone. The Americans are not the only ones coming ashore tonight. Forces arrayed against the North Koreans include the European Union, Turkey, Greece, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, India, and other nations. All have joined together to ensure the freedom of the Korean people and end the nuclear threat of the North.
“I am certain the lights will be burning late in Pyongyang tonight.
“Many years ago during another conflict one of my family members sat at a microphone very similar to this one. He vowed to report the news as best he could, fairly and unbiased. During that time, he reported on the people and the events that surrounded him and never gave up on his convictions that his job was to report the news, not create it. To this end I will attempt to carry on those same convictions. I and my colleagues will report the news as best we can and as honestly as we can. You in the United States and the rest of the world deserve no less.
“This is Jason Murrow, reporting from Pusan, South Korea. Good night, and good luck.”
Charlie Sheppard sat on his porch listening to the broadcast. An announcement had been in the paper that an address would begin at eleven. He was one of the few on his street who had a radio and he was surrounded by his neighbors and friends. Sheppard was over 90 years old and remembered the broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow and the events of the last conflict. Tears were in his eyes. “Well I’ll be damned!” he exclaimed.
“It’s about time,” one neighbor said. Several nodded.
“So it was the North Koreans who did this to us,” said another. “Why weren’t we told?” she asked as the others started talking.
Sheppard shushed them all down as the radio announcer came back on announcing the President.
“My fellow Americans. Many of you have been wondering what our country has been doing to find out not only who attacked us, but what we were going to do in Korea. Now you know that the North Koreans not only attacked their neighbors in the South, but were responsible for the attacks launched against us as well. We have known this for over four months, but we have kept this close so we could make our preparations without them becoming aware of what we were doing or planning. I am sorry we kept this from you, but that didn’t stop us from doing what we had to do.
“As you just heard, tonight the United States and its allies launched an invasion of Korea. I won’t go into much detail simply because we still do not want our enemies to know who or what has been lined up against them. I will say that our troops are already engaging the enemy. We are going to win this conflict. We will win it for the people of Memphis and Dallas. We will win it for all the people of the free world. But we will win.
“In the past four months we have drawn together on the expertise of our armed forces, business, and industry to build a fighting force unmatched since World War II. Some of it is what you would expect to see from our armed forces — modern tanks and planes and weapons. But you are also going to see some things unconventional as well. On recommendation of several trusted advisors, the United States has recommissioned a number of older ships that can continue attacks if and when the North Koreans should use any more nuclear missiles like they did on us. And yes, they include battleships. I am proud to say there are currently seven battleships off Korea. These include the North Carolina, Alabama, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, and Wisconsin. I have already received word that their firepower is turning the enemy back.
“We also received a number of ships back from countries that had purchased or leased ships from us. These include destroyers, and frigates to escort these capital ships. We recommissioned several older cruisers and a number of other assets that we will use against our enemies. For now, let’s let them worry about what assets we have and where they are.
“As you heard, we have formed a coalition of nations to carry out our mission. Tomorrow I will address the General Assembly in the United Nations and lay out our case before them. We will ask for their approval and the approval of the Security Council, but no matter what they decide, we will continue our mission.
“I want to thank everyone who has been on this team. When this happened, I reached out to our political leadership, our business leaders and industrialists, the media, even our farmers, everyone in our nation who might be able to get us back on our feet. As a result, we still have food on the tables. Our phones are working, our cars are returning to the roads, our radios and televisions are slowly coming back to life. America is alive and breathing. In the midst of all this we also pulled together to return the aggression that was inflicted upon us. This has been a monumental effort, and trust me when I say we owe a great deal to a very few people who picked up the yoke and kept going.
“I will let you know now that I will not be passing along information about the war as some have done in the past. We are going to keep our secrets to ourselves and not give the enemy any breaks. You will know when things happen, but we will keep numbers or capacity to ourselves. In time I promise to withhold nothing. You will eventually know everything that happened, but we will give nothing to our enemies that may benefit them. Please bear with me on this.
“I want to thank each and every American for your own efforts to bring our nation back. I want to thank you for your support and your kind words during this crisis. America is on its feet. We have now raised our fist to our enemies. We will not be knocked down again.”
Sheppard blew his nose. “That’s the best news I heard all year. It’s about time we stopped airing our dirty laundry every time some news reporter decided he had a sensational story,” he said angrily.
“Damn right. Now that I know what’s going on, I’m okay with it. I’m just glad we’re doing something about all this,” one neighbor said.
“They brought back the battleships. I actually went aboard one back in ‘89. Those guns were big as hell. I know I wouldn’t want one shootin’ at me,” said another.
“Yeah, but I bet it cost us a fortune. Every time we start paying off the debt we end up going right back in,” said one lady. She had a reputation of being a tree hugger.