Thunder in the Morning Calm (43 page)

EPILOGUE

 

Corbin Hall
Suffolk, Virginia

B
rigadier General Robert Keith Pendleton, United States Marine Corps, retired, sat at the head of the table and absorbed the sights of Christmas. His daughter, Margaret, wearing her red Christmas sweater, sat to his right, beaming like the happiest woman in the world. His grandson Gunner, the real hero of the hour, sat at his left. Right beside Gunner, in a radiant new red dress, the product of her first visit to an American shopping mall, Pak looked stunning and happy with her new adopted American family.

Grandson Gorman sat at the other end of the table, surrounded by his wife, Bri, and their two children, Jill and Tyler.

Keith looked down and eyed the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and squash casserole on his plate. It was a white plate that had the Marine Corps globe-and-anchor emblem on it. Margaret had insisted that he use this plate, although he was the only one with such a plate.

Whatever Margaret wanted. He wasn’t going to argue.

Off to the side, the Christmas tree glowed with a myriad of colored lights, some shining constantly and some blinking. And on top, an angel looked down with outstretched arms.

He wondered if this could all be a dream and he would soon wake up back in the perpetual nightmare of his real life.

The doorbell rang.

This was no dream. This was real.

The doorbell rang again.

Although the turkey was freshly carved and on the table, Keith was grateful for the interruption. He got up with the family and walked to the front door.

Since his return home, Christmas carolers had descended on Corbin Hall like an invading army of goodwill. They were bused in from churches around Tidewater. One church youth group even trekked in from Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

They would park along the road, offload from their buses, and walk down the long driveway singing all the carols that he had not heard for so long — “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World,” “O Come, O Come, Emanuel,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
—
then they would walk back singing, board their buses, and go back to spend the rest of Christmas with their families.

Standing out front in a light falling snow was another group of carolers. The last time he had seen snow, it was like frozen ice falling into the cold pit of hell that was Korea. But tonight, as he stretched out his hand and looked up, Keith smiled. The falling snow was like manna from heaven.

A smiling young woman, perhaps seventeen years old, stood in front of the other smiling teenagers.

“General Pendleton?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“We’re the youth group from First Baptist in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.”

“Thank you all for coming tonight.”

“May we ask a question?”

“Certainly you may.”

“May we sing you something a little unusual for Christmas?” The girl’s blue eyes twinkled with excitement.

“My dear, you can sing anything you would like.”

She smiled and turned around. She held up her hands in a director’s pose and said, “Slow and meaningful,” then hummed a single note for pitch.

Then came the most beautiful blend of melody and harmony his ears had ever heard.

Oh beautiful

For spacious skies

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain,

America, America, God shed his grace on thee!

And crown thy good with brotherhood,

From sea to shining sea!

Keith stood there, his right arm around Margaret, and wiped his eyes.

Maybe he really wasn’t a Marine.

Marines don’t cry.

“Merry Christmas, General Pendleton!”

Acknowledgments

 

F
or his superb editorial assistance, a special thanks to US Army veteran Jack Miller of La Mesa, California, who, with his wife, Linda, is a generous benefactor of the San Diego Zoo and the Lambs Theatre of Coronado, California. With grateful appreciation for the behind-the-scenes tours with the giraffes and the magical musical performances by the Pacific.

A special and warm thanks to Sue Brower, acquisitions editor of Zondervan, and to Lori Vanden Bosch, both of whom, quite frankly, were born to be editors, and whose comments, feedback, and strategic input during the editorial process have been an oasis of wisdom. Also, special thanks to Jane Haradine not only for her superb editioral assistance, but also for her superb talent and artistry in the preparation of the various maps found throughout the novel.

TO THOSE AMERICANS WHO SERVED

 

T
his novel is released in conjunction with the sixtieth anniversary of the Korean War. You who are still alive who fought in that war liberated a nation that Communist forces had invaded, smothered, and occupied totally, with the exception of a small amount of land on the far southeastern corner of the country around Pusan. But you, brave soldiers and marines and sailors and airmen, hit the enemy hard in one of history’s most daring amphibious landings, at a place called Inchon, where tides rise and fall rapidly, making the precision and execution of your operation a matter of life or death. You ended the Communist strangulation of South Korea and pushed the freedom-hating invaders back north of the 38th parallel.

Yes, some troops from other nations were involved, and yes, some call the war a UN “police action.” Some have even called it “the Korean Conflict.”

But then there is the truth. Korea was neither a “police action” nor was it a “conflict.” Korea was war in its bloodiest and most brutal form. Although other countries fought in the war, American blood saved South Korea. Nearly 37,000 of your brothers-in-arms gave their lives in Korea. That’s ten times the sacrifice of all other nations combined who sent forces there. More than eight thousand Americans are still missing to this day. No, despite what some say, Korea is not the “Forgotten War.” Korea was an American war. And you who served shall never be forgotten.

 

About the Author

 

DON BROWN
is the author of
Malacca Conspiracy
, The Navy Justice Series, and
Black Sea Affair
, a submarine thriller that predicted the 2008 shooting war between Russia and Georgia. Don served five years in the US Navy as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, which gave him an exceptional vantage point into both the Navy and the inner workings of “inside-the-beltway” as an action officer assigned to the Pentagon. He left active duty in 1992 to pursue private practice but remained on inactive status through 1999, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He and his family live in North Carolina, where he pursues his passion for penning novels about the Navy.

About the Publisher

 

Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins
Publishers,
is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (
www.zondervan.com
) holds exclusive publishing rights to the
New International Version of the Bible
and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.

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