Drowning in Her Eyes (40 page)

Nui Dat, Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam
—1967

Brigadier Freeman sat at his desk and read the communiqu
é. He was out of a job. The Australian Government had decided to commit another battalion of infantry and attached units to South Vietnam. A Major General was coming to take overall command. Freeman had been posted
home, and he wasn
'
t sorry. However, there were a few loose ends to tie up, and one of them was waiting outside. He picked up his phone.
“Ok
ay
, Corporal, send in Captain Riordan.
”

Jack entered and saluted. He was feeling good. His wounds had almost healed, and he had had a week
's convalescent leave. The Brigadier looked up.
“Sit down
,
Captain. I have been reading your action report about your little dust-
up at Bien Long. The Yanks, with their usual black humour, are calling it
,
‘The Bien Long BBQ
'. They were impressed with your coolness under fire and your decisive action. They want to give you a medal. The ARVN are happy as well. They say your action tied up NVA forces and took the pressure off them. They want to give you a medal, too. I do not
want
to give you a medal; I
have
given you a medal. Army HQ has approved my recommendation to award you the Military Cross. Congratulations. Moreover, you have a posting back to your old Regiment. We feel you have done your bit.
”

* * *
*

Jack could
n
'
t believe it. He was going home at last!

But first, he was going to visit Jimbo at the hospital.
He
couldn
'
t wait know
more
about Susan and their baby.
He
'
d had no chance to get away since they
had returned from Bien Long. He
'
d
had
to write combat reports on the action and the performance of his troops. He mentioned the heroism of their pilot in getting them down safely and made special mention of the men who had refused medivac in order to remain with the squad. Finally, two days later
,
he was free to go.

He was glad to hear t
he pilot was going to make it. Riley was going home, classified as unfit for combat. He was a regular so the army had made him a Corporal and arranged a posting to a supply depot in Kansas. Riley got his Purple Heart, and like all the other members of his squad, the Bronze Star. He was going home a hero.

Jack
asked for some time with Jimbo Baker. He was going home
,
too. Torn ligaments in his shoulder would take a long time to heal. It was unlikely he would ever fill a combat role again.

Jimbo was eager to talk to him.
“Sir,
” he began.
“I had it all wrong about you. Thanks for saving my life.
”

Jack sm
iled at him.
“Forget about the sir
, Jimbo. We are going to be related as soon as I can get to Susan. Tell me all that has happened to her and our little girl.
”

Jimbo smiled.
“May
,
1965. She called her Jacqui
,
after you. She
's a cute little kid. Mom just spirited us out of the country. I am sure she was almost out of her mind. She was terrified you and John Starr would marry the girls and she wo
uld never see them again. She
'
s treated both of them badly. John came to Worcester and married Sarah, but Mom made it so hard for him
,
he cleared out
and went
to Wyoming. Suzie has always believe
d you would come for her. She
'
s never stopped loving you, Jack.
”

Jack was filled with joy. He had never doubted their baby would be a little girl. Now they would finally be united to return to
Ballinrobe
.

Jimbo told him about the letter from Helen that he now knew was a forgery.
“Mom was really paranoid by that stage,
” he said.
“I was only a kid. I didn
't know what to do. I
'm glad you found me, Jack. I might have killed you.
”

Jack smiled.
“B
igger
men than you have tried, mate. What will you do now?
”

“I
'll go home. I have a long convalescent furlough. Depending on how I heal, I might just stay on in the army
. I doubt if they
'
ll send me back here.
They tell me
I
'm a regular hero.
” He grinned.

“Ok
ay
,
” said Jack.
“I
'll wish you goodbye now. I have to pack and catch a ride to Sydney. I should be in Boston in about three weeks or less. I hope you will be home by then. You will have to come to the wedding.
” Jack wasted no time. He sent a cable to Susan. It was short and to the point:

I AM COMING
…
stop
… MY LOVE IS NEVERENDING

…
stop
…JACK

Then he sat down and wrote her a twenty-
page letter.

Worcester, MA, USA—1967

Susan and Jacqui were reading stories when she heard the doorbell. She opened the door to find a Western Union man.
“Telegram for Susan,
” he said.
“Are you Susan? That
's all it says.
”

She took the yellow envelope. What could this mean? She opened the telegram. She read it twice, disbelieving, then she felt her knees buckle. She almost fell, grasping the doorknob for support.
“Oh,
” she breathed,
“Oh, thank God, Jack has found us!
”

“Mommy, what
's wrong?
” Jacqui was standing behind her, anxious
and near
tears.

Susan fell to her knees and enfolded her daughter in
her arms.
“Oh, darling, there
's nothing wrong. It
'
s Daddy
! He
'
s found us,
baby! And he
'
s coming for us
. We
're going
home
to
Ballinrobe
.
”

“Why are you crying, Mommy?
You should smile.
”

And she did.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
—1967

When the Qantas flight touched down it was early morning. There was a group of officers travelling together. They had orders to travel in civilian clothes; the Government did not want to upset the anti-
war demonstrators. Jack was the junior
officer
, but the others had heard of the
‘Bien Long BBQ
'. They gave friendly deference to him. As they left the plane, a Colonel said to him,
“Want a lift, son?
” Jack declined with thanks. He knew his mother had travelled to Sydney to meet him, but he was surprised to see Maree waving excitedly from the gallery. He hugged them both for a long time. Taking in his thin body and the new lines on his face, Helen said,
“I must get you home and fatten you up.
”

“Mum,
” he said,
“I
've found Susan! I found her brother in Vietnam. He told me where she is; she
's been waiting for me. You don
't know how that makes me feel.
”

“Yes
,
”
s
he said, remembering the agony he had lived through,
“Yes, I do. What wonderful news!
”

Maree said,
“Well Jack, your real life can begin again. We have a lovely hotel for you. Next week is the investiture. After that, it
's
Ballinrobe
for a quick look and off to America for you, I suppose. God
,
you must be excited!
”

“Why don
't we get a cup of coffee,
” said Jack, it
's been a long time since I
've had a decent one. There is a cafe over there, let
's all sit down. I have lots to tell you.
”

Jack related the events of the last few weeks to them. He told them how he had met Jimbo Baker by happenstance and how the boy had wanted to kill him.
“His mind had been poisoned by his mother,
” said Jack. He told them of the forged lette
r.

“I knew it,
” said his mother,
“
I knew Susan wouldn
'
t do that. She loved us all too much.
”

“There
's even more, Mum,
” he said to Helen.
“
I didn
'
t
know how to
tell you then.
I didn
'
t want to distress you, since I had no way of k
nowing if I
'
d ever find Susan again. When she left, she was carrying my baby. You have a granddaughter, Mum, a beautiful little girl.
Her name is Jacqui.
”

“Oh, Jack,
” she said, now understanding even more the extent of his grieving,
“and you
've never seen her!
”

“I have,
” said Jack,
“Oh
,
I have.
In my dreams.
”

Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
—1967

When Jack
's letter
arrived
,
Susan took it to her room
, and
with Jacqui on her lap, she bega
n to read it to her. Jacqui didn
'
t understand much, but she smiled at the mention of
Ballinrobe
and the
thinking place
.

“Daddy, Daddy,
”
she said.