by Earl Nelson
The United States Army was made to look foolish because they had put me on trial without checking my story.
Dad made certain that the Kennedys got thrown under the bus.
I asked him why they were trying to get me.
“They weren’t Rick, they were trying to get at your Mum. She kicked old Joe Kennedy where it hurt when he tried to force his way with her.”
“They started it; I’m going to finish it.”
“Rick, you have been in China. You must have heard the Confucius saying on revenge.”
“You mean the one about if you start out for revenge you should dig two graves?”
“That one, don’t do it.”
The next day I was out of the US Army, it was like I had never been in. There were no discharge papers as all my entry papers appeared to be gone
Chapter 48
I had to give in and be interviewed. If nothing else to pay Dad back for having all his media, there.
I told my story to the gathered group of reporters on the bleachers set aside for such an event outside of Jackson House. As Mum said you never let them inside, they might piddle on the floor.
Along with my story, there was an information packet with a copy of all the correspondence back and forth, also notes on times and dates when phone calls were exchanged.
After my statement, the questions started. The first question was.
“Is there anything else you should have told them during that interview?”
“That I speak Russian, Mandarin, and Spanish?”
“What about your full title and medals?”
“You mean Colonel Duke of Hong Kong Richard Jackson GC, KG, OBE, KCVO, LoH, NOVKCO, GS.”
I had to explain the two, National Order of South Vietnam Knight Grand Cross and the Gold Star award from North Vietnam. I took great delight in telling them the Gold Star was equal to the Hero of the Soviet Union.
“Yes, those honors.”
“He had me taken to jail before I could.”
Knowing that someone would have to pay a price I knew that Lieutenant's career was over before it started.
When asked if I had contacted any of the high-level people that I knew like the Queen of England or the President of the United States, I told them they would have to ask them.
I had given serious thought to what Dad and Confucius said, if I tried for revenge, I would have to dig two graves. Instead, I would bide my time, events would overcome the Kennedys, that or Mum would get them first.
Why they were trying to avenge the damage done to their father who earned it I didn’t understand. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of continuing a feud.
After that interview, I had some housekeeping details to take care of. I called Mr. Norman in England and updated him on the whole turn of events. He told me that the Queen wouldn’t be taking questions on the event.
I contacted the Bank of Guizhou to set up to guarantee a line of credit for the North Vietnamese.
I did receive a call from the White House. It was the President's Chief of Staff. He wanted to know how mad I was at the Kennedy brothers. I told him I wasn’t, I was going to ignore the whole incident.
“Then you won’t be moving new business offshore?”
“I said I wasn’t mad, not stupid. If they tried something like this once, they would try it again. I don’t know what they have against the Jackson family but remind them about Confucius’s saying on revenge.”
“What is that?”
“Look it up.”
“So, you are moving business offshore.?”
“Once again I’m not moving existing business offshore, just any new expansions or new ventures.”
“What new ventures?”
“If I come up with any new ventures!”
“Okay, I get it now. Next, are you going to support anyone who runs against JFK?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“You are no help at all.”
“Says one of the guys who tried to mess with my life.”
“Nothing personal.”
“Please understand this, with me everything is personal. Try me again and find out, now good day.”
What I hadn’t said was if Richard Nixon was to run against JFK, I wouldn’t support him. I had dealt with him when Ike was in office. I just didn’t care for him.
After that phone call, I placed a call to my house in Spain to see how things were going. They were doing well and had held a thanksgiving mass to celebrate my escape from the Soviet Union and again for my escape from the US Army.
People were getting the wrong idea; the US Army is an honorable institution that I would serve in if circumstances warranted. They had been subverted for political purposes.
I then called Nina to see how she was holding up under the glare of publicity. I ended up talking to her Dad. I had forgotten that she had started college.
He told me she was doing fine and that she seemed to be adjusting to college life with no problems. He asked how I was doing with all my recent adventures.
“Surprisingly well, Mr. Monroe. Unlike with the Soviets, I didn’t have to burn anything down to get out of the army.
“That’s good, I hate to think how that would have turned out.”
“I was kidding, but it was in bad taste. How are things in the movie industry?”
“I’m glad you asked, we have a movie coming up that I would like you to do a cameo appearance.”
“What is the movie?”
“Its working title is, ‘Escape from Siberia.”
“You got to be kidding!”
“The story, or the cameo?”
“Both!”
“Your escape from Siberia has gained a lot of attention. This is not meant to be a documentary. It is a story based on your escape.”
“That I get. Now, why would I want to do a cameo?”
“Because it is a B-movie, and I can’t afford your pay scale for it.”
“You can’t afford my pay scale, does this mean it is a studio project?”
“Yes.”
“Let me buy into the movie for points and I will do the cameo for free.”
“We need ten million to make the movie. The studio has five with no problem. I’m about to talk to the bankers about the rest.”
“For fifty percent I will front the other five million.”
“Deal.”
“How soon will this start?”
“I want to put some footage in the can before years end.”
“I will be in China for the next couple of weeks but will be back here for Christmas. It would be good to get my scene in then.”
“Thanks, Rick, you are a good guy.”
“Not everyone would agree with you, tell Nina I called, and I wish her well.”
“I will. I’ll get the papers over to your attorney.”
“He’s my next call.”
I did make that the next call, it would be embarrassing to forget a five-million-dollar commitment.
I also asked Jim Williamson to get me an update on the dig and park in England.
At dinner, I told Mum and Dad about my call from the White House and how it went. They thought I had handled it as well as I could. The ball was really in Kennedy’s hands. If they wanted to continue a feud that made no sense they could.
It was like RFK’s fight with the Teamster Union. Why would he fight his natural allies? Not that I would want Jimmy Hoffa as an ally.
The next morning, I was up early for my flight to China. I was getting the flying hours in. I might be able to take a check ride with the FAA on this plane if I kept it up.
Almost twenty hours later we landed in Beijing after refueling in Tokyo. I had eaten and gotten eight hours in my logbook plus eight hours of sleep. This was the way to travel.
I was met at the plane by one of the Empress’ staff. They had the latest model Cadillac limo. With those fins, it looked like it could take off. I’m not sure what they added but they looked neat.
I was led to a private audience with the Empress.
“Richard, it is good to see you looking well. I was fearful for your life when the Soviets captured you.
We had our agents trying to find which gulag you had been sent to. If we could have identified it, I would have troops sent in to bring you out.”
“I’m glad you didn’t, they still had nuclear bombs then.”
“It would have been messy, but we owe you too much.”
“I’m free now and the Soviet Union no longer exists. All their former satellites are forming their own governments now.”
“I heard a rumor that you wanted to break Siberia off from Russia to deny them their raw materials.”
“I did, but I was told that is a bad idea.”
“It would be if an outside force invaded Russia, but what if there was an internal group that wanted to break away?
“That would work, the UN would have to stay out of it. The key would still be the Trans-Siberian Railway.”
“I have it on good authority that the Buryats share, and their Mongolian cousins would feel more comfortable separated from Russia. Recently there has been a large influx of young men from here in China who are interested in helping the Buryats and the Mongols separate from Russia.”
“It would have to be done carefully.”
“Some of the people from the Ministry of State Security would like to have your help in understanding the trans-Siberian railway and how the Russian armed forces are distributed along with it.”
“Only if they pay me one yuan.”
“Why?”
“So, the next time the CIA drags me in for questioning I can tell them I work for the MSS.”
“You are a bad boy.”
Once she said that she looked at me again.
“I was wrong, you are a bad man.”
Chapter 49
My conversation with MSS was interesting. They had me tell my story while recording it. They thanked me for my time. Their next step would be to have various groups listen to it and come up with a list of questions.
This was much better for me than having to go over it multiple times. It sounded good until I was handed the list of questions two days later.
It took me another two days to come up with answers which resulted in another list of questions. By the fourth time through I thought I liked the CIA and MI6 method of sitting you down and going through it until they wrung you dry.
It took them three days, while the MSS process took over a week and I don’t think they got any more information than the first two groups.
Where it got interesting is when they asked my opinion of how to conquer Siberia. I told them the railway was the key, whoever controls it controls a good portion of the world.
I would plan to capture the major port city of Vladivostok. This would prevent reinforcement by sea and would also gain control of the largest airport in the region.
I would choose how large of a chunk of Siberia I wanted, presumably up to the Ural Mountain range. I would put as large of a blocking force in place there as I could manage.
I would then collect every Red army position one at a time starting at Vladivostok and moving west, defeating them in detail.
That was it for my strategic overview. I threw in thoughts about making sure the rolling stock kept rolling as it would be needed for logistical support.
When asked how long this would take. I replied, “the average speed of the trans-Siberian railway is a grand twenty-five mile an hour. You do the arithmetic. Control of each station along the way gives control of that area.”
“In theory, this would be a week. In reality, I would allow two months.”
“If nothing else it will take time to rebuild the tracks and remove damaged engines and cars from when the Russians bomb them. Even running at night, they will give you a hard time.”
“I think your biggest problem will be running out of rails and engines before you control the entire stretch.”
“Anything you could do to take out the Russian bombers and their airfields first would be to your benefit.”
“That is all I can think of, now you should let your General staff come up with a real plan.”
My MSS questioner chuckled at that.
“You have not been told.”
“Told what?”
“The Empress has appointed you to the General staff of the Chinese Army. She ordered you to be questioned in this manner so that we could get your thoughts without being intimidated by all the Generals.”
Oh great, now I’m in the Chinese and British Armies and just kicked out of the American. There has to be a jailable offense somewhere in this mess.
I soon had my answer in an audience with the Empress.
“Queen Elizabeth has seconded you to my army as an observer of our practices. She also asks that you answer any questions we may have on your recent Soviet journey.”
She handed me a document from the Coldstream Guards which confirmed my secondment. At least I wouldn’t be going to jail. That is unless the UN caught on to what was happening, and then I would be tried by the World Court.
I would probably end up in Spandau. At least I would have the time to learn German.
I did attend General staff meetings where I was ignored. I would have ignored myself too.
They were assembling the invasion force in Manchuria. I went there as part of my observation duties. I learned quickly why a land war in Asia is unthinkable.
The Chinese had committed a million troops to the effort. It was like watching a stirred-up anthill.
They had built new airfields for the initial parachute drop into Yekaterinburg. This city is on the western slope of the Urals. The next stop on the railway going west is Perm, about two hundred miles away. The troops had orders once they took Yekaterinburg to tear up as much track as they could towards Perm.
I wondered how they could do this, none of their aircraft would fly that far without refueling. It was explained to me that there would be several parachute drops. They would drop troops to seize an area, then engineers with their equipment to build runways.
These were to be bulldozed dirt runways to start. Speed was of the essence. Fuel would be flown in for the planes to get to the next dump.
I didn’t understand how that many men could be moved in a reasonable amount of time. It turns out that two hundred planes carrying fifty troops each would put ten thousand men on the ground in no time.
They planned for failures so there would be three hundred planes involved.
These airfields were in Mongolia to shorten the distances. Other troops were lined up to blitz Vladivostok.
Twelve hours before kickoff I asked the Empress if I could call the US President and give him a heads up so they wouldn’t overreact.
After a discussion with her advisors, she told me to make the call. I got through to the White House, but I was no longer on the put my calls through to the President or even the Chief of Staff.
It took me two undersecretaries and a director to get to the Chief of Staff.
“I need to talk to the President.”
“What about?”
“A revolution in Russia is about to happen and the Chinese are going in on the side of the rebels.”
“How do you know this?”
“I have been seconded to the Chinese General staff as an Observer for the British army.”
“I knew we should have kept you as a private.”
“I hope that was a joke.”
“Take it as you will, here is the President.”
I explained what was going down and the US may want to put its forces on alert but not get involved.
“I will take advice from my staff.”
“Good idea, you just don’t want
to tangle with the one million troops the Chinese have involved unless you are prepared to go Nuclear in violation of all your treaties.”
“I don’t like you, Rick, especially when you are right.”
“Okay, got to go, got a war to observe.”
Yeah, I’m not that mature.
I found out that things never go as planned in war, that sleep is a thing of the past and that you never have time even to sleep.
The first part of the invasion went off without a hitch. Yekaterinburg was secured within the first week. That sounds like a long time, but it was far ahead of the Russian response.
Moscow wasn’t even aware they were in a war for the first two days, so the first forward airfields had been constructed and useable. Paratroopers dropped on Yekaterinburg on the third day, which was the first the Russians knew they were under attack.
The city fell quickly.
The Chinese commander on-site rounded up all the rolling stock he could and went towards Perm. Twenty-five miles from the city he had his men work backward pulling rail and loading it on cars as they went.
Ants can accomplish a tremendous amount, no one of them can do much, ten thousand of them a lot. Reinforcements were being flown into Yekaterinburg daily. I think by the eighth day they had thirty thousand troops in the zone.
The rails were pulled back from Perm by the tenth day and all bridges dropped. The Russians now would have a logistical nightmare to get men and supplies across the Urals. It was also now winter so General Winter would be against them. The Chinese would have until spring to consolidate.
Vladivostok surrendered the city as soon as the first troops came into sight. The Russian warships in harbor steamed immediately. If the Chinese had a navy to speak of, they could have captured them all.
As it was the Russian East Asian fleet got free but now had to steam over halfway around the world to get back to a Russian port.
Of course, this was a Chinese invasion. I had given up talking about the so-called rebels except for my calls to England and the US to update their leaders on how things were going.