I stared at the two security men in their strange civilian, but severe attire, in shock.
How could I respond when there was no possibility of selling an American-based life insurance policy to citizens of another country without licenses or permissions? My device to remove the special agents, or whatever they were, backfired. Both men’s expressions had gone from dead flat as they’d been when I’d first run into them, and even only a few minutes earlier, to looks of kindly friendship and willing accommodation. Herbert waited on the phone if he was still there. I had to get rid of them, at least temporarily.
James, I’m not a young man, and I’ve been around a lot of harsh situations, but the remark from Bulldog:
“Doesn’t matter anymore,” Bulldog replied, getting the door. “He came home and went straight to Arlington.”
Was a shot to the gut.
I continue to be in awe of the mindset of current and former military personnel. The dedication to God and Country displayed so nonchalantly stands in stark contrast to the attitudes of so many today.
My pessimism for the future of our country retreats in the face of such dedication.
To both you and all vets living and dead I offer a heartfelt THANK YOU for your service.
Wow, but that’s a wonderful compliment and also sends a warm message of support.
I didn’t intent to be a national hero or a great international servant of democracy and the wonderful American experiment.
It just somehow happened.
Thanks for making me a bit more than I really am.
I am smiling at the writing of this response, Robert.
Semper fi,
Jim
LT, you sure love spending the agency’s money and pushing agency people around in a way that surprises even them. They don’t really understand you and don’t know how to react to you. A sneaky way to help Nguyen who certainly deserves it. I expect he will be the watchdog over your family when your not around.
Herbert was a wonderful interface at the time. He had this undying confidence that I would somehow get it right even when doing it wrong. The agency bends many rules to get the job done, upon occasion. They are also very malleable about changing what happened after it happened, at least for public consumption. They can also frame people without compunction and send them to prison! Funny world out there.
Semper fi,
Jim
I have enjoyed every thing you have written from 30 days til now ! It is getting more interesting as we move though this story. Getting the 45 Colt puts a warm feeling in my gut !Thanks for what you do.
Funny how how the mere possession of that weapon, going all the way back to my childhood when my dad first
taught me how to shoot it (the .45 would go up over my head with every shot before I could get it back down!) has always
given me a sense of well being even though most times I never had to use it or even threaten with it. By the way, that’s another road myth, that if you take out a gun then you shoot somebody. If you can threaten with a gun and it works then you win big time compared to the absolute mess of shooting someone.
Semper fi,
Jim
James,
is it going to be a problem that you forgot to tell him to buy a ticket on a U.S. domestic airline?
Thanks for another slice of this adventure.
THE WALTER DUKE. The story has not played out to that point yet but thanks for pointing that out.
Airports and airlines were a helluva lot different, especially internationally, in those days. Over the years
I flew in airplanes with cracks in the fuselage that were big enough to see through, planes with noses bashed in by bird strikes and two that had streaks of oil flowing down the wing from an engine for the whole flight! I told one pilot that the forward bearing in his right turbine was going at takeoff power…and I got escorted off the plane!
Thanks for the usual sharp eye and informed comment my friend
Semper fi
Jim
Another good story !! Thanks Sir !!
Thanks Roger. Laconic compliment but a good one nevertheless!
Semper fi,
Jim
When it comes down to the violence of conflict. We don’t fight for country or glory or “the right thing” we fight for the buddy beside us who is in the crap with you, both terrified and just trying to make it out alive. The moral goals and greater good mean nothing when you taste your own blood. The only thing that matters is the buddy who is beside you trying to help you.
Finding Nguyen and securing his survival had to be one of the most profound moments of your life! Being able to give back what he gave you is a personal gift very few people can ever deliver. That you made it a mission imperative to get him safe speaks volumes of your character. The story itself is incredible and the narrative so compelling I can’t wait for the next chapter !
DEAS GU CATH ! (Semper Fi for marines)
The Canadian Scottish Regiment, ‘ready for the fight, fray or whatever!’ What a neat phrase to tack on to
your very interesting and personal comment. Thanks for that and you are most correct. ‘Saving’ Nguyen was
one of the greatest things I ever got to do while in the intelligence service. You sound like a combat survivor yourself
James, as your observation about living through such a thing is totally accurate. When I hear talk about vets serving multiple tours in a war zone I always have the same thought; “so your last tour would have been the combat one, huh?” One does not go into real combat and then ask to go back…unless one has lost one’s mind because of that combat. As the Gunny said while we were down in the valley together…”if you come to enjoy this, then there’s no coming back from that.”
Semper fi
Jim
Thank-you for taking the time to research the comments!. I was a member of “B”Coy. Canadian Scottish Regiment. I was also a veteran of 35 yrs LEO many years in remote northern communities without back-up close. I had many terrifying moments fighting to stay alive.
Maintain Le Droit !
!
Thanks James for all you have done for your fellow man…although the fellow men and women remain unknowing of your
contributions. Real heroism is very much that way for so many who serve and sacrifice.
Thanks for what you did and for being on here to tell of some of it.
Semper fi,
Jim
You had a hell of a life and you tell a good story
Thanks Isaac, most appreciative of this kind of compliment.
It’s been one wild ride, that’s for certain.
Semper fi,
Jim
Sir, I believe you would have made a hell of a chef.
You have pots boiling all over the place 😂🤣
Thanks Tom, for the neat compliment. I still have a lot of those pots, old as they are, at full boil!
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim, I saved every chapter from Thirty Days Has September.
I couldn’t read the first one but have read all the rest.
What a life!!
Anne
It’s always a pleasure to have a woman comment on here, as those things in my life
that consist of the adventures written about here also include a whole lot of respect and
participation by my wonderful wife…and I don’t read many authors admitting to that.
Thanks so much.
Semper fi,
Jim
Yes very good read
The agency must really like you
It seems like you get by with doing things without much questioning.
Thanks for the kind words Pat, and the Agency came to question a whole lot more as
the missions became more political. Its’ not often, like with the Korea mission,
wherein you can do so much public good while still serving the Agency goals.
Thanks for the compliment up front too.
Semper fi,
Jim
Samuel Colt did not invent the.45automatic , that was John Brownings brainchild.
Yes, Chuck…what was a I thinking? I corrected that right away in the edit
for the story here and the final work. What would I do without you guys and gals?
Most sincerely
my friend
Semper fi,
Jim
Well, this is great writing. The story is mesmerizing I was not surprised Mary calmed you down. I have that same model at home, thank God. Coping in such a situation can be incredibly challenging. I am not sure I could have adjusted to such an unstructured ,amorphous, ambiguous situation. Especially in country where I don’t speak the language and by looking at me you know I am not a native.
A Samuel review- most clever.
I enjoyed the San Clemente stories because I could relate so closely to your emotional and psychological impulses. Now I am amazed at your adaptability . We were trained to see defined enemies and uncertain dangers ,because they were clearly? easily ? defined in combat. Or so the story goes, but in a strange land much harder it identify especially in such a foreign culture. No support systems, no guidelines, and even less control than in war,
How did you do it?
You are more flexible than I thought.
Write faster
We are all a collected and loosely held together bag of tools with the applicaton of life experience to use those tools.
I, like you, was given quite a ‘bag of tools’ and was fortunate enough to be able to add to that bag over time. Not forgetting much along the way helps a great deal. Some things do slip by. Thanks for the compliments, which you write liberally and often and which help to propel me ever onward. The Agency stuff can get a bit sticky as time goes by because I have to be very careful that I don’t publish classified data or people’s names that might still cause harm through all these years in between.
I don’t need trouble from that quarter.
Thanks for everything, as usuals my friend,
Semper fi,
Jim
Fantastic as always. Thank you.
Thanks for the short but great compliment Kirby!
Semper fi
Jim
Ah, an increment of progress, bravo.
Despite going 120 mph, you’re being pretty deft.
Thank you again for the entertainment Jim, keep up the good work.
Thanks Tim, it was such a pleasure, in those days, to be required to run on ‘all twelve cylinders,’ as I describe it. Of course it was also a pleasure to have 12 cylinders to work with! Much appreciate the compliments and how that keeps me going. All life out here these days of aging don’t exactly possess all the elements that might cause an author to want to sit down and pour his or her heart out. Much appreciate what you write.
Semper fi,
Jim
Outstanding as usual. Keep up the great work. It just gets better and better!
Thanks David, means the world to me to read your stuff on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
Your last chapter ended with the humorous interaction with the Korean ‘security’.
This chapter ends with the answer to the now unneeded questions about when will we get more ‘specifics’ on Nguyen. Additionally as perhaps more information for you about who/multiple who’s who decided to send an untrained asset on a mission to Korea.
More later. Need to re-read multiple times to try and catch up with your 125 mph (Yeah, typing speed.) mind and actions – Depending on the number of “re-reads” required, will utilize as my weekly exercise, mental as well as physical.
Finally, reference your call with Mary – “but I can tell you from here and what little I know that you can’t do these things like you’re doing them right now in the way that you’re doing them.” – from ‘who’ is she getting “what little I know from” and why? Seems as if based on your previously recorded conversations at your ‘bugged’ home, someone has decided that Mary is something of a very reliable/important ‘asset’ to you and therefore, the Agency. Just sayin’.
Regards my friend,
Doug
As usual Doug, you are spot on about the Agency’s regard for my wife. There was never any kickback when she was recorded to have been told top secret stuff by me. I only got called on the carpet for telling my mother something once…and then when they figured out it was my mother after calling me in, they just looked at each other and shook their heads. The passage of secret information among family members has to be there for there’s very quickly no trust foundation to the family organization and therefore, no more family. The Agency knows that. Thanks for the great compliment of the content of your writing. Much enjoy and appreciate.
Semper fi,
Jim
Very complicated life you have started in this chapter Jim,but from what we have learned in the past you are the man for the job.
Thankyou most kindly Ronald. It seems that there’s some accuracy in your comment although I don’t think we
ever see it much in ourselves until maybe in retrospect when we are much older.
Semper fi,
Jim
Here’s you charge free to go,
* your
pulling back on the slide to guide on .45 cartridge home into the chamber.
*slide and releasing it to guide one .45 cartridge
What happened to the two men in black that were waiting for you to complete your phone calls?
There were simply gone when I was done, Don, and I think I stated that but I’ll have to look back into the chapter.
Thanks for the editing help. Much appreciated.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Jim,
As usual leaving us wanting more. Nguyen has been the perfect asset to have your back, as always. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Thanks Reb for the compliment and wanting more!
Semper fi,
Jim
Awesome chapter your still very adept at thinking Jon your feet
Thanks Robert for the kindly but pretty accurate compliment. Nice to see it written though!
Semper fi,
Jim
How did Nguyen even know you were in Korea?
Thanks Tony for the very apropos question, which gets answered in the coming chapter.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, LT, Junior SALUTE Your writing must be improving, or my flashbacks must be getting worse.
You Sir have managed to make me go back through some periods of my life that have always left me in wonder. I am so Blessed that You have been placed in a position that allows You to become a benefactor to Your benefactor. 53 years on I’ve wondered what happened to the people who helped me. God Bless You James and the wonderful Family/extended Family and support Group You have been Blessed to interact with. God Bless Stay Safe SALUTE
Wow, now that’s a long and wonderful compliment through and through and also
gives every appearance of coming straight from your heart.
Cannot really describe how good that makes me feel. Thanks so much
and God bless you too.
Semper fi,
Jim
Fabulous! I can’t wait to see you in action re-united with Nguyen! A wingman like him will make it happen.
Semper Fi!
Sometimes, in life, we are blessed with certain animals and humans bonding with us and that’s so very special to our survival,
both physically sometimes and emotionally.
Thanks for the great compliment in your wording.
Semper fi,
Jim
Just a minor correction – the 1911 45 cal. pistol was invented by John Browning. The rights were sold to Colt.
How did I screw that up? You are so correct and I have to make the correction in the chapter. Thanks so much.
I knew that so why didn’t it come out that way? Thanks so much!
Semper fi,
Jim
Herbert was right “Holy Shit” was an understatement. Another great chapter but saddened about the Marine coming home and going to Arlington. Heroes all.
Thanks my friend Chuck. Yes, always hard to be hit with the abrupt revelation of another combat departure.
Lives cut way too short and lives back home devastated and broken.
Thanks for the understanding and the observation.
Semper fi,
Jim
Decided to possibly use Nguyen as your courier? See how that goes once he reveals why & how he got to Korea.
Yes, interesting chapter coming up, for those fans of Nguyen and mine.
Semper fi and thanks for the compliment.
Jim
Exciting and head-swimming as usual! What a writer you are. What a life you have led.
One minor nitpick:
“What about the two thousand?” Should that instead be two hundred?
Cheers
Gary
Thanks Gary, for the kind compliment and also I have to go back and check the chapter to see what I might have
screwed up. Thanks for the help with that.
Semper fi,
Jim
John Browning invented the 45 automatic pistol. Samuel Colt invented the revolver, originally a percussion cap fired single action. Both are still in widespread use today.
I corrected thanks to you and a few other experts who caught that.
I wonder why I wrote that as I sure as hell know better.
Thanks for the help with all that before we go to print.
Semper fi,
Jim
Action packed from start to finish!
Jim, you are really setting a benchmark high – such an enjoyable read, start to finish.
And you have really settled into your new role as an agent. You seem to instinctively lead, to realize how to accomplish the various tasks needed for success.
Most importantly, you are protecting a very valuable asset, and inspiring a continued and deepened loyalty.
Will you be able to keep that 1911 a secret until needed? I have a long-time love affair for the1911, starting when I was 12 and the Gunny at Sangley Point NAS, Philippines, taught me the ins and outs of the weapon. He had me qualify with every weapon they had in the armory; the 1911 being my favorite. Currently have the Remington model, with night sights, carried it for my 12 years as a LEO.
Write faster – your chapters raise me out of this morbid depression.
Morbid depressions are my specialty! I don’t experience them, as life for me is just too fantastically entertaining and the lonely stuff, which is what I call the inducement of feeling from people the don’t give a shit about me and let me know that, is kept to a raging minimum. So, my number is 2625815300 and I will most definitely take your call. If you are not laughing after five minutes than I will fall into a morbid depression.
Semper fi, and thanks for everything your wrote about this segment.
Your friend,
Jim
I remember a local I worked with in India, I think was in the military caste. His driver lived in his garage alway there to drive or do what was asked! Also, the Corps really is a small place.
Good stuff, now all I have to do is wait!
Car attendants and drivers still occupy very important places out there in the ‘real’ world, as the fictitious place the USA really is, compared to the rest of the countries of the world. One day automatic cars will dominate the world but that’s a long way off, not because of the technology but because the human resistance to such an integral change. I never knew any drivers to live in the garages of their charges but I sure as hell believe it.
Thanks, Colonel for waiting for more.
Semper fi, my great friend,
Jim