by Unknown
“Buckle up,” said Ricks as he put the vehicle into gear and moved off.
The roads were not as they once were. On occasion there were potholes made by the ravages of war. But it was early March and the roads were at least mostly dry now. Civilian traffic was still sparse in the newly liberated areas, but life was returning to the countryside. All along the way Petyr provided a travelogue of where they were and the history of the area. It was obvious that Petyr was proud of his homeland. Ricks noticed a change in him as they got closer to his home. He talked less as the anticipation built up.
By five that evening the Humvee turned down the dirt road leading to the house he remembered seeing in the drone monitors. They pulled up beside the house and stopped. Mr. Polski came out of the door along with Petyr’s father. Ricks was the first out and smiled and said hello. There was a sudden gasp from behind the men. Freda rushed past the men and threw her arms around Petyr as he came around the back of the vehicle. He twirled her around in his arms before kissing her passionately. Only after Ricks gave a cough did Petyr step back. By now the whole family was out, welcoming both men. Petyr became surrounded by his mother, sister, brother and Freda. It was a while before they finally escorted the men toward the door.
Ricks held up a hand. “If you can help, we brought a few things for the family,” he said. Mr. Polski and the two boys translated to the others and they all went to the back of the Humvee. It was loaded with boxes of food and a few pieces of equipment. Everyone grabbed something and they all went inside. As the food was put away, Ricks brought the men into the small living room. He opened up some of the equipment.
“This is something that will generate electricity for you and your family. We are handing these out to all the farms to use until the main power comes back on,” he said. “Tomorrow morning we will hook it up and you will have electricity at least during the day,” he said. Ricks then pulled out two plates. When they were uncovered, they glowed like an electric bulb. “This can provide light at night,” he said. The men began talking about the equipment, asked lots of questions and wondering how it all worked.
In a small room in the back, Petyr sat with Freda holding her hand. “For a long time I thought you were dead. I never felt so sad and alone. Then when I saw you on my screen, it was all I could do not to get in a vehicle and come to you. I can’t live my life without you. It was almost unbearable,” he said softly to her.
“Petyr, you know I feel the same way. With the Russians gone, we will be able to start our lives again. The war can’t last that much longer,” she said.
Petyr took a breath. “I don’t know. We are doing well, but Russia is a big country and they have a lot of people and equipment. It may be a while yet,” he sighed.
“Then we can be patient and wait. The time will come. Then we will make a family together. I am told the university will make special places for anyone who served. So our plans are the same, just delayed,” she assured him. “Where are you going when you leave us?”
“Berlin. They want me to help design operations of the drones I have been flying. I don’t know how long I will be there, but maybe we will be able to visit again on the way back,” Petyr said.
Freda snuggled up to him. “That would be nice,” she said.
They heard Petyr’s mother calling everyone to dinner. “Let’s go eat, then you bring your things in here with me. Camille is going to sleep upstairs.”
Petyr gave her a look. She smiled back. “We may need some practice for those children,” she said before leaving the room.
USS Iowa
Like in the Korean War, Richardson had the Iowa, North Carolina and the Wisconsin patrolled along the coasts. As a result, the Russians pulled back inland by at least 25 miles or suffered the consequences. It was unfortunate that the Crimea was only about 23 miles wide. It meant that until they surrendered, the Russian Army was going to be hit almost constantly. LCDR Jeffers found himself stationed as the Officer of the Deck during General Quarters. The Iowa took some getting used to. On the Kings Mountain, he felt as if the ship would turn on a dime. The Iowa was slower, almost stately as she made her turns. It took a lot to make 58,000 tons move in a different direction.
The good part of it was that he was there to watch every gunshoot. Jeffers had thought the Kings Mountain was the ultimate warship, but now he was being swayed. Nothing could compare to the immense firepower of the Iowa’s 16-inch guns. The fact this was nearly 100 year old technology was even more impressive.
Today, the Iowa was off a small town called Yakovenkove. The Russian Army was in a headlong retreat along the center of the Crimea and was currently near Hornostaivka, just 13 miles inland. Wisconsin was already shelling the road near Ivanifka, five miles east of the town. The remotely piloted vehicles were not in use. The cloak would not permit their operation. However, the targets were clearly visible from spots one and two. On the Iowa, Master Chief Skelly had his eyes on a long column of trucks making its way along the road.
“Target in sight, Captain,” Jeffers reported. Up forward the big 16-inch turrets had already turned and the barrels were pointed toward the column. “The weapons officer is requesting batteries released.”
Rhodes scammed the ship’s starboard side to make sure the range was clear, then ordered, “batteries released.”
All nine 16-inch guns roared out almost at once. Jeffers saw the black shapes of the projectiles briefly as they sped away from the ship toward their target. Almost immediately the guns lowered to loading position as more shells and powder were loaded into the breeches. A little over thirty seconds later a second salvo left the ship. Jeffers was watching as water suddenly erupted just three hundred yards from the Iowa’s starboard side. “Counterbattery, starboard side,” he called out as he began scanning the shoreline to try and get a glimpse of where the fire was coming from. The second splash was only 100 yards from the ship. This time, Jeffers saw a puff of smoke coming from a clump of trees near a brick home with a pointed metal roof. Jeffers called out, “I have it,” as he took a bearing from the gyro repeater on the starboard side. “The target bears 003 in that clump of trees,” he said.
Rhodes hit the bitch box. “Secondary Plot, Bridge, counterbattery bearing 003 in a clump of trees. Engage with the secondary battery,” he ordered.
“We have the target, engaging now,” came the reply.
In the starboard 5-inch mounts the men suddenly had something to shoot at. The crews slammed the round and its propellant into the trays and the rammer was shoved home. Nearly all the mounts fired at the same time giving off a loud crack which was actually more disturbing than the 16-inch’s boom. Jeffers saw sand and debris begin rising all around the area as round after round was flung at them. He saw a flash and flame as the gun’s ammunition was hit. He also saw what looked like the remnants of a gun and its carriage flung into the air. “They got him,” Jeffers reported.
The 5-inch stopped firing and the Weapons officer reported target destroyed. Meanwhile, the 16-inch guns were still firing at the primary target. Most of the trucks in the convoy were now either burning or overturned. The men in Spot One could see people running everywhere trying to get away from the devastation. It had only taken about ten minutes. Rhodes called main battery plot. “Do we have any more targets?” he asked.
“Skelley says everything’s been given the once over. He says there isn’t much left to shoot at but people,” came the reply.
“Very well, cease fire,” he ordered. The big guns fell silent. Turning to Jeffers, Rhodes said, “Let’s take the ship offshore so that they can’t take any more pot shots at us.”
Jeffers said, “Aye, Captain. JOOD, come left to 200. Increase speed to 15 knots.” As the order was relayed, the ship made its way away from the shore. “Captain, I’d like to take us out at least ten miles. That would be far enough away to keep from getting hit and still close enough to respond to call for fire.”
“Make it so,” said Rhodes. He called Main Battery Plot again.
“Weapons Officer, is that the last that you see in our sector?”
“Yes, Captain. They’re not seeing anything else up top. I plan on keeping a watch up there scanning the area just in case,” the Weapons Officer said.
“Good plan. I’m going to stand us down to Condition Two to let everyone get something to eat. Let me know if you find anything,” Rhodes said.
“Will do, Captain.”
“Officer of the Deck, stand down from general quarters. Set Condition Two. Tell the cooks to feed the crew as quickly as we can,” he ordered.
With general quarters relaxed, the regular watch came up to the bridge and people began moving around the ship again. The regular OOD relieved Jeffers and they reported to the Captain.
Rhodes got up from his seat and walked out with Jeffers. “Rod, you seem to be fitting in pretty well. Are things going well in the department?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. I’ve got a few things of my own going on now and I’m sure Boats Patnaude will keep me from getting too far out of line,” Jeffers said.
Rhodes chucked. “You know, when I was still an enlisted man, Boats was my superior. I liked working for him then and do now. He still lets me know if I need to do anything,” he said with a smile. “But you’re right. Just listen to what he says and you’ll do fine. I saw your suggestion for a display board. I like the idea. Have you got what you may need?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll get with the engineers to hang it once we’re done. If nothing else it will be impressive,” said Jeffers.
“That it will. Keep handy in case we have a call for fire. We may go back to GQ at any time,” Rhodes said as he entered his sea cabin behind the bridge.
Jeffers made his way down to his cabin to take off his heavy coat and cap. The wardroom was already filling for lunch. It seemed a little more open now that the Russian sailors had been sent over to the LSD. Jeffers had gotten to know a few of the enlisted sailors. They were like most other sailors. They worked hard and seemed to enjoy pitching in. Some actually didn’t want to go. He remembered the faces of a few when they saw the first gunshoot while aboard. None had ever seen anything like what the ship could do. After that several seemed to take some pride at being aboard.
Lunch was about halfway over when the general quarters alarm sounded again. Jeffers quickly donned his foul weather gear and went to the bridge. It would be another afternoon of shooting.
Krakow
It was Sasha’s turn to get up and light the stove and the fireplace to start the day. Everyone took turns so that his mother could sleep a little later and wake up to a warm house. The sun was just peeking over the horizon as he placed the wood into the stove. The small stuff was always first, followed by larger blocks on top. After making sure the flue was open, he opened a small port, struck the match and lit the kindling on the bottom layer. He had actually put some paper in under the kindling just in case. Within a minute the flames were licking at the larger blocks. Next, he went to the ceramic stove that sat almost in the center of the house. He opened the fire box and checked inside. As usual, there were still embers burning from the night before. Like the stove, he placed a handful of kindling over the embers and began to blow on them. Almost immediately the kindling caught. It was only a matter of feeding the larger sticks and then larger wood into the box until the flames reached the perfect height. Soon the heat began permeating through the ceramic and warming the whole house.
Sasha headed back to his room when he noticed something strange. Standing beside the couch were two artificial legs. He was staring at them when he heard a voice.
“Good morning,” said Ricks, lying on the couch.
Sasha almost jumped. He looked over at Ricks. “Sorry. I did not mean to stare,” he said in broken English.
Ricks sat up on the couch. The layers of blankets that had kept him snuggly warn through the night were pushed back and Sasha saw the stumps of Ricks’ legs as they swung around. Ricks shook his head. “No, it’s okay. It is not often you see such things,” he said.
“Did you sleep well?” Sasha asked.
“The best I’ve slept in a month.” Ricks reached down and grabbed a leg, inserting it into the pin and wrapping the plastic membrane up the stump. After finishing with both legs he saw Sasha staring at his efforts. “I lost these in the Korean War,” he said to the young man.
“What happened?”
Ricks smiled. “It’s a long story,” he began. Quietly he told Sasha about the mission to rescue the school children and how the North Koreans were holding them as hostages while they were shooting at the American forces with a gun on an upper floor. As he was telling the story, Rudy came down tucking in his shirt. He too sat down to listen. For some reason, Ricks related every detail, telling them on the young Marine lieutenant named Dickson who had been killed during the mission, how they had been getting the children out when the North Korean’s opened fire. In the middle of telling the story, Ricks realized he had never told anyone what had happened that night. It was like putting down something old and reaching for something new. He began feeling refreshed.
“Then the explosion happened on the floor above us. All I remembered after that was the ceiling falling. I woke up in the hospital looking at my wife’s face,” he said with a smile. “For a little bit I felt sorry for myself, but then my wife, Su Lynn, told me we were going to have a baby. Well, a guy can’t feel sorry for himself when he’s going to be a father. In just over a month, I put these on and I’ve been walking on them ever since,” he concluded.
“You are still in the Army?” asked Rudy.
Ricks nodded. “Yep, and I can still get around with my troops. So I always tell people never to let things get you down. There is a way to make things happen,” he said, slapping Rudy on the arm.
“That’s a good story,” said Mr. Polski, leaning against the doorpost. “I would believe that you have many more. Did you get a medal for that effort?” he asked.
Ricks blushed slightly. “Yes, I got the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. The big one, I got for an earlier action,” he said shyly.
Petyr’s mother came out of her room like a breath of fresh air. “Good morning,” she said as she passed through the room. “I hope you slept well, Mister Ricks,” she said in Polish. The boys translated for her.
“Very good, Ma’am. Thank you for your hospitality,” Ricks said.
“Good. Now I will fix a nice breakfast,” she said as she breezed into the kitchen.
The door opened from the third room and Petyr came out. His hair was mussed and he looked like he had just thrown on some clothing. He came over and plopped down next to Ricks. “Hi,” he said rubbing his eyes.
Ricks took a sniff and turned up his nose. “Pete, you need to wash up,” he said quietly. Sasha broke into a wide grin.
“What do you mean?” asked Petyr.
“Dummy,” said Sasha. Rudy poked Sasha in the arm.
Ricks almost laughed. He leaned in close. “Because you smell like a brothel. We can tell you were busy last night,” he whispered.
Petyr’s eyes went wide. He jumped from the couch and made his way outside where he grabbed a work bucket and filled it at the pump. Grabbing a rag, he took the bucket back into the bedroom and closed the door.
Sasha sat back and laughed hard. Even Ricks sat back and chuckled. Rudy got a disgusted look on his face and left the room. In a few minutes, Petyr came out looking much better. He had put on a clean uniform and had combed his hair. A few minutes later, Freda came out, brushing her hair and trying to look as if nothing had happened. It only fueled the fire for Sasha. He started to say something more when Mr. Kursov called him onto another room. They came back and Sasha sat down in a chair to sulk.
The rest of the day was a blur. The warm house and good conversation kept everyone in good spirits despite the war still raging just miles away. Later in the morning, the men went outside and set up the electric panel. A metal stand was driven into the ground and set in a position so that the panel woul
d have sun all day. The panel was attached and the heavy insulated leads were run to where the electric cables were attached to the house. Following the instructions, the leads were bolted on.
Inside the house, the women were working on lunch when they heard the refrigerator come on. The overhead light also came on. Camille went over and felt along the heating strips on the baseboards of the house. They were putting out heat. Just to be sure, Freda went over to the electric stove that hadn’t been used since the Russians had invaded. Upon turning on an element, she felt it began to get hot. As the men came in, she exclaimed, “We have electricity back. Everything is working!”
With the electricity back on, Mrs. Kursov threw open the rest of the shutters and sunlight poured into the rooms. She began humming and singing tunes while she worked. It was the first time Anton Kursov had seen her happy in a long time.
In the late afternoon, after hours of telling stories and sharing experiences, Ricks stood and stretched. He called over to Petyr. “Pete, why don’t we walk back to that lake you were telling me about? I need to stretch out a bit,” he said.
Petyr grabbed his heavy jacket and led Ricks outside. They had driven the Humvee into the barn and Ricks went inside to get his gloves. The wind was still very cold but the two could tell there was a thaw in the air. In the barn, Ricks could see Mr. Polski liked keeping things neat and orderly. A number of farm implements were mounted on one wall from axes to scythes and other implements. Ricks felt of the edge of one of the tools and was pleased to see it was sharp as a razor. Being from a farm himself, he appreciated someone who knew how to take care of their tools.
The walk to the lake was pleasant. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the air was clean and crisp. Coming up on the trees, Ricks could see the evergreens swaying in the wind. The lake itself was beautiful, although the scene was marred by tons of leftover equipment where the Russians had left it. A number of boxes of stores had been opened and gone through.