The Lost Mission: None

By Alan Swope

On May 14, 1965, four sailors took part in a mission to rescue four marines in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The mission was simple: venture into the jungle and locate the four trapped marines. But soon they were surrounded by the enemy, and the only means of escape was via the sea. Five men were wounded, and one man, John Heartly, not only fired more than two hundred rounds, but also carried a little Vietnamese girl out of the jungle and into safety.

Just after the new year of 1988, navy personnel discover a file of yellowed documents wedged between some old filing cabinets. The file holds the records of that May 14, 1965, mission. It narrates the details of the rescue and notes that all of the participants were decorated and given medals, except oneJohn Heartly.

Now, thirty-three years later, the US government intends to rectify the situation. But first they must verify the details and locate the rescued Vietnamese girl; only then can they give Heartly his long-overdue recognition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475931570

Alan Swope

Alan Swope was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Arizona in 1949. While growing up, he loved to hunt, fish, and pan for gold in the mountains. Swope served for two enlistments in the US Navy. He is also the author of The Lost Mission.

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The Lost Mission

Copyright © 2010, 2012 by Alan Swope.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic,

electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information

storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue

in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-3156-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-3158-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-3157-0 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 07/25/2012

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Preface

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

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Author’s Note

______________________________

This is my first attempt at writing a book. I have been toying with this idea and story line for a while, and if it goes into print, I hope those of you who happen to read it certainly enjoy it. The individuals and incidents portrayed in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual incidents or persons is purely coincidental.

Preface

______________________________

This is a story about a young man whom the US Navy forgot. This story starts thirty-three years ago. The war in Southeast Asia has been over for some time now, but it has to be mentioned because that is where this story actually begins.

Acknowledgments

______________________________

I would like to thank my sister-in-law, Jayne, for typing my book for me and my sister, Elizabeth, and friend Cinda for helping me proofread the book and put things in order. Special thanks go to my family for their support and belief in me. I love all of you.

Prologue

______________________________

The date was Monday, January 3, 1997. The holidays were over, and people seemed to be getting back into the routine of their everyday lives after the long holiday weekend.

It was cold and damp in Washington, DC. The ground—and most everything else—was white from the snow that had fallen the night before.

At 7:45 a.m., Ms. Julie Tyson pulled into her assigned parking spot, as she had done for the past fourteen years. As she stood outside her car, she looked up at the building and read the name out loud: Department of Naval Personnel. Boy, this is going to be a long day!

Ms. Tyson was an attractive woman—forty-six years old, petite, with auburn hair. She had been married twice. Her first husband, Jack Tyson, had been in the US Navy; after her second marriage, she had changed her last name back to Tyson. She had loved Jack very much. He had been a fighter pilot stationed aboard an aircraft carrier. The ship had been overseas, off the coast of Vietnam. A night strike had been planned for May 11, 1966, at 2100 hours. Four planes had been scheduled to go on the strike that night. Lt. Tyson’s plane had been the fourth one to launch. They’d said his plane was on the catapult and that when they’d given the signal to launch him, the plane had developed engine trouble, but by then, it had been too late. His plane had fallen off the bow of the ship, thirty feet into the water, and because the ship had a thirty-foot draft at the bow, they figured the ship had run over him. His body and the plane were never found.

Her second husband had worked in construction. He had a bad temper and often got into fights with other employees, which meant he was often fired. His reputation for having a bad temper preceded him, and every job he applied for turned him down. She might have married him out of grief over her first husband; she wasn’t sure. One day, she came home from work, and her husband wasn’t there. When she went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, she figured that he would be home soon. That was when she saw the note on the table: Hon, you know I’ve had trouble finding a job. I heard there is construction work down in North Carolina. I’m going down to see if I can land a job. Call you in a few days. Mack. He was gone, along with all of his belongings. The one thing she had to respect him for was that when he left, he never touched either bank account. She hadn’t heard from him since.

Chapter One

______________________________

As Ms. Tyson entered the building and got her ID out for the security check, she noticed Mr. Thompson, a middle-aged lieutenant with the security force that protected all government buildings. He had worked for the government in some capacity for twenty-three years.

Good morning, Mr. Thompson, she said.

Ah… Ms. Tyson! Good morning to you too. And how are you today?

She replied, I’m fine. A little cold but fine. And you?

Mr. Thompson answered, Great. Just great. Couldn’t be better!

Oh, by the way, Ms. Tyson, Lt. Davidson asked me to tell you that he wants to see you.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson.

Ms. Tyson made her way down the hall toward the records office, where she heard the usual greetings. She reached the office door and went inside. She saw Lt. Davidson standing at one of the filing cabinets, thumbing through the folders, looking for something.

Morning, Lieutenant, she said. Can I help you? Mr. Thompson said you wanted to see me.

Yes, Ms. Tyson. Good morning. I do need to talk to you, and no, I was just looking through the files. I wanted to see how you had them alphabetized in case I had to find information on someone. Otherwise nothing in particular, he said.

What did you want to talk to me about? she asked.

Do you remember how you keep telling me that we need a bigger office and more filing cabinets?

Of course I do, she replied.

Well, I talked to Commander Hopkins this morning. There is a larger vacant office at the other end of the hall. We can move right in if you approve it. I looked it over, and I think you will like it. Would you like to look at it now?

You’ve already done that? What do you think of it? What time did you come in anyway? It’s only a little after eight now, she said as she looked at her watch.

Here’s the key. Go look, and we’ll talk when you return. The room number is on the tag.

She left the office, walked down the hall, and found the room number. She unlocked the door and entered. It was a sizeable room. She guessed it to be about fifteen by fifteen square feet. As she looked around, she saw offices on every side. The room she was standing in could be used as a receptionist office. She looked at each one, and then she entered the office on the far right and saw a closed door on the right. Curious, she went over and opened the door. Behind it was a large room that was about four hundred square feet, she guessed. This is great, she thought. After she locked the doors, she returned to the other office. Lt. Davidson was at his desk.

Well, Ms. Tyson, do you like it? he asked, looking up at her.

I think it’s great. You, Commander Hopkins, and I can each have our own office, and we can put all of the filing cabinets in the larger room under lock and key. The room off the hall can be for our receptionist, Ms. Tyson said with excitement in her voice.

Hold on now, said Lt. Davidson. "I never said anything about a receptionist.

You know we need one, I have talked to you about this several times was her reply as she sat down in the chair in front of Lt. Davidson’s desk.

Alright I’ll check into it. Is there anything we need for the other office? He said looking at her with a sly smile.

Grinning back she said, Yes, we could use a few more filing cabinets.

Ok, I’ll call down to storage and ask what they have.

Good. She said.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

This is storage, Chief Ward speaking.

Chief, Lt. Davidson here. We want to move to the larger office that was just vacated at the other end of the hall. Could you send up a working party to move our filing cabinets and desks?

Yes, sir! How many men do you want? I have six men available at the present time.

That will be enough. Send them up with a dolly or two, and I will talk to them when they get here.

Yes, sir. Right away, sir!

As Ms. Tyson sat there, halfway listening to the conversation, she couldn’t help but think, What a nice-looking man. Dark hair, hazel eyes, medium height, maybe 180 pounds, has a nice smile, looks good in a uniform . . . probably twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. Julie, stop thinking like that! You’re almost twice his age! she quietly said to herself.

After Lt. Davidson hung up the phone, he looked over at her. Ms. Tyson, do you have a lot to do today?

Not really, she replied. I can stay busy all day though. Why?

Well… I thought maybe you would like to show the work party where you want things and… maybe arrange it as you go. I’ll even pitch in and help! How is that?

You’re not afraid of a little work? She gave him a little smile along with her sly remark.

And he gave a dry laugh.

Lt. Davidson, did you ask Chief Ward if he had any extra filing cabinets down there?

Oops!

You didn’t?

Lt. Davidson picked up the phone again and dialed the number for storage once more.

This is storage, Chief Ward speaking.

Chief, this is Lt. Davidson again. I forgot to ask you. Do you have any extra filing cabinets down there? At that moment, he looked up at Ms. Tyson and saw that she held up four fingers. We will need four if you have them.

Yes, sir, I think we have at least that many. I’ll check. Hold on. A minute later, Chief Ward picked up the phone and said, Lieutenant, I have seven. Two are in sad shape, but the other five aren’t bad.

Well, send up the best four, okay?

When the work party arrived, the six seamen had four cabinets on hand trucks and four dollies with wheels. The first seaman came in and said, Sir, Chief Ward sent us. He said you had some furniture to be moved.

Yes, we are moving!

"Lieutenant!" yelled Commander Hopkins.

Sir, replied Lt. Davidson as he quickly turned around and hurried into the commander’s office.

Lieutenant, I just got off the phone with the admiral. He wants to see us right away.

Yes, sir, I’ll get my hat.

When the lieutenant went back into the other office, he started to say something when Ms. Tyson said, I heard. You go ahead. I will take care of things here.

He nodded his thanks and replied, Sorry.

Lt. Davidson turned to the seamen standing there and gave them his orders. Men, Ms. Tyson will show you what she wants done.

Yes, sir! replied one of the seaman. With that, Lt. Davidson picked up his hat and was gone.

The seamen knew that the office they were moving to was empty and that the filing cabinets would probably go into the largest room, so it would be easiest if they were moved first. Ms. Tyson was about to say something when one of the seamen made a suggestion. Ms. Tyson, I think we should move the cabinets first. They go in the big room, don’t they?

Yes, they do, she replied.

The seaman who didn’t have a hand truck rocked the first cabinet away from the wall so that the hand truck could