Epilogue

It was six years after the founding of the Russian Republics, and five years since the adoption of its new constitution. Kelly was invited to be the honored guest at the fifth-anniversary commemoration of its adoption. She was also the official United States representative to the affair, traveling as President Collins’ personal envoy.

Kelly was still on active duty in the Army, and now wearing the four stars of a general. As a result of the Cross of Liberty law she was the most senior officer in the United States Armed Forces. Mike, only thirty-two, was a lieutenant general. Kelly was still the President of the War College and continued to teach. However, she periodically undertook assignments as the Army’s Inspector General. Sam Adams, recently elevated to the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had commented that Kelly’s value in the rôle was utterly incalculable.

There was now a large and still-growing network of “Kelly’s people” throughout the Army. These were people at all levels of the service who recognized in Kelly a person who did what was right. Because of information they fed to her, she had an uncanny knack for descending unannounced on a base or command and unerringly going straight to a problem area. The message traveled quickly throughout the service: If you have a problem, fix it quick or Kelly Callahan will be down to do it for you.

There were three Callahan children now, and all were going on the trip with their parents. Mickey — Mikhail — was five, Kathleen, a golden blonde with blue eyes in the image of her mother, was three, and Billy, another boy with blue eyes and dark hair, was one. The Franklin and Murphy families accompanied them on the trip. When word of the European trip was released, invitations for her to visit poured in. As a result, they were scheduled to visit Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany before going to on Moscow.

The children, particularly Mickey and his best friend, Sergei Murphy, were thrilled because they were traveling in one of the Presidential jets, a VC-135, with the ‘V’ designating VIP configuration. In addition to the Franklins there were the Murphys now back for another tour as aides to Kelly and Mike. Finally, they were delighted to be accompanied by Chris and Bill Carlson, representing the press.

In Great Britain, they were the guests of the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The weather was magnificent in June this year. Kelly was in a state of near-shock as she and Mike were escorted around to see the sights of England by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Often, Kelly was in uniform wearing her Victoria Cross.

In France, there was a parade down the Champs Élysée in her honor. The children were excited as the parade featured horse guards. The children had loved the Horse Guards and the Household Cavalry in London, as well.

In Italy, they visited the Pope. The visit was in the papal apartment along with the children whom they had been requested to bring. They also were accompanied by the Murphys with their two children. Tears of joy were in Kelly’s eyes as she watched Mickey holding his little sister’s hand while the two of them looked up at the Pope with eyes as big as saucers. The Pope spoke to them in beautiful English, and then shifted to Russian. He laughed delightedly as Mickey replied in the same language. Katrina had been tutoring him and his sister for their trip.

The Pope asked Mickey some simple Catechism questions and was very pleased with his responses. He asked Kathleen about her prayers and held her in his arms as she said them. There was great warmth in his eyes as he kissed them both and then kissed the baby. He held out his hands and pronounced a blessing on them. Kelly was so proud of her small children as they knelt for the Pope’s blessing.

The scene was repeated with Kevin and Katrina’s children. Mickey and Sergei were best friends. Sergei was as blonde as Mickey was dark, but they were both sturdy little boys. Sergei’s Russian was better than Mickey’s. He even knew a few sentences in Polish that he used with the Pope. The Pope hugged him and tousled his silver-blonde hair. Tanya, their daughter, was younger than Kathleen by about six months. She was dark haired and blue eyed, and a beauty. Finally, the children were led away by a couple of young nuns.

The Pope looked at Kelly and Katrina and said, “Thank you! You have given me great joy today by bringing your children in to see me. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that God has blessed your marriage with such beautiful children. You are truly fortunate! I would like to offer a blessing to you all. Kelly, one of the beatitudes is, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall see God’. Kelly, you are the greatest peacemaker of our time. I will tell you now, when you were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three years ago it was a unanimous choice. You are truly blessed.”

The four went to their knees and the Pope bestowed a special blessing on them. When they left, they were both awed and feeling very good. Even the children were subdued for most of the day.

It was the first time Kelly had visited Germany since the war. When the plane landed in Berlin, newly restored as reunited Germany’s capital city, she was greeted by the President of the Federal Republic. He reminded her that she had the keys to the country. Their visit was a string of superlatives. They were allowed to pay for nothing. The high point of the visit was a trip to the old Berlin Wall, a section of which was being maintained as a memorial to all Germans who had lost their lives trying to escape from the East when the country was divided.

They traveled to Langenhagen and visited the school. Kelly still had a chill as she approached the prison-like structure. They were traveling guarded by a German Secret Service detachment as if she were a head of state. The young major in charge of the unit was dazzled by her beautiful German.

When she asked about it, he laughed and said, “General, the joke in Germany is that you could win election to the Bundestag from any district at all. It would be the only time in history one person would be elected from every single one. If you just said the word, you would be given the seat ... whichever one you want.”

They stayed in a castle overnight. The next day she and Mike retraced their route from the fateful night six years before. With Major Schmidt driving, they found the spot where Mike had parked the car. The woods was still there. After walking across the field that had been mined they found the spot in the woods where Mike’s camp had been. They couldn’t tell if they were seeing or imagining the spot where the stores had been fired when they left.

Mike took his wife in his arms and kissed her as they stood in the woods. He said softly, “Do you remember, darling?”

“Of course! How could I ever forget.” Her eyes glowed with love as she said, “A girl never forgets the first time she’s loved. Mike, I love you so much!”

The major discreetly found something of interest in the trees to watch. He was astounded at what he was seeing. He knew, of course, the full story of Kelly Jackson. Yet it was one thing to know she was young and another to see and experience her youth and beauty. He could not believe that this girl with her perfect slim figure could possibly be the mother of three young children. They walked on through the woods. The major used his radio to have the car follow them along the road while they walked the distance to the point where she and Mike had watched the bridge over the River Weser.

The major had asked about walking the distance and Kelly just smiled. “Major, the first time we did this, Mike and I were both carrying sixty-pound packs. I had just removed a bullet from his leg. Today, it’s just a stroll in the park.”

Finally, they reached their former vantage point and were amazed at how little the area had changed from what they remembered. They made their way to the cut in the embankment where Kelly had first ambushed the fuel truck and tanks and later the ammunition truck. Remarkably, there were still marks where the explosion had blown out the original embankment.

Finally, they went down to the rebuilt bridge — the Kelly Jackson Bridge now. There they were met by the Murphys, the Franklins, and the children. One significant change had been made in the scene. There was now a large parking area that had been bulldozed out by the side of the road at the point where the bridge and road met. When Kelly was immediately recognized, Schmidt was concerned, but Kelly said it was all right. Mike gave the others a tour of the bridge while Kelly talked with the visitors who crowded around her. She spent the next hour signing autographs, usually on a pamphlet written in five languages and produced by the Government describing the events of six years earlier.

There was a throng of people at the Berlin airport to cheer them as they left for Moscow. When they arrived, Kelly was glad there had been such a throng in Berlin to see them off, because it prepared her in some very small way for the welcome she received in Russia. When the plane taxied to a stop, mobile stairs were wheeled into position and the door was opened.