“My pleasure, Mister President.
O’Bannon, Butler, and the detail left the office and made their way back to the car. The Press Secretary would be spending the night in town again and was coordinating with the ASD for Public Affairs. As they reached the car, the door was opened for them and both men got in.
“Jim, as this starts rolling, I want you to take all the packages and stuff and take a trip over to Korea. Stop off in Vallejo and gather a delegation from there so you can make a visit to the ship. You know we won’t talk about Roger and our plans for him, but you might fill him in on the medals for the crew and such. If this turns out like I hope, we might have to make an official visit. You can scope things out a little.”
“Steve, you know Congress won’t let you visit a war zone.”
“I might be able to visit Japan. Hell, even Roosevelt visited places in North Africa. If this happens, I want to be there,” he said.
“Let me talk to some of the leadership about that. Possibly as a state visit to Japan to discuss the war. Tomorrow I will visit the Iowa delegation and talk to them along with the Speaker and the Senate leadership. Although Williamson is still a pill, he won’t say anything against this. I’ll also have the Press Secretary give us a briefing over breakfast. That way we’ll know all the plans for the day. I’ll even get the speechwriter spun up so she can have a few things written down for you. I hope the PAO knows how to be humble.”
“He better. If he gets too bombastic he could blow this thing. I want this to be a recognition for bravery, not some political hayride.” The President glanced at his watch. “It’s already half past ten. I’m sorry I won’t have that spending bill ready when you wanted but I need the sack time.”
“Hell, you’re the President. That bill can wait a few days. This is more important for me anyway. Damn he did good.”
As the motorcade rolled up Constitution Avenue the two men sat back and watched the streetlights go by. Things at the White House had become hectic and more tedious as the technology came back on. Despite that, the two were now a well oiled team, thinking each other’s thoughts and anticipating changes. Both were thinking about the chance to see Hammond, and both were eager to see the look on his face when they did.
“Have you lost your mind?” demanded Frank Fallon standing in front of Senator Williamson’s desk.
“You can’t talk to me that way!” Williamson demanded.
Fallon nodded. “You’re right, Senator. I won’t talk to you that way. I’ll let your constituents say it. You were so bound and determined to get some dirt on the President that you jumped off without knowing what really happened. You made your calls and got a hearing set with your colleagues. Then when they hear what happened they call me in. The Party doesn’t need that kind of publicity, Dan. I have ten senators and seven congressmen left hanging because of your knee jerk reaction. Now they look like a bunch of chumps while the President is hailing what some call the greatest and most heroic naval action of the century!” he screamed. “Or haven’t you seen the papers this morning?”
“I was able to get your statement pulled, but it’s going to cost us big time with the media,” said Hank Yates. He had been called in at 3 am when reporters started screaming for information. Hank hadn’t even heard the news, but when he found out the Senator made the call himself he knew it couldn’t be good. The man was just not that smart. He glanced at his brother Torry.
Torry Yates was pale. His boss was committing political suicide right before his eyes and now Yates was seeing his own political life going the same way. “That makes no difference. The damage is done.” He turned to his boss. “You didn’t even check your messages. Admiral Granger called just a few minutes after you started all this to let you know there was more information and to call it off. But you were so busy shaking the tree you didn’t bother to check it. My god, how could you be so stupid!”
“Yates, watch yourself!” Williamson raged. He knew there were problems, but he was a senator and deserved more respect.
“Watch it yourself, Senator. I’m turning in my resignation. I am tired of mopping up the messes you leave. This one requires a mop I am not going to wield. When you run for reelection in two years I hope you are ready to lose.”
“What are you saying, Yates?”
“He’s saying he quits, Dan,” said Fallon. “I can’t say I blame him.” He turned to Hank. “We have more work to do.” Hank Yates nodded.
“How about both of you hang around for today and help me get through this?” Fallon said calmly to the Yates brothers. These guys were good and shouldn’t be blamed for what Williamson did. He saw both men nod.
“Okay, Dan, I’m going to get you through this. We’re going out with the story that you were fed false information from former Admiral Granger. It’s about time we got rid of that weasel anyway. You are going to say you are as appalled as everyone else that it happened. I’m going to call in some chips and get this put to bed. The Party leadership will back this up, but this is the last time. I agree with Torry. You better have some options open in a couple of years.”
“Now wait a minute, Frank…” He was stopped before he could utter another word.
“No, you wait a minute. You were so intent on getting something hot on the President you couldn’t follow good advice. We told you on more than one occasion to hold back. You chose last night to ignore that. So now you listen for a change. This is the last time the Party will back you. As far as we’re concerned you are a lame duck. Now you sit in your office and shut up. I will let you know what to say and when. Until then, you should busy yourself trying to find a new chief of staff,” he said as he turned and ushered the Yates brothers out of the office slamming the door. He would have a new job for Torry Yates by that afternoon.
Williamson sat in his chair and didn’t move. He hadn’t realized it until now — his role in the Party leadership had just ended.
Chapter 18
Chomya was an agricultural center only three miles from the DMZ. South Korean units liberated the town just a day before and some units of the Big Red One made it up earlier in the afternoon and positioned themselves. The orders were for the advance units to get in position along the border and sit tight while the rest filled in behind them. The push into North Korea would be soon and every effort was made to consolidate and get ready. The Lieutenant Colonel in charge set up a command post in one of the schools and settled in for a quiet evening. His troops had moved to the old DMZ and were digging some entrenchments. He finished his evening meal and, after checking the messages again, pulled out a sleeping bag and was about to get a little bit if shuteye.
Suddenly shells began peppering the town shocking the Lieutenant Colonel from his rest. He grabbed his rifle and started yelling for people to get out of the building. A set of three shells hit the school building they were in and the roof fell in directly on top of everyone inside. The timbers caught fire and soon the whole building, along with many others in the town, was blazing.
Captain Hugh Buntz began gathering his men immediately after the shelling started. They began moving toward the main road when what seemed like a battalion of North Korean soldiers appeared from nowhere. The men put on a good show, but it was hopeless. The North Koreans overwhelmed the men taking care to shoot everyone as they went through.
On the DMZ the shelling continued. As the troops took cover, one soldier was horrified to see a wave of men pour through the fence on the North Korean side and make their way toward them. Mines went off everywhere, but the human wave kept coming. After a warning cry, the men began firing into the wave. In a minute the shelling stopped and the sound of the rapid fire machine guns filled the air. More mines went off — this time allied. The machine guns emptied case after case of ammunition and in some cases, the barrels began to melt. Yet the wave continued to make its way across the DMZ. Suddenly North Korean soldiers appeared behind the men at the Z. They fired their weapons into the trenches and other emplacements. As the human wave came through the barbed wire on the South Korean side, the firing had stopped.