by James Rosone
Looking at his partner, Pappi replied, “It’s OK to shed a tear, Daniels. I never thought I’d drop a nuclear bomb either. Let’s just hope this was successful and the war will now come to an end.”
Chapter 29
End of an Era
Beijing, China
August First Building
Ministry of National Defense HQ
General Yang Yin stared at the remaining PLA generals of the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Rocket Force as he finished reading over the final terms of the surrender. The looks on the faces of these generals indicated that many of them were not happy with the terms. Several looked like they wanted to openly challenge him for leadership of the country.
General Zhao Keshi, the general in command of the Eastern theater of operations, shook his head and then slammed his fist down on the table. “This is unacceptable! This humiliation is not something I can accept. We must fight on if these are the terms of the agreement.”
General Sun Jianguo blurted out, “I will not accept these terms! My army group will continue to fight if you agree to these terms!” He stared daggers at Yang.
Many of the generals seated before him were senior in age and time served with the military, especially in comparison to Yang. They had resented that President Xi had promoted him to Head of the PLA ahead of them, despite the fact that he was one of the few generals to bring China any military victories. General Yang became concerned over the possibility that the generals before him might openly revolt over the proposed deal.
He took a deep breath and let it out. While he was formulating a response, General Du Hengyan, the head of the PLA’s strategic rocket forces, spoke up. “I have to disagree, General Sun. These are generous terms, and in light of what has happened to President Xi and the rest of the CMC, I don’t see that we have a choice.” As the general in charge of China’s nuclear weapons, General Du held a lot of sway within the PLA. He was also the oldest general in the army. Despite his age, he had taken a liking to General Yang and, like Xi, had seen him as the future of the PLA.
General Sun responded, “You of all people should want to retaliate against the Americans, Du! This is the second time the Americans have used a nuclear weapon against China.”
“And we have already obliterated Oakland and San Francisco, Sun,” Du countered. “Do you not realize that to retaliate further would only invite further nuclear catastrophe on our people? Even now, the enemies are at the gate to this very city. They have us encircled. With the loss of Shanghai, and Guangdong, the war is lost.”
“The war is not lost until we accept defeat!” shouted General Sun. “I, for one, do not accept defeat. We have already been arming the populace, and we’ve formed nearly three million of them into newly created militia battalions. We can continue to create militia battalions until we’ve wiped these invaders from our land.” His eyes smoldered.
General Zhao nodded. “Even now, I’m readying an offensive that will push the enemy back from the capital. You have to let me launch my attack, General Yang. At least give me the chance to try and win,” he said, pleading for one more offensive.
General Yang sighed deeply. He’d personally reviewed the defenses of the city, and they were solid, the best defensive network he’d ever seen. He knew it would be difficult for the Allies to break through, but he also knew with no real way to stop the Allied air forces, it was only a matter of time until they bombed those positions into oblivion.
“They still can’t see that we are defeated?” Yang thought. He wondered how many more lives would need to be lost before they would accept that they couldn’t win.
Sitting forward, Yang looked each general in the eyes. Then he replied, “Zhao, let’s assume your offensive is successful and you push the enemy back from Beijing. Then what? What happens next?” He paused long enough for them to think about that question before continuing, “Our air force has fought valiantly, but they have been defeated and can no longer stop the Allies from attacking us at will. If we have no air cover, the enemy air forces will pound our forces into the dirt. If every armored column is attacked before it can even reach the battlefield, how can we mount a counteroffensive?
“What do we do about Shanghai? Or Guangdong? How are we going to liberate those cities and provinces if our rails and roads are constantly being bombed? How do we supply our forces with bullets when our factories are constantly being attacked?” Shaking his head, he concluded, “No, gentlemen, we have been defeated. Now it’s time to end this war and rebuild our nation.”
“Traitor!” shouted General Sun. He stood and immediately made his way to the door. Several of the generals looked a bit startled at his sudden departure. A few of the guards looked at Yang as if asking for instructions.
Shaking his head, Yang said, “Let him go. Let him cool down. This is clearly an emotional moment for us all. That’s why we must think carefully about our next move—tens of millions of our fellow citizens may die. We have already lost millions of people…can we truly justify continuing the war, knowing that millions more will die with no chance of victory?”
Having built up some more resolve, General Yang stood up, placing both of his hands on the table in front of him as he leaned forward slightly, allowing himself to look down on the remaining military leaders of China.
“Our nation has always held the long view when it came to policy, economics, and our military. We deviated from that view when President Xi led us into this war. Our nation was not only on track to be the dominant economic power in the world—we would have become the dominant military in a couple more decades.”
He paused to let some of that sink in. “We acted too soon,” he explained. “We rushed our plans and deviated from our long-standing policy of thinking long-term. The war is over. The sooner we can accept that, the sooner we can begin to rebuild our nation. This defeat has also given us the opportunity to reshape our country. To reshape our economy and remodel our military. It’s time we threw off the shackles of Maoism and Marxism and learned to fully embrace our own unique Chinese version of capitalism. We can’t let the economic revival of the last thirty years be lost by returning to the old order. It’s time we look to the future.”
It took a few minutes for his words to sink in, but once they had, many of the generals at the table nodded in agreement. They knew change was coming, and if they jumped on board with Yang, at least they’d have a guiding hand in where the country would go next. After another hour of talks, it was settled. They would accept the terms of surrender and bring an end to the Third World War and the Communist People’s Republic of China.
The official end of the war and surrender would take place in a ceremony at the Forbidden City on November 11, 2019, just two days away, exactly one hundred and one years after the end of the Great War, the War to End All Wars. Following the official signing, General Yang Yin would detonate a charge that would destroy Mao’s tomb, figuratively and symbolically ending China’s 70-year communist government and ushering in a new era.
Chapter 30
Characters’ Fates
Command Sergeant Major Luke Childers eventually went on to become the Sergeant Major of the Army six years following the end of World War III. He officially retired from the Army with thirty-four years of service as the most decorated Sergeant Major of the Army in history with the following awards: Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, three Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with a V device, four Purple Hearts, Meritorious Service Medal, four Commendation Medals and three Achievement Medals. Childers retired to his native home, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.
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Lieutenant Colonel Tim Schoolman retired with twenty-one years of service following the end of the war. With the loss of his family at the outset of the war, he returned to an empty home and fell into a deep depression and alcoholism. Two years after retiring, he decided he could no longer go on with the loss of his family and no further war to fight. He committed suicide on the second anniversary of his retirement.
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Captain Jack Taylor left the Army as a major after ten years of service, once his student loans had been fully forgiven. He went on to lead a quiet life with his family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a certified public accountant.
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First Lieutenant Ian Slater rose to the rank of major before leaving the Army after ten years of service. He did eventually complete his mechanical engineering degree and went to work at Tesla like his older brother. He would eventually retire from the California Army National Guard as a colonel twenty years later. A year after the war ended, the Silver Star medal he had been awarded in Korea was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the battle of the Yalu River and subsequent escape from capture the following day.
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Brigadier General Micah Tilman went on to become a four-star general and eventually became the occupation commander for Allied forces in Asia at the end of the occupation term. He was a Marines’ Marine and went on to work for many veterans’ organizations following his retirement after thirty-four years of service to the Corps.
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Lieutenant Colonel Tim Long continued his distinguished career in the Marines, eventually rising to the rank of four-star general and becoming the Commandant of the Marines. He retired after thirty-six years of service as the most decorated Marine in the Corps’s history. Six months following the end of the war, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Fei-ts Ui Reservoir during the liberation of Taiwan.
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Captain Bennie McRae rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired. The day after he retired, he won $3 million dollars on a scratch-off lottery ticket. He took his money and military retirement and moved to a quiet ranch in Wyoming, where he worked on perfecting his hobby of fly fishing.
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Lieutenant Colonel Rob “Pappi” Fortney had a wild and tumultuous marriage to his copilot, Double D, which lasted all of three months. Though they truly were the only people in the world to have had the same unique experience, they processed it very differently. Daniels’ nightmares haunted her, and she fell into a deep depression, which she self-medicated with booze and excessive shopping. Fortney faced his demons head-on. He found support groups, attended therapy, and eventually received a specially trained dog to help him cope.
After getting out of the military, he felt that he needed to do something to give back to humanity, so he became a high school football coach in the inner city. Helping others gave him a deeper purpose and made it easier to get out of the prison of his own mind. Although he was never completely free of the dreams that pervaded his sleep, his life during waking hours helped him to find new meaning and move forward.
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President Wally Foss felt elated that the war had finally ended, but utterly spent as a man. While he had taken over as President when Gates had been assassinated, Wally had never actually wanted to be President. He had been happy to be the Vice President, working his connections in Congress to help move the President’s agenda through the halls where he had once walked and worked himself. The immense pressure of leading the United States of America and knowing that fate of humanity hung on many of the decisions he made was more than he could shoulder. When the war ended, he made the decision that rocked his supporters and political party, and he opted not to run for reelection. Just like Lyndon Johnson during the height of the Vietnam War, the thought of four more years as President was just too much. He didn’t feel he possessed the strength to lead the nation and the world through the reconstruction and peace years that lay ahead.
When his term ended on January 20, 2021, he retired to his native state of Indiana and a much quieter, reclusive life where he would focus on doing what he could to help the veterans of the greatest war the world had ever seen learn to reintegrate back into the society they had sacrificed so much to protect.
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Secretary of Defense James Castle was determined to make sure the politicians didn’t screw up the peace deals or the much-needed reconstruction period that would be pivotal to holding the world together. Just as General Marshall and President Truman had known Germany and Japan would need to be rebuilt following the end of the war, Castle was determined to make sure Russia and China were cultivated and brought back into the fold of peaceful nations.
When President Foss announced that he would not seek reelection, Castle knew this was his chance to lead the nation and the world into a bright new future. He quickly submitted his resignation as Secretary of Defense and the following day announced his candidacy for President. Despite having no prior political experience, his popularity and high approval rating from his handling of the war led to a massive electoral win.
As the new President, he vowed to lead the world and the country into a new era of peace and economic prosperity.
For the Veterans
The following story about PTSD has been shared from many platforms, and since the author is unknown, it is unclear who the original source was. However, it echoed my own experience so much that I felt it would be important to share. We did make small grammatical changes to the original content as we first found it:
A soldier with PTSD fell into a hole and couldn’t get out. When a SNCO walked by, the soldier called out for help, but the SNCO yelled back, "Suck it up son, dig deep and drive on," then threw him a shovel. The Soldier did as he was told and dug that hole deeper.
A senior officer went by and the soldier called out for help again. The officer told him, "Use the tools your SNCO has given you." Then he threw him a bucket. The soldier used the tools and he dug the hole deeper still and filled the bucket.
A psychiatrist walked by. The soldier called, “Help! I can’t get out!”
So the psychiatrist gave him some drugs and said, "Take this. It will relieve the pain and you will forget about the hole.”
The soldier said, "Thanks," and followed his advice, but when the pills ran out, he was still in the hole.
A well-known psychologist rode by and heard the soldier's cries for help. He stopped and asked, “How did you get there? Were you born there? Did your parents put you there? Tell me about yourself, it will alleviate your sense of loneliness.”
So the Soldier talked with him for an hour. Then the psychologist had to leave, but he said he’d be back next week. The soldier thanked him, but he was still in the hole.
Another soldier, just like him, happened to be passing by. The soldier with PTSD cried out, “Hey, help me. I’m stuck in this hole!”
Right away, the other Soldier jumped down in there with him. The soldier with PTSD started to panic and said, “What are you doing? Now we’re both stuck down here!”
But the other Soldier just smiled and replied, “It’s Ok. Calm down, brother. I’ve been here before..... I know how to get out.”
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Please know, that no matter what you are going through, you are never alone. If you are struggling with PTSD, there is a whole community of military brothers and sisters who is ready to help support you and help you find a way to pull yourself out of the hole. Please don’t give up; keep going until you find the help that is right for you.
I have been pretty open with our fans about the fact that PTSD has had a tremendous direct impact on our lives; it affected my relationship with my wife, job opportunities, finances, parenting—everything. It is also no secret that for me, the help from the VA was not the most ideal form of treatment. Although I am still on this journey, I did find one organization that did assist the healing process for me, and I would like to share that information.
Welcome Home Initiative is a ministry of By His Wounds Ministry, and they run seminars for veterans and their spouses for free. The weekends are a combination of prayer and more traditional counseling and left us with resources to aid in moving forward. The entire cost of the retreat—hotel costs, food, and sessions—are completely free from the moment the veteran and their
spouse arrive at the location.
If you feel that you or someone you love might benefit from one of Welcome Home Initiative’s sessions, please visit their website to learn more: https://welcomehomeinitiative.org/
We have decided to donate a portion of our profits to this organization, because it made such an impact in our lives and we believe in what they are doing. If you would also like to donate to Welcome Home Initiative and help to keep these weekend retreats going, you can do so by following this link: https://welcomehomeinitiative.org/donate/
From the Authors
Miranda and I really hope that you enjoyed the Red Storm Series all the way to the conclusion. It’s been an incredible journey for us as authors. We are already working on our next series, but we have a bit more work to do before it’s ready for preorder. If you’d like to be notified of upcoming releases, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://www.author-james-rosone.com, at the bottom of the home page. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JamesRosone/, and interact with us about what types of characters you’d like to see in the next series, or read interesting posts about developments regarding the military.
While we are working on writing the next books, we will also be releasing audio book versions of many of our books. Prelude to World War III, Operation Red Dragon and Operation Red Dawn are all already available on Audible, and Cyber Warfare and the New World Order should be released around the time this book is published. Additionally, Battlefield Ukraine, Battlefield Korea, and Battlefield Taiwan will begin to be released at the end of the year, so if you have friends or family members that have been waiting for the books to come out in audio format, be sure to let them know. If they are new to Audible, they can have one of our audiobooks for free with the thirty-day trial.