Editor’s Note: I am looking out the window of the Mimslyn Hotel, a grand institution in Luray, Virginia. The Blue Ridge mountains beckon in the distance beyond the pool and the hot tub, dotted with the brilliant color of the and the air is fresh after last night’s rain. This is a lovely part of the state, with twisty two lane roads, barns that have stood since the predations of Phil Sheridan’s union forces in the valley campaigns. There is a palpable sense of history in the Shenandoah, and it feels a world away from the hot-house intrigues of the capital. There is so much craziness now that the election is looming just 80 hours away, and more is promised tomorrow.

I was torn about which aspect of Mac’s story to tell this morning. This would be in the epilogue to the book, I suppose. This shows the stone that now stands over his ashes, and those of his wife Billie. I thought that it represented closure of a sort, the final end to the magnificent story that rolled across the great events of the last seventy years. It is a story of victory over all manner of adversaries- ferocious warriors of the Empire of the Sun, and the dreaded Commie hoards pouring through the Fulda Gap. Well, there were setbacks, including the loss to the implacable Vietnamese, of course, no forgetting that. But of all things, the former foe may be one of last allies in the South China Sea against a rising China, an emerging rival that neither country trusts.

I apologize for dancing around on the timeline, but I will endeavor to have it all laid out in a way that makes some sort of sense. I think Mac would like it that way, though I am also confident that he would smile and tell me to just get on with it. So that is precisely what we are going to do this morning.

Vic

Mission Complete

The two letters- Mike and Charlie- are the code we used to enter in the itinerary portion of our travel claims, back when such things were actual pieces of paper. “MC” meant the journey was done, the activity complete, and the mission accomplished.

I did not have that feeling in the afternoon that 26th day of August, 2013. I was stuck with a feeling of lassitude, looking at images of other people’s monuments to times gone by, and how the people of the present react to them. The water in the pool was chill; Doc said it was about 80 degrees, which would seem temperate in the air, but in the water, over time it is enough to start to cool the core body temperature.

By the 61st minute of paddling around I was more than ready to have it over, and I shivered visibly in the minor breeze as the sun shone brightly on the pool deck. Seven more swimming days until it is over and I have to figure out some other therapeutic regimen. I squished in my flip-flops back to the unit and got out of the dank trunks and added a sweater to my t-shirt to try to get warm.

Shivering in August. Damn, I thought. Cool summer here. I sat down at the computer to check what might have come in while I was in the water, and saw a text from Mac’s son David. There was an attachment, and I clicked it open.

The people at Arlington Cemetery had placed the headstone on Mac’s grave. I was going to check on that when I go over to put flowers on Dan and Vince’s graves on 9/11, but now I can just stop by. With all the rain, the new sod has grown in nicely, rich and green.

I remembered suddenly the panoply of our saying farewell to him. The assembled active duty formations of Officers and Enlisted intelligence Specialist marching with three Vice Admirals at their head to pay respect. The caisson of the Old Guard drawn by their stoic peaceful horses. The Navy band, and the honor guard who fired the 21 guns, and the cannon that signified the tribute to an officer of Flag rank. The piper in full kit, and the mournful sound of his keening reeds.

Mac is at rest with his beloved Billie, I thought at the time, but it was not over, not even close. Now, the grass is lush and the stone white and pristine.

Donald McCollister Showers
RADM US Navy
World War II
Vietnam
AUG 25 1919
OCT 19 2012
MAC
OPINTEL Pioneer
Midway Victory

Now the matter is done.

Mission Complete.

Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303