The Last Full Measure

by Trent Reedy

  “Some people say the radiation will kill me, but when you’re my age … You know, plenty of times in the war, at Normandy, in the Ardennes, I passed by the bodies of good men who didn’t make it, thinking it was a miracle I lived through that day. Another miracle the day after that. And I said to myself, at the end of the war, ‘Well, Frankie, you done it. The war didn’t take you. You gotta live good now. You owe it to those men who didn’t make it.’ Well, now here’s World War III, and I have outlived my country, outlived my family. I’m not going to survive this war. I look out there to where my friends and fellow veterans used to march. All gone now. ‘I’m right behind you, boys. Old Frankie Wood’s used up his last miracle.’ •—

  —• The combination of this record-high temperature of 110 degrees and sporadic power outages is creating a dangerous situation in Chicago land. In Naperville today, residents endured the loss of electricity for several hours, and despite the efforts of Liberum soldiers to distribute water and run generators for air-conditioned public “cold centers,” twenty-six deaths were reported, including six in a Naperville retirement community.

  Several hundred more are reported dead in battles along the Mississippi at Rock Island and at Muscatine and Burlington, Iowa. WGN’s reporters take you to the heart of the action with •—

  —• For those of you just joining us here on NBC News, a recap on the stunning events in Korea. The rumors are true. Official confirmation came in a few hours ago. North Korea has fallen. The Korean Peninsula is unified. There is no more North Korea or South Korea, only Korea, controlled by the democratically elected government in Seoul. The Korean War, which officially began in 1950, has finally come to an end. We have reports that most of the remaining ranks of the former North Korean military have defected, and a united Korean military now stands by near the border with China, preparing for the possibility of a Chinese invasion.

  “We go now to footage of the joyful reunions of many Korean families. Grandparents who were just children when their country was divided decades ago are seen here weeping with joy and introducing their extended families to their long-separated relatives.

  “Elsewhere, over fifty thousand prisoners were liberated from the notorious Pukchang Political Prison Camp and other political prisons and reeducation camps across the former North Korea. You can see here the obvious effects of starvation and the scars and bruises of torture on the prisoners. United Korean troops are providing comfort and medical care.

  “But we want to take you to this footage recorded just a few minutes ago. Here you see the former supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, in handcuffs in the Great Hall of the Korean Supreme Court in Seoul. The elite members of the South Korean 707th Special Mission Battalion, who were responsible for the daring surprise capture of the North Korean dictator, are standing guard along those white columns. At the top of the stairs, standing under the statue of the goddess of justice, is Korean Prime Minister Jung Park. Here’s the prime minister now. I’m getting the translation.”

  “Kim Jong Un, your reign of terror is over. No longer will you torture the Korean people. You will stand trial on tens of thousands of charges of crimes against humanity and many other violations of Korean law. Do you have anything to say before I remand you to the custody of your guards?”

  “I am Kim Jong Un, the rightful leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea! I will lead our people in the march to victory and prosperity!”

  “No, sir, you will not. You will be led by your jailers in a march back to your cell. •—

  —• continuing our live broadcast of the American Freedom concert at the full to capacity World Arena in Colorado Springs. Here’s country music star Hank McGrew.”

  “How y’all doing tonight? You enjoying this free concert? Are you ready to rock for America? I can’t hear you! You’re going to have to be louder than that if we’re gonna bring our country back together! Give it up for the USA!”

  “USA! USA! USA!”

  “All right! That’s better, y’all. Now … now I wanna get real serious, ’cause this one’s dedicated to the troops. It’s called ‘America, Help Us.’ ”

  When I was young, my pappy drove a truck with a big gun rack,

  A raised-up four-by-four with shiny six-inch chrome smokestacks.

  He’d drive us down to Skippy’s Bar, drink beer, and get tanked up,

  Then we’d go hunting possum with some help from my favorite pup.

  Now Old Glory no longer flies at the silent baseball field,

  and the church doors are all shuttered, so our spirits can’t be healed.

  The eagle’s dying painfully, bleeding out on our ruined farms,

  And the cowboys have stopped riding. Instead they take up arms.

  Americaaaaaaaaa!

  Listen to this country song.

  Americaaaaaaaaa!

  ’cause this war is just plain wrong.

  Sometimes getting back together don’t seem like it’s in the cards,

  But we can work it out, my brother, if we only work real hard.

  Americaaaaaaaaa! •—

  —• Stand by for an important live announcement on ANN. Citizens of Atlantica, here is a special message from our leader, General Jonathan Vogel.”

  “Moments ago, submarines under my command launched a devastating attack on Seattle and Joint Base Lewis-McChord just south of the city, firing two hundred Tomahawk missiles from the north end of Puget Sound. United States countermissile measures had no time to engage. These missiles destroyed all Seattle bridges, airports, harbor facilities, and US anti-aircraft gun batteries. Near total damage was inflicted on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The carrier Obama and the destroyer Boehner have been sunk. Casualties from this attack, both military and civilian, will likely exceed one million.

  “This is a message to United States Vice President General Chuck Jacobsen. You have threatened our cities with nuclear attack, but I have just destroyed your last seaport, using only conventional weapons. The difference between you and me is that I am strong, and as a result, the people of Atlantica are strong, and we are prepared to use our weapons to effect the total destruction of our enemies. Civilian casualties are not our concern. If you do not stand down your attacks on Atlantica, your military will be crushed and more of your people will be killed. Atlantica is victory. •—

  —• The Chinese Navy had divided the Korean and Japanese navies in the Sea of Japan until the extraordinary appearance of the former American Rogue Fleet. Two full state-of-the-art carrier groups complete with submarine escorts have entered the war on behalf of the Allies. In the first minutes of Rogue Fleet’s air and submarine attack, a dozen Chinese destroyers and battleships were crippled or destroyed. Against official United States protest, Rogue Fleet has been granted full state recognition and safe harbor by both Japan and Korea. •—

  —• My fellow Americans, I know the news sometimes seems to bring only heartache and despair. Certainly the death of nearly one million US citizens in Seattle has filled us all with the deepest grief and a quiet, unyielding anger. In such times, one of the first casualties can be our hope for the future. But, as your president, I’m here to assure you that the United States will prevail. Our best days are yet to come.

  Even as I’m speaking now, United States officials are hard at work increasing food production as well as fuel and energy distribution. Citizens of the United States, know that you are not forgotten. A new, even more aggressive offensive is being planned, and victory is within our grasp. Until that great day, we must continue to sacrifice, and to find comfort in our unity. Thank you. •—

  —• In a stunning surprise attack, United States forces have advanced much deeper into Texas. Early this morning, Marine infantry and armor followed close behind a heavy aerial bombardment moving in from the northwest. Within hours, they occupied what remained of the cities of Amarillo, Plainview, and Lubbock. Casualties on both sides, including civilians, are estimated to be over twenty thousand. Texas Preside
nt Rod Percy, commenting on the events from his bunker in the capital of Austin, said •—

  —• must thank the Republic of Idaho for special permission to make this report from Boise. Hopefully this is a sign of increased cooperation between the Republic of Idaho and Cascadia. I’m standing here at the intersection of North Capitol Boulevard and Bannock Street, in front of the partially collapsed dome of the Idaho capitol building, where one year ago today, August 27, National Guard troops opened fire on demonstrators, leaving twelve dead and nine wounded. This so-called Battle of Boise set into motion events leading to the present civil war and the deaths of tens of millions worldwide. It is a sad irony that the Guardsman alleged to have fired the first shot, PFC Daniel Wright of Freedom Lake, Idaho, has not survived to this grim anniversary. This war has cost everyone dearly, and yet, even after facing such terrible adversity, the Republic of Idaho and all the newly independent countries in the Pan American area fight on toward peace and freedom. Rebecca Cho, NBC News. •—

  We figured it wasn’t practical for every single person to weigh in on everything our little village did, so we elected a thirteen-person council, with Tabitha Pierce as our chair. Sweeney and Cal got it into their heads that I should be on this council, and even though I told them I’d knock them out if I got picked, they still campaigned for me. I won, and I got stuck going to boring-ass meetings.

  There were a lot of arguments through the summer like we had during Operation Exodus and during that first meeting in the library, but we worked it out. The council set up food rationing and duty and shower rotations. People mostly worked and ate the same shift as their families, but we had a couple complicated ex-spouse situations, so that wasn’t always the case. The council spent hours figuring out rotations for kids so that they could have time with this parent or that parent when they worked other schedules.

  The work schedules themselves were a whole other challenge. In the end, the council made a huge list of duties and asked everyone to apply for their top three choices. Then the thirteen of us spent days working out the assignments. Of course, it wasn’t always possible to give everyone a job from their top three, and even people who were given one of their first choices bitched, but we set it up so that people who did good work for a month could apply for a duty change. The system even allowed people to cycle through a period of days off. At first, the idea floated around that we might build some sort of punishment cell, a solitary confinement box to penalize people who refused to work. After all, there was so much to do, and we needed everyone’s help. But Mrs. Pierce crushed that idea at once. “We’re not going to build trust and community, we won’t have peace, if we start out with threats. We need to work together because we want to help one another and to honor the sacrifice of those who didn’t make it here with us.”

  “Some gave all,” I said, remembering something I’d read online once.

  “And so all must give some,” said Mrs. Pierce.

  It took forever, but eventually we had a workable system going. We had enough people willing to work guard duty that our “soldiers” only had to work six hours on/six hours off guard shifts for four days at a time. So, I would work the zero one hundred to zero seven hundred and thirteen hundred to nineteen hundred shifts. Then I’d have four days of other work. After that, I pulled guard duty from zero seven to thirteen hundred and from nineteen hundred to zero one followed by four more days of work details and then four days off. People who didn’t cover guard duty simply worked different jobs. Kids mostly went to school, which was taught by Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Van Buren, and Mrs. Stewart.

  Mr. Cretis offered to teach, but we needed his shop skills for other stuff. I helped him take the big solar assist power units off the buses. We used one to provide power for the kitchen. They actually had a working refrigerator, freezer, and microwave in there. Mr. Cretis custom-built wood-fired water heaters for two latrines and the kitchen. The other solar unit powered the radios that Sergeant Crocker set up in the room right outside the library. We tried to use our comms, but we gave up after we figured out the deep Idaho mountains weren’t really the best place for Internet. Crocker directed me and my friends in setting up a huge, powerful antenna rigged with wires in these giant pines next to the guest dorm building, which we were calling the Council Building. The radio setup let us finally get some news from the outside.

  It was strange for all of us who had grown up streaming music, shows, and movies online to now gather around the radio like old times, but plenty of people pulled up metal folding chairs for the Sergeant Crocker radio show. Once in a while, we were lucky enough to tune in to music, but most of the time, all we got was news, most of it bad. World War III had begun, and most signs indicated it was likely to be far worse than the previous world wars. When we heard the reports that I was dead, Sweeney and Cal made a big thing of it, patting my back and making jokes like “You look pretty good for a dead guy” and “Hey, Wright, if you’re dead and JoBell’s single —” I cut them off with a quick punch to the arm. I’m not gonna lie. I was happy to hear the world thought I was dead. It was the best way to drop out of it.

  JoBell and some of the others got all excited about this Cliffhanger pirate radio guy. I had to admit he had serious balls, traveling all around and sneaking his way on the radio like that. He was a nice change of pace from the regular propaganda that the other radio stations put out. He didn’t care which government he pissed off, but just talked about what was really happening. Better yet, he was the only one on the air with any good news. Although the war grew worse and worse, the Pan American Peace Movement was also growing in cities everywhere. The Cliffhanger reminded us that there were still good people, that some folks still worked together to help one another. That kind of news, and the peace we’d found together at Alice Marshall, made good comfort for our aching bodies at the end of long work days.

  The solar assist units weren’t the only parts we took off the buses. We completely cannibalized bus one. We didn’t have enough bunks, so I helped remove its seat cushions. Me and Mr. Cretis took a cutting torch to that sucker to salvage the metal so we could make more wood stoves. We converted its engine into a generator that could provide limited electricity to the whole school. I was kind of proud of that. Hell, we even used the tires to make a bunch of swings for the kids, and after we found golf balls and a set of clubs in the rec lodge, we used the tailpipe and some scrap metal to build a mini golf course. Someone had brought an old portable DVD player with some cartoons for the little kids, and with that, the swings, the mini golf, the canoes and other sports equipment, the books in the library, and the growing band, we didn’t do so bad for entertainment.

  I’m not gonna lie. The band was pretty good. They called themselves the Deadbeats after Crystal Bean’s uncle, who played guitar and said he’d never had a real job. Mr. Morgan’s wife played flute. Their daughter was good on the violin. And Chase Draper had built his own drum set out of old coffee cans and whatever other materials he could find. His drumsticks were whittled from sticks he’d found.

  Jaclyn had it rough. She pulled guard duty with us a few times, but she seemed to be sinking into such a deep depression that we seriously thought of taking her gun. She stopped showering, and even when we brought her clean clothes, she wouldn’t always change. She barely ate.

  One night after Jaclyn had skipped chow again, I explained to the people in the kitchen that I would be taking an extra helping of vegetable deer soup for her. With a couple spoons, bowls, and a full thermos, I went to her room and found her slumped in a chair, staring at the wall.

  I was no shrink. I had no idea what I should say. Finally, I went for the practical. I poured her soup into her bowl and set it down in front of her. “The council’s been talking. If you don’t eat, they’re going to try force-feeding you.” That got her to look at me, at least. I ate a spoonful. “It’s actually pretty good.” I didn’t know what else to do, so I kept talking. “I got some jobs I need help with. You any good with tools?”
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br />   She didn’t answer, but she did pick up her spoon and start eating. We ate the rest of our little meal in silence. The next day she showed up at the shop. She’d cleaned herself up and changed clothes. She didn’t say anything, but she and I went to work.

  I worked with Jaclyn a lot through the summer. Sometimes she’d join me in the shop, helping me with welding or with fixing something. For a while the two of us spent time improving the trails around the school. I think she liked jobs with me because I didn’t try to make her talk much. We had a nice rhythm. She told me one time that she kept working to keep her mind off how she lost her family. I could understand that.

  Winter was coming, so one of our biggest tasks was getting ready for the cold. That meant wood. We created an old-time pioneer lumber camp a slight distance away from the school. Alice Marshall had a chain saw, which ran out of gasoline fast. We’d have been set if the thing ran on diesel. We had a lot of that left. But without the chain saw, we had six axes and a bunch of handsaws. Guys worked out a rhythm, with two men trading chops to a tree trunk. It took a long time, but eventually they’d bring the tree down. Then the rest of the crew would go to work with handsaws, cutting the trees into more manageable chunks of firewood. Lumber duty ran every day from sunrise to sunset, because not only did we need a lot of wood for heating water and our cabins, but we wanted a fire break and dead space around the school to spot and shoot any invaders.

  We sent hunting parties deep into the woods so they wouldn’t shoot close to the school and give away our position to anyone who might be in the area. These were groups of ten, half of them out there to bring in game, the other half to take down any dangerous people they might encounter. They never spotted any humans, but they brought in three deer and a giant moose. Since we had power in the refrigerator and freezer, we were able to store most of the meat, but we also smoked a lot of it in case our homemade generator failed. With that and everything the fishing team was bringing in, our biggest challenge was finding enough vegetables. JoBell, Becca, and Sweeney often joined the gardening team, trying to grow potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes. We worried that the growing season would be too short on the mountain, but the team worked constantly in their giant garden near the classrooms, and they swore we’d have plenty of vegetables come harvest time.