“And a good day to you, Jason, although I know it is a most hectic one. We in Russia are not at all surprised. In fact, we have expected it before this but had nothing but vague signs upon which to base our judgments. It does not portend well for either of our countries. I know you have a treaty with South Korea, but your predecessor made it a known fact that he would not honor it after the South Koreans rather rudely expelled you from their country. Their leadership and their students did not believe the North would ever become sufficiently belligerent to come south, militarily speaking.
“Our main concern about it is whether or not the Chinese will come to their rescue as they did in the Korean War of the 1950s. We don’t have a good feel for that. There have long been signs of a slow, long militarization in western China, signs of infrastructure to support an invasion, but we don’t think they are aimed at us. Rather, they seem to be aimed more at India. Still, the development of rail lines, depots, and water storage basins in such a dry region do have considerable peaceful applications in development of that region. If China were to become involved, I would have expected expansion and mobilization along their border with North Korea.”
“Your points are all very valid, Vassily. I am afraid that, at the moment, I must agree with you. Is it possible that the weapons you have sold to China have been made available to the North Koreans?”
“That is possible, Jason. Those sales have contributed greatly to our stability and economy. As you are well aware, we have a gargantuan wrestling problem with the criminal element here, trying to get them at least under control if not entirely eliminated. We have not been as successful as we hoped in that endeavor. They can sell sophisticated weapons because of their tremendous influence in all areas of our society and economy. I hate to admit it, but they are as strong as the government here. Our intelligence has revealed that one criminal organization sold the blueprints of our latest submarine design to the Chinese. We are pursing that now, but short of assassination of these irresponsible individuals, our judicial system might not be able to bring them to justice. Our judicial system is corrupt, but that is another problem we are trying to deal with. No, I don’t think they could have, or would have, passed those on to North Korea. Certainly, North Korea would not have had the time to build, equip, man, and train such a submarine, let alone a fleet of them. In that respect, I do not see the North as a threat to your naval presence in the Yellow or South China Seas.”
Chapter 14
“Mr. President, one of the Mexicans trying to escape after the raid in Benson, Arizona that the Texas Highway Patrolman shot a month or two ago has been recovering in El Paso General Hospital. He has decided to talk in exchange for immunity. He thinks we might even let him become a U.S. citizen.
“He has revealed that these raids have been pretty much the work of one gang that approaches a military company in size, organization, financing, and logistics. He’s not sure of the precise location of their base. He comes from farther south in Mexico. He thought he was joining a revolutionary band at first. We have it down to a general area inside Mexico, where it is disguised as a fruits and vegetables farm of considerable size. The soldiers work as field hands between raids. He’s been with the gang for about a year.
“Some Orientals visited the farm a couple of times in the year he has been there. He thinks they might be supplying the weapons and cash to conduct these raids. At one time, they also grew a lot of marijuana, but right after a visit of these Orientals, they had to pull it all out and grind it up and mix it in cattle feed. Apparently, they have a cattle feeding operation of modest size. He has observed that they go on a raid a month or two after these Orientals come calling. He says they drive a nice, large air-conditioned car. It looks like there is one boss and a couple of bodyguards each time. The car has a California license plate. They were all given their own, brand new, semi-automatic version of an Ak-47 rifle. There are no markings on the rifles that we recovered, but their manufacturing quality suggests that they are newly made and of Chinese origin.”
“OK Fred, anything from any of our drones that help pinpoint where this base is?”
“We have some leads that indicate it is about fifty miles inside the Mexican border in a relatively isolated area. The lead suspect farm has its own deep wells for irrigation which makes for a large, intensively cultivated patch of ground in an otherwise relatively isolated and desolate desert.”
“Anything else this guy has revealed?”
“Yes, sir. He says some months ago, a whole bunch of SUVs and pickups began arriving one or two at a time over the course of a month or so. They all had California plates. They have a regular garage where the mechanics check them over and equip them with whatever is necessary. Water cans, CB radios, gun racks, seats, and so on, so they can use them in their raids. They, apparently, have large underground fuel storage tanks that were installed by Americans some months ago. I am having our boys check all along the border for the purchase of filling station sized underground tanks. That might give a definite location of this base.”
“What, Fred, do you think the Mexican authorities know of this?”
“I think they must know an awful lot, Mr. President. Certainly, the local and probably the state authorities know of an operation of this size. I have no doubt a lot of payoffs occur.”
“Johnny, would you excuse us, please? No recorders, notes or anything else. I want a totally private discussion with our FBI Director. Are you uncomfortable with that, Fred?”
Fred Gateway smiled, “Mr. President, I am at your service.” Johnny Withers joined Robert Lee outside the Oval Office until summoned.
“Fred, it really bothers me when all the American Border Agents are killed at their posts and all the Mexican officials are merely handcuffed when they crossed back into Mexico. That tells me it was a setup.”
“I agree, Mr. President. That has bothered me as well. I have been wondering just how to address that.”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“I have thought of kidnapping a couple of those Mexican agents who were involved. I would like to look at their bank accounts and perhaps engage in some other illegal investigations of them. Of course, that would all be illegal and if discovered would result in another emotional outburst from Mexico about their sovereignty.”
“Do you have the people you can trust to pull this off? People who are willing to take the heat and say they acted on their own, perhaps as an act of revenge for the killing of their fellow officers?”
Fred Gateway’s smile cracked a couple of centimeters. “Mr. President, the line of volunteers would be a block long.”
“Well then, Fred, if there is no other business this morning, why don’t you get to it?”
After thirty minutes of fleeing south towards Chu’nch’on, Major Robert Bradley tapped the Korean Captain on the shoulder. “Let’s stop over there and eat these MREs and fill the gas tank from a jerry can.” The Captain nodded first to Bradley, then the Korean sergeant driving. The sergeant nosed the Chevy Blazer over on a wide shoulder of the road. Bradley set up three small stoves, took each of their MREs, poured water from the water can into the MRE entree pouches to re-hydrate the meals, ignited the fuel tablets and set the pouches on the stoves. In the meantime, the Captain had taken their only rifle and patrolled down the road, while the Sergeant filled the gas tank with diesel fuel from one of the three jerry cans. After a few minutes, the meals were ready, and Captain Koon reappeared. They ate in silence, each lost in his thoughts. Captain Koon picked up the trash from his MRE, threw it into the back of the Blazer and, turning to Bradley, and said “I think I will walk down the road around the bend. We seem to have outrun the civilians on the road. I didn’t get very far ahead, so I’ll see what’s around the bend while you finish.” With that, he picked up the Sergeant’s Dae Woo Rifle, put on his field hat and walked off. Three minutes later, rifle fire erupted. That different calibers were being fired was obvious. Bradley and Sergeant Park jumped to their feet and ran to their vehicle. Park started the engine. Captain Koon was running towards them. “North Koreans were mining the road ahead, but I got two of them. A couple of others jumped into the brush about two hundred meters ahead.”
“Will they attempt to ambush us?” Bradley asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think we should stay here. Let’s move on south.” Bradley resumed his backseat position, while Captain Koon leaned out the window with the rifle. “Go fast for about a hundred and fifty meters, and then slow down. Look for fresh diggings in the dirt, where there might be mines.” Sergeant Park nodded a yes sir, and did exactly that. At twenty-five meters, the Sergeant saw where they were digging for an anti-tank mine that was still in its wooden box. He skirted the mine at fifteen kilometers an hour, straining to look ahead for others.
“I don’t see any bodies. Are you sure you hit two of them, Captain?”
“Yes, Major, I saw them go down. They must have dragged the two casualties into the brush for first aid or to hide them if they are dead.”
From one hundred meters up the hill on their left flank, the North Koreans opened with rifle fire. Sergeant Park mashed on the accelerator. Bullets penetrated the rear of the vehicle just behind Bradley. One of them hit two of the diesel fuel jerry cans. Another round hit the case of MREs. Sergeant Park swerved, shifted gears, and the Blazer shot forward, swerving around the curve. From the sound and small volume of fire, Captain Koon judged that it was the two remaining in the road mining detail.
Captain Koon shot a quick glance at Sergeant Park, and seeing he was not hit, swiveled around to see about Bradley. “You hit?” he asked.
“Nope, but it was damned close. I wish I had a rifle and this vehicle had a radio so we could report it.”
Captain Park just nodded, then added, we’ll stop at the next village or whatever and see if we can telephone it in.”
“I don’t like all this diesel fuel back here. We better hope those rounds didn’t hit the tank as well or we are in for a long walk.” Now, several gallons of diesel fuel had leaked forward under their feet. Their boots were soaking it up. The two Koreans looked down at the floor and just looked at each other. If they had to walk out, they would leave a trail of diesel vapor a baby could follow.
They had reached a few miles north of Ch’unch’on, when Captain Koon told the Sergeant to pull over. He leaned over the seat and told Bradley, “The road forks here in Ch’unch’on. One goes southwest to Seoul, the other southeast, but then curves northeast to tie into the coastal road at Sokch’o. The North Koreans are undoubtedly driving hard south along the coastal road, making for Pusan. Undoubtedly, our best bet is to head for Seoul, but it is probably already under heavy attack by air, and armored columns are undoubtedly driving for it. The risk of coming under attack by air is increasing with every mile. Additionally, we are just north of the bridge over the Soyang Chosuji, a reservoir on the Pukhan Gang, a rather large river. We better be very careful from here on. If I were the North, I would have a team out to seize and hold the bridge. I better explore ahead a few hundred yards, and then you, Sergeant, drive forward on my signal. I’ll take the rifle with me.”
With that, he climbed out of the Blazer. Holding the rifle at port arms, he held close to the shoulder of the road, scanning both sides of the road very carefully as he walked. After three hundred meters, he motioned for the Blazer to come forward and wait where he was standing. As he walked another four hundred meters, the bridge came in sight. He slipped off the roadside and into the brush and went halfway up the hill on the left side. Crouching, he snuck forward until he could scan the panorama before him. Traffic on the bridge was nonexistent. It seemed unusually quiet to him. Without binoculars, he couldn’t pick up a lot of detail. Smoke from a dozen fires was rising from the city. A group of three individuals in uniform were standing at the close end of the bridge. They turned and walked to the south end of the bridge. Captain Koon couldn’t make out their uniforms, other than that they were in some camouflage pattern. He edged forward, slowly, still in the crouched position, around the hill. Movement in the brush just off the edge of the road below caught his eye. He froze and listened. He observed for a few minutes, saw more movement on the side of the road that he was on. Slowly, he picked out several camouflaged positions stretched over fifty or so meters, each manned by two or three men. He dropped to his abdomen and crawled forward ever so slowly. Voices were directly ahead of him. He peered carefully through the brush. Ten meters ahead were three North Koreans in a fox hole to prevent any flanking move of the roadblock below.
Bradley began to worry. He looked at his watch. “Christ, he’s been gone for forty minutes. What’s going on?”
Sergeant Park said, “Sir, I suggest we move away from the vehicle. It is a target for aircraft, and if any North Koreans are in the area, they will come to investigate. I suggest we move up the hill a ways, so we can observe the vehicle and be out of sight ourselves.”
“Good idea, Sergeant Park. I’ll grab a few MREs, and we’ll cut a chogi up the hill.” Bradley opened the back door and grabbed an unopened case of MREs and said, “Lead the way, Sergeant.” After ten minutes of sitting up on the hillside, Captain Koon came dog trotting into view.
“North Koreans hold the bridge. A roadblock is set up as an ambush about five hundred meters ahead. They have flanking positions on the hill. We will have to flank around them and follow the river into Seoul. I wish we had a couple more rifles and ammunition, canteens and your American MREs. We are going to get thirsty before we get back. We have perhaps a hundred-kilometer march ahead of us. If we stay near the river, it will be longer than going overland, but we won’t get lost and at least have water, however contaminated or dirty it is. You can bet there is a terrible battle going on for Seoul. We need to reach Seoul before it falls, or we will truly be trapped behind the lines. Time, therefore, is very important. What do you say, Major, are you up for a little stroll?”
With a wry grin, Bradley said, “Captain, you and Sergeant Park are the experts here, not me. Consider me a lowly private.” With that, he took out his Gerber folding knife from its sheath on his belt and cut off the sewn on badge of rank, the gold oak leaf on his right collar. “Lead on, gentlemen.”
A regiment of North Korean paratroopers had seized the bridge at Ch’unch’on in the predawn darkness. The battle was relatively brief, overwhelming the regimental sized South Korean reserve force that lived in Ch’unch’on. The South Koreans couldn’t get organized quickly enough to present an effective defense. As should have been anticipated, the armory was an objective as well as the bridge. Many South Korean reservists were killed as they reported to the armory to draw their weapons. One North Korean battalion seized the bridge, while the remainder of the division swept through the town. Males in the town who appeared to be between fifteen and sixty years of age were shot on sight without question or remorse. The roadblocks, so common along the highway, were not dynamited into place. The fifteen foot long hexagonal columns of carved rock, three feet in diameter, piled three or four deep, were supposed to roll onto the highway, blocking it when their concrete cradles were obliterated by the light charges of explosives placed in them. They still sat in their cradles.
It was obvious to Captain Koon that the North Koreans intended to drive down through Ch’unch’on in a flanking movement on Seoul. He figured the North just shot up the town, took out the reserve unit, and moved on. They might have left a battalion or two in town, but he knew that they were more interested in a blitzkreig operation rather than seizing and holding urban areas. The battalion’s job was to make sure the road was open for follow on forces. He didn’t tell Bradley that, but he knew that Sergeant Park realized it. Sergeant Park just looked at his captain and said northing. Enlisted men do not question the decisions of their officers in the Army of Republic of Korea; to do so results in a severe beating and loss of a month’s pay. Discipline. Sergeant Park also realized they had little choice. The North Korean columns would soon cut them off.
“Sergeant Park, take point. Major Bradley, bring up the rear. We will be about one hundred meters behind you, Sergeant. Major Bradley, follow me by about ten meters. I don’t want all of us to go down in an ambush.” He gave the rifle to Sergeant Park and nodded. “Henceforth, we will not talk unless absolutely necessary, and only then in whispers. Major, it would be very beneficial if you did not speak at all. Your English would be an immediate giveaway. Sergeant, take off.” Major Bradley nodded his assent.
They crept forward up to the bottom of the crest of the hill, then slowly down the other side. The brush was thick, and there were mature pine trees growing on the hillside. The pines had been planted under the arbor program to hold the soil and to establish a source of national timber. When the Japanese occupied Korea, they cut down every tree on the peninsula and exported it to Japan. Curving around the hill, they skirted around the ravine on the far side. After two hours of slow movement, mostly in a crouch, Robert Bradley’s legs and back ached. Carrying the case of MREs didn’t help. He wished he had spent a lot more time in the gym. Commuting two to three hours each way every day back and forth from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. however, left him little time for physical fitness. He could not find a place in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that he felt was safe enough for his family, so he commuted from Pennsylvania, as did many others assigned to the D.C. area. After another hour, he absolutely ached, and wondered how Captain Koon and Sergeant Park were able to move so well. On a hillside two hundred meters above the road, Sergeant Park stopped to allow the other two to catch up and take a break. They carefully kneeled in the brush. All were quite thirsty. Captain Koon had indicated they would move downhill to the river for water when they heard the traffic. They kneeled back down. After five minutes, an armored column of North Koreans came into view. Tanks led the way, and then tanks and personnel carriers alternated, with truckloads of infantry apparently mixed in a random manner. It seemed to Bradley that there were a lot more trucks loaded with infantry than there were tanks or armored personnel carriers. It took fifteen minutes for the column to pass. Captain Koon estimated it was a brigade-sized force.
Captain Koon motioned to the other two to quickly follow him, with the rapid up and down movement of the forearms with a closed fist. They quickly crept down the hill and stopped ten meters short of the road. “Sergeant Park, go first, quickly; we will follow in short intervals, with you, Major, next. I will bring up the rear.” Park crept to the edge of the road, looked both ways and, in a crouch, ran across. Bradley followed in thirty seconds after a nod from Koon. Once across the road, they slid down the hillside to the river, pausing in the brush along the bank. All surveyed the opposite shore for any sign of activity. Captain Koon motioned to Park to go first and drink. He did so; Bradley followed as soon as Sergeant Park crept back to their position. Captain Koon did likewise as soon as Bradley returned. Then they went halfway up the hill, staying between the river and the road. Major Bradley checked his compass on his watchband. They were steadily traveling in a generally southerly direction. By nightfall, they had covered almost fifteen kilometers of rugged terrain.
Captain Koon led them down to the river’s edge and said, “We have done well. We will rest. It is better to travel at night, but one needs moonlight. We will take three-hour watches. The watch will have the rifle. Sergeant Park, you will take the first watch, Major Bradley the second, and I the last. We will move when the moonlight is sufficient or at dawn if it is not.” Captain Koon indicated to Bradley to break out the MREs. Major Bradley never realized just how good a hot MRE could taste. After they had eaten, they gathered the paper and plastic waste and scraped a shallow hole with their hands in which to bury it. Bradley and Koon promptly fell asleep. Sergeant Park moved to a tree to lean against with the rifle across his lap, so that he could watch the riverbanks.
At 23:00 hours, as he was about to wake Major Bradley when another convoy of North Koreans moved down the road. Sergeant Park heard it coming and rolled over onto his stomach and covered the road with the rifle. Awakened by the noise, Major Bradley and Captain Koon rolled over on their stomachs. “Keep your face down, Major,” Koon whispered to Bradley. It shines very well even in the dark. It will be easy to see, even at fifty meters from the road. Bradley put his face into the dirt. Captain Koon carefully and slowly smeared dirt on his face and continued to watch as the column passed. It was larger than the first. It, too, had tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks with infantry, and a number of covered trucks. Bradley raised his head so that his eyes were just above his forearm bent in front of him. He figured it must be another regiment or brigade sized unit, only it had more covered trucks; more ammunition, fuel, and food he thought.
Sergeant Park handed the rifle to Major Bradley, who accepted it without question and assumed the position the Sergeant previously occupied. Fifteen minutes later, multiple explosions occurred to the southwest. Two ancient South Korean F-4 Phantoms streaked overhead. The glow in the sky indicated the Phantoms had struck pay dirt in attacking the column. Bradley wanted to jump for joy, but the immediate thought of all those North Korean infantry now on the ground between them and the safety of the south was immensely sobering.
