Chapter 67: Fame and Glory

Things got very strange from that point on. It wasn’t like I could just fly off to Washington so the President could slap on the Medal of Honor. Everything had to be coordinated. I was informed of the Medal of Honor on May 24, which was a Monday. My keepers, which is what the two light birds turned out to be, returned on Tuesday, June 1, to let me know the latest.

The Army, by that time, had publicly confirmed that I was to receive the Medal of Honor, but that the ceremony was to be held at the White House. Until that time, I was not to give any interviews no matter what. That first weekend in early June, Atheringdon and Fong met with all of us Saturday night at our house on the lake. In addition to Kelly and me, both sets of our parents were there, three of my grandparents (Nana was in a home by that point), and Jack, Teresa, and Bobbie Joe. Even Aunt Laurie and Uncle Dave were there. The whole thing was a big fucking deal, and everybody needed to be on the same page.

Then it got stranger, as if it hadn’t already moved into the bizarre territory. As we sat there in the living room, Lieutenant Colonel Fong’s cell phone rang. He put it to his ear and spoke quietly, and then motioned for everyone to be quiet. We all stared but quieted down. He put the phone on speaker and said, “We’re on speaker.”

“Thank you. The President will be with you in just a moment. Please hold.”

I stared at Fong, and then turned towards my wife. She looked as astonished as I did. They couldn’t possibly mean...

“Sergeant Reaper, are you there? This is Barack Obama.”

Fong was smiling at us, and he motioned for me to speak. I just kept staring, and President Obama repeated, “Sergeant Reaper? Are you there?”

Kelly nudged me, so I replied, “Yes, sir, I’m here.”

“Sergeant Reaper, I just wanted to call and let you know that the final paperwork is complete, and I have the great privilege of informing you that you will be receiving the Medal of Honor for your service in Iraq.”

It was definitely his voice. I might not have voted for him, but I knew. He was the President of the United States! It was true! “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“All we need to do now, Sergeant, is to get you and your family to Washington so we can do this properly.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

“Sergeant, I read all the reports about what happened in Iraq, and I also understood you’ve had some problems since then. Let me tell you right now, on behalf of the United States of America, you fully deserve this honor. I hope to meet you in the near future,” he said.

“Thank you, sir. I’d like that.”

“No, thank you, Sergeant. I look forward to meeting you.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that it was over. He said good-bye and hung up. As soon as the connection broke, everybody in the room began talking, loudly! I just stared at my wife in disbelief, and I could see that same disbelief mirrored in her face.

With that, Atheringdon and Fong explained what was about to happen. The two lieutenant colonels were going to be attached at my hip for the foreseeable future. Anywhere I went in public, I needed to be in my dress uniform, and at least one, if not both, of them had to be present. Everybody else had to be ‘presentable’ if cameras were anywhere near, and when Jack made a joke about that, the Army was not laughing! Dad was, as usual, the designated family spokesman, and was provided stock answers in case anybody tried to ask him anything.

A rough schedule was provided. I was to receive the Medal of Honor from the President at the White House on Wednesday, July 14, probably in a late morning ceremony. It would be broadcast live, but more people would see it on the evening news. For the ceremony itself, I could invite quite a few people. It would be held either in the Rose Garden or in the East Room, which was supposed to be big. Other than my family, all of whom I invited, the only other people I could imagine inviting were the four other survivors of Whiskey - Jose and Bob and the two pilots Riley and I rescued. We were also informed that they were going to try and locate other members of Third Platoon if I wanted them to come. I thought that might be a bit much, but I did invite Lieutenant Southerland, Captain Vernier, and Lieutenant Colonel Barstow.

Atheringdon said, “I just want to make clear what will happen at the White House. We will fly everybody in on the 13^th and put you up in some hotels in Washington. Nobody is going to spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. The next morning everybody will be taken over to the White House, but it will be in two groups. Most of your guests and family will be taken to where the ceremony will be held, but Sergeant and Mrs. Reaper will meet the President and the First Lady in the Oval Office. For this to become official, the President has to sign the commendation, which he will do with you present. Then he will escort you to the ceremony, where you will receive the Medal of Honor. There is a ceremony for this, and we will review it at that time. After the ceremony, figure only a few minutes more, and then we are out of there. You can leave the tuxedos at home. There won’t be an official state dinner or anything like that.”

Fong added, “Don’t take this the wrong way. President Obama will not be snubbing you. It’s just that he gets scheduled for about twenty-five hours of things for every twenty-four-hour day. It’s the nature of the beast. Us lesser breeds will probably have more fun. For instance, while you aren’t dining at the White House, there will be a very nice dinner that will be hosted by the Army. I don’t have all the details yet, but it will more than make up for the White House. The next day, the 15^th, we’ll fly everybody home.”

Most of us just looked at each other and shrugged. Grandma beamed, however. “So, I’ll get to meet President Obama? Excellent! I voted for him!”

Grandpa groaned at that but was rebuked by Aunt Laurie. “You can behave, Dad! I voted for him too, Mom. I’m with you!”

“Same here!” admitted my mother.

Fong looked over at me and said, “Do not get involved in anything political, nothing, never! Medal or not, consider that an order!”

“Hey, I’m cool with that! My lips are sealed!” I promised. “Matucket County politics are bad enough!” My father, grandfather, and Uncle Dave all laughed at that.

Atheringdon added, “You will undoubtedly be meeting lots of very powerful people, politicians and others, throughout all this. Most of those people will have an agenda, and your feelings or principles or thoughts are the last thing they will be worried about. For most of them it is simply a chance to get photographed with a hero, but some will have other agendas. We will try to keep you covered, but you can’t get drawn into any of their games. It’s not as bad as that might sound, but you do have to be aware that not everybody will have your best interests at heart.”

“Like you two,” commented my father.

“Fair enough. Like us. We are certainly going to try and present the United States Army in the best possible light. On the other hand, we aren’t going to be doing anything more than that, and neither of us has any secret agenda. The best way to do that is simply to take the best care we can of Sergeant and Mrs. Reaper,” he responded.

“So, what happens after Grim gets the medal?” asked Mom.

“Well, like I said, we’ll leave the White House and go back to the hotel. Later there will be a dinner, and the next morning most of you will simply come home. The Sergeant and Mrs. Reaper, however, will be doing a lot of talk shows and television shows and interviews,” answered Fong. “As soon as we can work up a schedule, we will get it to them.”

“There’s a lot of Mrs. Reapers in this family. You might want to call this one Doctor Reaper,” I said, laughing.

Both officers looked at Kelly. “You’re a doctor?” asked Atheringdon.

“Of mathematics. I teach computer science over at Matucket State,” she answered.

“We’ll make note of that.” He looked over at me and smiled. “That’s an unusual combination, isn’t it?”

“Tell me about it!” Everybody in the family, both sides, laughed at that.

One very interesting part of the conversation was when Seamus O’Connor asked, “Aside from the medal itself, does Grim get anything else?” There was a murmur of interest at that.

“Actually, quite a bit,” said Atheringdon. “The big thing is that you get a pension. In 2002, the value of the pension was increased to $1,000 per month, and it was indexed to the government cost of living adjustment. This year it is $1,194 a month.”

“Yeah, but I’m not retired. Besides, I never served long enough. Don’t you need to be in for twenty years?” I asked.

“Sergeant, you get that now.”

That created quite a stir! Kelly gasped and took my arm. “Grim, that’s more than our mortgage!”

“Holy crap!” I replied.

Around us, the rest of the family all were talking about my sudden pay raise, and my brothers both announced plans to help me spend it.

Fong waited for things to settle down. “There’re quite a few other items, some of which don’t apply or might not be very important to you. You get a supplemental uniform allowance, which might be useful for getting some more dress uniforms. You’re allowed to wear your uniform without worrying about Army regs. You get priority on space-available military flights, though again, that might not be a big deal. You get privileges at any Army PX, but the nearest is probably at Fort Benning. You can be buried at Arlington, even if they’re full and they have to dig somebody up and put you in the hole. You get a special flag, but I must have missed the flagpole. There’re a few more little things like that. I’ll give you some information.”

Atheringdon added, “Here’s something which might be useful. Any children who qualify are automatically accepted at one of the service academies. Regardless of what you might think, if they are interested and can cut it, it’s a great education and it’s free.”

I blinked at that. While I prayed that my children would never have to go through what I did, kids don’t always do what their parents want them to. I was living proof of that. “Give me about twenty years and I’ll let you know on that one,” I answered.

“Understood, Sergeant. Understood!” he answered, grinning.

Grandpa said, “I’m pretty sure you can get a special license plate, too, Grim.”

I just shook my head. “I don’t see myself getting a license plate or flying a flag, Grandpa. Once this is over, I am just going back to Officer Reaper.” I turned back to the light birds. “I’m a pretty simple guy. I’ll keep the money, though! Thanks! Maybe I can buy a boat to go fishing with!”

Kelly groaned at that, but then gave me a hug. “That we can go fishing with!”

“Let’s talk about that later,” I agreed, waggling my eyebrows at her.

Later, after the family had left, I admitted to the two officers that I didn’t have any uniforms any longer, and that I had even sent my medals back to the Army, though they had been returned to me. I think that was when they really understood my issues relating to what had gone on at Whiskey. Even more than my panic attack when they first met me at the station, this really drove it home. “Sergeant, are you really going to be all right with this?” asked Fong.

“Yes, I should be good. I think I told you I met with both of my guys who survived, and they really helped, really, a lot. I just don’t have any uniforms at all. ACUs will be easy enough, but if you want me wearing some Class As, I just don’t have any. I’m not even sure I have the right shoes. For sure I’ll need to get some of the ribbons and stuff.”

He nodded. “Let’s make this very simple. I will find the best place to get uniforms in a hurry. Your next day off belongs to me. We will go wherever we have to go and get you some uniforms! We’ll also figure out the ribbons from your records.” Fong turned to Kelly. “Mrs ... Doctor Reaper, I don’t wish to sound rude, but do you have some outfits suitable for interviews and television? Will you be at all offended if I have somebody from our command visit you?”

I started laughing at that, and Kelly reached out and swatted me. “That will be just fine,” she said.

I kept laughing. “Colonel, my wife having nice and suitable clothing is going to be the least of your problems! Next spring we’ll use the pension money to build an addition to the back of the house; it will be one gigantic closet!”

Kelly smacked me a second time. “Grim! I’m not that bad!”

“Hey, as long as we’re talking about it, can you dig up my grandfather’s records. If we have enough time, I’d like to get him a ribbon rack for his own stuff. You might not realize it, but he has almost as many awards and decorations as I have, from Vietnam,” I asked.

“Really? That would be very appropriate if he wore a suit, which I certainly would suggest for the White House,” replied Fong.

“Don’t worry about that. He might play the local yokel, but he cleans up just fine, and Grandma is the one who rules that roost! If she is meeting the President, Grandpa will be dressed in a suit and on a very short leash!” Kelly laughed and agreed with me. I gave them his name and birthdate and they said they would start digging.

My next day off, Atheringdon showed up with a cute lady named Major Margaret Posey. Major Posey was being added to the circus as Kelly’s keeper. The idea of the lady math professor and the tough-guy enlisted soldier was considered a winner publicity-wise. I just shook my head in disbelief. Kelly took it in perfect stride, and when I left for Atlanta with Lieutenant Colonel Atheringdon, Kelly stayed home with ‘Maggie’.

I asked Atheringdon where the well-dressed Medal of Honor recipient went to find dress uniforms on short notice. From what I had gathered, I needed to get more than one, because it was guaranteed that I would spill coffee on it five minutes before the cameras started rolling. Dress uniforms were basically Army suits, and cost what real suits cost, which was a lot. Thankfully I didn’t need to wear suits in my regular job, just on the occasions I went to church.

“Brooks Brothers is probably the closest place, and they are in Atlanta. We could probably find a place in Columbus, but that’s quite a bit further. Besides, Brooks Brothers will probably have the best quality, for when you’re on television,” he answered.

“Brooks Brothers? That is going to cost a fortune! Do they even make uniforms?” I asked.

“They’ll make anything if you pay them enough. Sure, they can do uniforms. You won’t be the first, not by a long shot. As for the money, spend it. You’ve got a special uniform allowance, remember, and some of this is coming out of Public Affairs. My understanding is that we want you to look like a hero, not somebody from West Georgia!” He said that while grinning.

I gave him a one-fingered salute and got a laugh in return.

We ended up with a tailor at Brooks Brothers, in addition to the salesman. The sales job was very simple, since you didn’t have to worry about whether one color looked better than another color. Uniforms were very ... uniform. They pretty much just needed to measure me and get my sizes, and then order three of everything. I spent more time trying on shoes. I was told I would have to make another visit in about a week to do a fitting and check sizes.

June 19, a Saturday, Jack and Teresa got married in Miami. Because of all the nonsense, Kelly and I cancelled our planned vacation in Miami after Jack and Teresa’s wedding. I didn’t have the time to take off a week right before I went on a two-month leave of absence. I simply rescheduled my regular shifts so I could take a long weekend. After we got back, things got very hectic with the Army.

By then I had managed to convince my handlers that I wasn’t nuts. I also convinced them Kelly and I wouldn’t be embarrassing. We both had to be vetted, a phrase I had heard about politicians but had never considered for normal people. “Grim, we have to ask, what kind of sins are going to be found if somebody starts investigating you?” asked Fong once.

“None! Like what?”

“Like drugs. Like you’re a secret boozer. Like you have a computer full of kiddie porn. Like whatever!”

“Like none of the above!” I protested. “Jesus! I’m a cop for Christ’s sake! I had to pass a background check just to get on the job!”

“If we don’t ask, somebody else certainly will,” he finished.

“Listen, the crazy one in the family isn’t me, but my brother Jack. You want skeletons in the closet, go chase him around. Until he met Teresa, he was the head of the cheerleader-of-the-week club! I guarantee he’s got some baggage!”

On Friday, June 25, I received official orders recalling me to active duty for a period of at least one month but not to exceed two months, to take effect Thursday, July 1. I gave the department a copy and was sent on my merry way. July and August, I would be on military leave of absence. By then, everybody around the station knew what was happening, and I had answered an awful lot of crazy questions. Not everybody was amused, mind you. There was still a small group of older guys centered on Senior Patrolman Randy Briggsby who considered me a fucking nut job and wanted nothing more to do with me, including being anywhere near me if there was a problem. Briggsby was also kind of pissed that I had made Senior Patrolman a shitload faster than he had, and he considered me a jumped-up pissant, and wasn’t afraid to tell me so. I ignored him. If he didn’t back me up, I was probably safer than if he did.

The first stop in the potential disaster was Washington, D.C. When Atheringdon and Fong said they would fly us to Washington, they meant it! We received instructions that everybody who was going, a total of eleven (Mom and Dad, me and Kelly, Jack and Teresa, Bobbie Joe, Mister and Mrs. O’Connor, and Grandma and Grandpa) were going. Aunt Laurie was terrified of flying, so she and Uncle Dave stayed behind, though they said they were very happy and proud for me. The instructions were a little strange, though. We were all told to be at the Matucket Municipal Airport at ten in the morning on July 13, which was unusual. The Matucket airport was about one step above a grass strip and was mostly used by private planes and the occasional corporate jet. When I quizzed them about that, Fong smiled and said, “We’re going to fly you all there in a C-20.”

“What’s a C-20?”

“It’s a Gulfstream G-IV, a business jet. The Air Force has a number of them for VIP travel. Trust me, it will be a lot nicer and faster than schlepping everybody through Hartsfield.”

“God knows that’s bad enough. Works for me,” I replied.

The 13^th was also my first official ‘dress-up’ day. Even though I had been recalled as of July 1^st, most of the last couple of weeks had been hanging around the house and making sure I was ready to go. We had bags packed with my uniforms and more bags packed with Kelly’s gear. Major Posey had gone over everything with my wife and had been pleasantly surprised with the number of perfectly suitable outfits Kelly had. I just remarked, drily, that it was all the Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes for when we came in from the farm. My requirements were a lot simpler, since they simply consisted of about three sets of every possible uniform. I offered to spend my time in ACUs but was told that wasn’t likely in Washington.

In any case, on the morning of the 13^th, Kelly and I and our handlers drove from the house over to the airport. It felt very strange to put on my Class As for real, and not just for a fitting. When I put on the beret, it seemed like I was crossing over to a life I had given up. It was a different person looking back in the mirror. Some of the ribbons I had never even worn before. Kelly was wearing a pair of skinny-jeans and a bright green tunic top for travel, along with a pair of medium heels. She looked a hell of a lot cuter than a beat-up soldier! She took one look at me in my uniform and came up to me. “You might not realize it, but there is a reason girls like guys in uniform. Grim, you look wonderful.”

“I feel strange,” I admitted.

“Grim, are you going to be alright? I don’t care about the medal or anything. I only care about you. We can cancel everything if you want.”

I took her hand. “I’ll be fine. It’s just ... strange. I never considered myself a hero, not once. I just did what I had to do.”

“I know that.” Then she lowered her voice. “Listen, just in case, I made sure to pack your pills, you know, in case.”

I nodded, not wanting our keepers to hear us. “I haven’t needed them since that weekend we saw Givens and Montoya. I’m not saying something might not happen, but I think I’m okay.”

“Just tell me, alright?” she asked, squeezing my hand. “Grab your bag and let’s go!” she said, in a louder voice.

We met the rest of the family at the terminal of the airport, though terminal sounded a lot nicer than pole-barn-with-delusions-of-grandeur. The rest of my family was traveling in what could be considered upscale casual, no shorts and t-shirts, but no suits and ties, either. Only our handlers and I were in uniform. “You have to wear your uniform, Grim?” asked Kelly’s mother.

“I think from now until they kick me out again, I’ll be in some sort of uniform,” I replied. “I’m back in the Army.”

The strangest moment of the morning was when the two Air Force pilots came up to us. Through a plate glass window, I could see a business jet, gleaming white with some very discreet American flag markings. The pilots came up to me and saluted, which I just stared at. Since when did officers salute sergeants? After a bit, Lieutenant Colonel Atheringdon grinned and said, “Sergeant, you’d better get used to this. You need to return the salute, or they’ll freeze in position like that.”

My eyes popped open at that, and I quickly returned the salute, which caused the two pilots, a pair of Captains, to break out in smiles. “First time, sir?” asked one of them.

“I don’t think I will ever get used to that. Thank you. I think it’s premature, though. That doesn’t happen until tomorrow,” I answered.

“I’ll chance the court martial, Sergeant. Believe me, this is our pleasure. I’m Captain Gomez and I’m the pilot. This is Captain Hungnam and he’s the co-pilot. If you and your party can come this way, we’ll get you all loaded.”

Captain Hungnam added, “You are going to love this. No security lines, no baggage carousels, no tickets and check-in. As soon as we get everybody on board, we’re out of here. Next stop is Andrews. We’ll be there well before lunch.”

I glanced at my wife, who was a much more experienced traveler than me, and she seemed impressed. I smiled and said, “Then let’s go!”

Other than the two pilots, the only other crew member was an Air Force sergeant, who loaded our luggage and then told us to go inside and sit wherever we wanted. It was pretty informal, without any silly lectures on how to use seat belts or where the bathrooms and exits were. Once a nose count confirmed we were all onboard, the door was pulled shut. Seconds later we heard the scream of the engines starting up, and a few minutes later the pilot spoke over the intercom, and said we were cleared to taxi and depart. I think we were airborne about a minute later; they didn’t even pause at the end of the runway but just floored it! As soon as the nose came up, that bird just started rocketing upwards. I looked around and had to smile; Grandma was holding her armrests in a death grip, but Grandpa had the biggest grin on his face!

The pilots were true to their word, too. We touched down at Andrews Air Force Base in about an hour-fifteen. At one point I got up to use the lavatory and talked to Seamus O’Connor. “You must do this a lot,” I commented.

“Some, sure. It beats flying commercial. If we had to go through Atlanta, we’d still be trying to check our bags in.”

“Are all private jets like this?” I was impressed, since I could stretch my legs out and the seats reclined and were wide enough for my big butt. It beat the economy section of a 737, that was for sure!

He shrugged at that. “This one is pretty plain, but that’s kind of what you’d expect from the government. The taxpayers aren’t going to appreciate the marble-and-gold touch, you know.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“The private ones usually have a lot cuter stewardesses, too,” he laughed.

“I don’t know, Seamus. For one thing, the correct term is flight attendant, and I think ours is cute,” answered Kelly’s mom.

I heard a laugh behind me, as our ‘flight attendant’, Technical Sergeant Holcomb, the sergeant who had loaded us on the plane, came up the aisle. “Here you go, ma’am, an extra bag of peanuts for you. This fellow here loses his,” he said, pointing to my father-in-law.

“Serves him right, too!” she agreed. Seamus looked properly contrite, and Mrs. O’Connor passed over the peanuts.

“You like flying around in these little planes?” I asked the sergeant.

“It beats the hell out of Bagram!” he answered. “It was either become a stewardess or do a second tour in Afghanistan, so I very quickly shaved my legs, put on a short skirt, and slapped a smile on my face!”

“I’d have taken that option, too!” I agreed, laughing.

“I am secure in my masculinity, as long as nobody is shooting at me,” he finished.

“Amen!”

Then he got serious. “My first tour, I used to fly C-17s back and forth through Dover, you know? I’m really glad I was able to meet you this way, Sergeant.”

“Thank you,” I answered. Dover was where they brought the coffins back. That had to be a crappy job.

About an hour after we took off, the pilot told us all to buckle up and hide the booze and the dancing girls; we would be landing shortly. Fifteen minutes later we greased into a very smooth landing. We taxied up to a much larger building than the terminal in Matucket and stopped. A minute later the engines spooled down, and the sergeant opened the door and lowered the steps. Then he looked around and smiled. “Captain, we got the brass here.”

“Nothing we weren’t expecting, Sarge,” commented Captain Gomez from the cockpit. He came back and said, “If everybody’s ready, we can leave now. Transportation has been arranged. Please just stay together. It’s been a pleasure flying you.” With that he led the way off the plane, and Sergeant Holcomb followed us all out.

Waiting for us was a full colonel, who saluted me and welcomed us all to Andrews Air Base. I missed his name, but he said he was the Wing Commander of the 89^th Airlift Wing. I didn’t know enough about the Air Force to know what that was, but if a colonel was in charge, it had to rank around the equivalent of at least a battalion or brigade. Likewise, the enlisted ranks were kind of strange. Even though the Air Force was originally part of the Army, my rank, an E-5 Sergeant, was the equivalent of a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. In the Army, a Staff Sergeant was an E-6, and an E-6 in the Air Force was called a Technical Sergeant, a rank that had disappeared from the Army decades ago! Very odd!

“I hope your flight was comfortable,” he said.

“Yes, sir, very,” I answered. “I was telling my father-in-law that it certainly beats six-across seating at the tail end of a 737. Thank you.”

He laughed at that. “I hate to fly commercial,” he agreed. “Sergeant, I simply want to welcome you to Joint Base Andrews and to Washington. I know you won’t be staying with us long, but when you’re here, if there’s anything we can do, please let us know.”

“Colonel, I can’t imagine what that would be, but I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Sergeant, let me be the first here on the base to thank you for your service.”

“Thank you, sir.”

With that, he saluted me, as did everybody else around, and then we were all loaded into a large bus, and not just a school bus in camouflage. No, it was a deluxe motor coach, and after our luggage was loaded, we left Andrews and drove into Washington. I was mightily surprised when we pulled up in front of a very nice looking hotel, and then looked out the window in the opposite direction. “Is that what I think it is?” I asked.

“If you think that’s the White House, you’re right,” answered Lieutenant Colonel Fong. “We’re staying at the Hay-Adams. Their motto is that nothing is overlooked but the White House.”

“Well, I guess we won’t have to walk very far,” I commented.

“No, not hardly. Are you at all familiar with Washington?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I visited on a school trip in high school, but we mostly spent our time in a couple of museums and trying to figure out a way to escape our teachers, you know. The next time was when I was at Walter Reed. After I got better, I spent a couple of days down on the Mall but that was it.”

“Well, if we have any free time, we can do some sightseeing. You never know when something might open,” he answered.