by Mark Vance
He has a meeting scheduled this afternoon with Michael Carpenter, a renowned resident psychic at the well regarded facility. Both men are approximately the same age, and their meeting is arranged as a one on one session. An hour later, when the session finally concludes, Carpenter will confide in him that he has never seen so many spiritual entities trying to communicate with one living being in all the years he has been practicing. Carpenter likens the spiritual information overload he experienced during the session to everyone at a football game trying to enter the stadium at the same time, through a single entrance. He opens the dramatic session with an amazing declaration …
“Someone here wants to say hello. Do you know anybody named Ray?”
Steve is too stunned to speak, but manages to nod silently as the psychic continues …
“Ray is saying that it took a long time, but now you’re finally in a position where you can help them and that’s why they contacted you. Ray is joking about you not thinking that this was all your idea. He also says that it was quite a reunion when your grandmother passed.” the psychic relayed, as a speechless Steve Lacey can only nod in amazement.
“There is someone else with us today. There is a James Tyree here. Would you like to ask him anything?”
Steve seizes the tremendous opportunity to ask the deceased bomber pilot exactly what happened to his bomber and his crew that fateful day in 1945. Michael Carpenter relays, “James Tyree wants you and all the families to know that it wasn’t his fault. They were headed home after the war in Europe ended. Their combat tour was finished and they were coming home, expecting to be separated from the service. The cause of their crash was two timed-explosive charges and all the man made anomalies they were having with the airplane.”
Steve is stunned at the revelation of sabotage and can only stare at the psychic in utter disbelief.
“James Tyree says that he and another crewmen saw plans for a weapon of mass destruction being loaded aboard the C-54 transport plane they were supposed to ride home as passengers. The weapon in question was capable of killing thousands of people at a time, but it did not destroy property. The lie about them being killed while riding home as passengers on a C-54 transport plane was the official cover story created by the U.S. Government, specifically the Office of Strategic Services.”
“I’d like the names of everyone responsible.” Steve stated flatly.
“James Tyree wants you to know that they are not seeking revenge and that they have had plenty of time to adjust to their new situation. What they want is for all their families to know exactly what happened to them and for people to understand that a sacrifice made out of love of country is a sacred gift … I’m hearing from someone else now … Jacob Stewart. He says he was the radio-operator. Jacob is telling me that you will never be able to prove what really happened to their bomber because the government file in question is classified top-secret and it will never be declassified. He says you need to watch for Nora.”
Steve asks for clarification regarding the radio-operator’s statement, as both he and the psychic initially assume that Nora is the proper name of someone connected with the tragedy.
“Jacob Stewart is explaining that he was referring to NARA; National Archives and Records Administration and the soon to be declassified information concerning the post war period in Europe.”
Carpenter then announces, “James Tyree is showing me something about the airplane now. He is wearing a leather jacket, like pilots always wear, and pointing to an open area in the belly of the airplane. He says that it’s where one of the timed-explosive charges detonated, causing a tremendous fire. He says that the plot to murder them involved a crash at sea. Because they departed behind schedule and were circling in response to the anomalies they were having with the airplane, the crash occurred well inland.”
Carpenter then stuns Lacey by offering, “Ray is now showing me how he used to talk to you when you were a small child playing with your airplane on the floor.”
That memory was so personal to Steve that he had never told another living soul about it and he is completely overwhelmed by Carpenter’s statement, especially having it referred to by someone he met only two hours before. He stares blankly at Carpenter for several moments, in stunned silence, trying to process all that he just heard.
“There’s something James Tyree wants me to ask you to do. He would very much like for you to deliver a special message to his wife, Jennie.”
“Anything I can do …” Steve replies awkwardly, unnerved by the session’s dramatic revelations.
“He would like for you to tell his wife, Jennie that whenever she’s working in her garden and feels what she thinks is a spider web on her face, it’s his way of saying hello. Tell her that he’s around her all the time and that he will always love her.”
Steve nods, promising to relay the highly personal message in full to the pilot’s widow. When the dramatic session finally ends over an hour later, and before he exits Camp Ellis, Steve tells Michael Carpenter that he is convinced that righting this horrific wrong is a truly noble cause. He says he believes that the cause is so important, the Lord Himself is making an exception to the Biblical directive forbidding this type of spiritual contact. Steve asserts that he feels, without a doubt, that he is doing the right thing, acting on behalf of innocent, angelic beings, seeking only the truth and the highest good. Sharing the hidden truth about their crash with their families could not possibly be misguided or hazardous to anyone spiritually.
Why the Creator of the Universe would foster the miraculous survival of Ray’s Bible and then ordain an exception to one of its principle written directives does not occur to him. He remains blindly committed to his cause, convinced that he is part of a very important crusade, seeking justice on behalf of fifteen heroic, egregiously dishonored men and their grieving families.
Four weeks later, Steve is at his residence in Atlanta, on the telephone with an aide to the Senior U.S. Senator from Georgia. The senator is a powerful member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and is responding to his request for help uncovering the truth, and seeking justice on behalf of the James Tyree Bomber Crew. He is optimistic that the senator’s background as a World War II bomber pilot will ensure a natural desire in him to assist his brothers in arms and right this horrible wrong. The senator actually knew James Tyree’s father quite well, during the elder Tyree’s tenure with the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Washington, D.C. Senator Bancroft even delivered the eulogy for James Tyree’s father on the floor of the United States Senate when Tyree’s father died in 1963. The connection between the James Tyree family and the Senior U.S. Senator from Georgia was too good to bypass.
The senator’s aide then informs him that the senator officially brought the matter of the James Tyree Bomber Crew to the senate floor in a closed session of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. High ranking Pentagon and Intelligence personnel were given one week to produce all the requested documentation, including an uncensored crash report. The senator’s request was honored the following week and he was formally briefed in closed session by senior Pentagon and Intelligence officials regarding privileged information relevant to the James Tyree Bomber Crew.
The aide’s unfolding summary has Steve anticipating the senator’s full cooperation in his quest for justice on behalf of the James Tyree Bomber Crew. He is shocked and aghast when the aide ultimately relays the senator’s heartless, cryptic conclusion.
“The senator is satisfied that you don’t need to know what really happened to the James Tyree Bomber Crew.”
“What?” he countered. “I’m not asking for the documents. I already have most of the basic information. I just want to know what the senator is going to do about this?”
“Based on what he learned from senior Pentagon and Intelligence officials, the senator has elected not to take any further action on the matter.” the aide replied.
“Does he really expect me to tell that to James Tyree’s widow
and all the other families?” he snapped, his voice cracking with emotion.
“Tell them whatever you like, Mr. Lacey. The senator’s position on this matter is firm.”
In September 1999, Steve is on an airline layover in Richmond, Virginia, staring at the Richmond phone book in his hotel room. Having learned from James Tyree’s widow, Jennie, that Tyree’s good friend, A.J. Williams, another U.S. Eighth Air Force bomber pilot, might be located in Richmond, Virginia, he is elated to find him listed in the directory in front of him. There had been no contact between James Tyree’s widow and A.J. Williams since the horrific crash, and Jennie Tyree had never really understood why.
Casually dialing the number, he hears a female voice on the other end and immediately asks to speak to A.J. Williams. The woman’s cold, surly response catches him completely off guard.
“He died six months ago. Who are you and what do you want?” she snapped.
Desperate to recover the initiative, he begins offering a detailed explanation, certain his reason for calling would put the belligerent woman at ease. He was the nephew of one of James Tyree’s crewmen and he was also a pilot investigating the crash. He felt certain that answer alone would be more than sufficient explanation to defuse her negative response and he could not have been more wrong.
“Do you want a piece of advice, mister?” she snarled after his initial explanation. “You’ll never find out what happened to those men! My husband was there and saw the whole thing! They blew up right in front of him and you’ll never find what you’re looking for!” she taunted. “A.J. grieved for James Tyree for years. He used to sit up at night in his chair and cry endlessly for him until he finally died of a heart attack. He even tried to check into it himself and was ordered by the U.S. military to stop asking questions. You’ll never find out anything, mister! I suggest you let it go!” she exclaimed. “Those were sad times and looking back at them won’t do anybody any good!” she added, slamming the receiver down.
Obviously, Mrs. Williams somehow blamed James Tyree for her husband’s death, even though he had outlived James Tyree by over forty years. She was undoubtedly well aware of U.S. Government sensitivity to the crash, but there was no way that her husband witnessed the bomber explode on the ground. She’d said with absolute certainty, “A.J. was taxiing past James Tyree’s airplane when it suddenly exploded right in front of him!” Regardless of that gross misunderstanding, Williams widow wanted no part of this quest for justice. A follow up phone conversation by Tyree’s widow, Jennie two days later produced virtually the same result, although the rejection she experienced was delivered in a considerably more civil tone.
One week later, Steve decides to clarify the Biblical directive of forbidden spiritual contact with the pastor of his local church. He and his wife Kay recently joined the large congregation, and although he didn’t know the pastor personally, the man was highly regarded, and Steve believed a consultation on spiritual matters with such a scholarly figure might be beneficial. He also wanted to share the miraculous story of Ray’s Bible with someone he felt could appreciate and perhaps interpret its religious significance.
Seated in the pastor’s office for a 2 PM appointment, he is left to stare at the clock for the next forty-five minutes. Finally, the beleaguered pastor arrives, looking like a juggler with more balls in the air than hands to accommodate them.
“Sorry for the delay. I got caught in traffic on the way back from the bake sale.” the pastor offered, shaking Steve’s hand awkwardly.
“No problem.” he replied, scrutinizing the pastor intently.
“It was really quite a bake sale. Mrs. McMahon always out does herself with that buttermilk pie of hers.” the pastor declared, gesturing toward his full stomach.
“I’m sure.” Steve replied, beginning to seriously wonder if he was in the wrong room.
“Well now, Steve, I know that you’re new to the congregation and I can’t tell you how glad we are that you chose us for your church family.” the pastor continued. “I know you’re a pilot and I must say that I really like your airline. Every time I’ve flown them they’re always on time and they’ve never lost my luggage! Say … did you like the first friends we assigned both of you? They’re really nice folks, aren’t they?” the man stammered.
“Yes, very nice people.” Steve echoed. “But I’m here about something else, something deeper, more spiritual.”
“I see.” the pastor replied. “What can I help you with?”
“Well, I was wondering if you could clarify the Biblical directive that specifically forbids spiritual contact with psychics and mediums?” he stated. “We have a situation in our family that involves regular spiritual interaction with the dearly departed.”
“You aren’t living in a haunted house, are you?” the pastor asked bluntly.
“No.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to ask me to perform an exorcism on your home or your family.” he exclaimed, removing a handkerchief and wiping beads of perspiration from his forehead.
“No, nothing like that. I just need to know if God occasionally makes an exception to his own written Biblical directives?” he asked pointedly.
“Maybe. Aren’t there exceptions to almost everything?” the pastor replied.
“Yes, I guess so, but this is pretty weighty and I wanted the church’s official position on exceptions to Biblical directives. Is anything ever important enough to warrant such an exception?” he asked directly.
“You know what they say … God answers everything either yes, no, or maybe. It sounds like you’re in maybe territory.” the pastor declared.
“I see.”
“Now, will there be anything else? I have a wedding scheduled at 4 PM and I really need to get changed before all that gets started.” the pastor declared.
“No, I guess that’s it.” Steve replied, rising to shake the pastor’s hand. “Are you saying that it’s not forbidden under every circumstance?”
“Maybe not. Let your heart lead you to what’s right.” the pastor declared, still brushing remnants of the bake sale from his shirt.
“Right.” Steve managed, turning to leave.
“See you Sunday!” the pastor prompted, as Steve nodded with a smile, closed the door behind him, and shook his head in disappointment. Along his way to the parking lot he uttered,
“another doctor that couldn’t cure a hangnail.” as he walked purposefully toward his vehicle, eventually sliding into the driver’s seat of the classic Ford pickup truck and starting the engine.
Ten days later, Steve has concluded that if he is going to uncover the truth and find justice for the Tyree Bomber Crew, he will have to do it unconventionally and more or less alone. With the exception of professional psychics and mediums, every agency or institution that he has contacted so far has either stonewalled, threatened, or proven to be totally useless. He is thoughtfully contemplating his lack of progress at this juncture in the investigation as he peruses Ray’s Bible and feels its positive energy flow through him. On the table beside it is the faded letter to the Wilkins family from a Mr. Thomas, the Englishman that discovered Ray’s Bible near the crash site. With no mailing address for the Wilkins family and uncertain how to return it, Mr. Thomas had elected to mail it to the church that initially distributed it to every serviceman from the Shelby, North Carolina area. Ultimately, the church forwarded Ray’s Bible and the Thomas letter to the Wilkins family, where both were now in Steve’s possession. Thomas letter stated that Ray’s Bible was open to John 3:16 when he discovered it several weeks after the crash. Steve pauses a moment to read the highlighted Biblical passage and to examine that particular page in Ray’s Bible very intently. It showed no sign of exposure to external elements, even though it apparently lay exposed in the open countryside for several weeks after the crash. Ray’s Bible actually appeared to be less weathered than the handwritten letter Thomas penned to the Wilkins family.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only b
egotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Steve contemplates the depth of such a sacrifice and the message Ray’s Bible was trying to convey. He tries to correlate that heavenly message to the maddening experience he has endured in his quest to find justice for the Tyree Bomber Crew. In the turmoil and chaos, the hidden message regarding Ray’s Bible remained lost in translation. He is convinced of one thing however … that the divine intervention responsible for sheltering Ray’s Bible and returning it to the Wilkins family, was also somehow nurturing an exception to the written Biblical directive against psychics, mediums and spirit communication. His commitment to act as an agent on behalf of the Tyree Bomber Crew remained unwavering, as he began making preparations for his upcoming trip to Black Hameldon, England, and the crash site of the Black Hameldon Bomber.
