Flashbacks of a Government Man: A Markus Britt Episode

By Tommy E. Cauthen

This is a story about one man’s experience as a US Army soldier who served as a commissioned officer during the Cold War and afterwards as a special agent under the Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to 9/11. The main character, Markus Britt, shares his experiences based on flashbacks of real historical events. The story line is built on certain events that caused him to recall the event. As an example, the smell of wood burning, watching TV programs, reading news items, the smell of certain cooked food, the sounds of aircraft flying overhead, and sometimes just a place or name could cause these flashbacks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796037777

Tommy E. Cauthen

Tommy Cauthen was serving as a U.S. Army officer in West Berlin when the Wall was built in 1961. He recently published his first novel, A Tangled Web followed by its sequel, Shadows on the Wall based on some of his experiences while serving there. After serving eight years in the Army, he joined the FBI and served as a Special Agent for twenty-one years. Subsequent to his retirement, he became the Managing Director of the London office for an international private investigative firm. In that capacity, he was required to travel to Oslo, Norway due to an extortion matter and got his first taste of the Norwegian culture which eventually led to this book. Cauthen lives with his wife, Sally in Largo, Florida.

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Copyright © 2019 by Tommy E. Cauthen.

Library of Congress Control Number:    2019906208

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-7960-3779-1

                            Softcover                          978-1-7960-3778-4

                            eBook                               978-1-7960-3777-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/04/2019

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

In Foreign Fields

D-Day

The Military Beginning

U. S. Army Ranger Training

Airborne, All the Way

The Wall

A Career Change

The Coffee Break

Crime on the High Seas… in Indiana

A Little Humor

The Faulty Search

The Long Arm of the Law

Flush Him Out

The Line Up

The Overcoat Episode

Stolen Money Orders and a Contract Murder

Organized Crime Drug Task Force Tenure

Flying in the Dark

The Dye Pack Caper

Afraid to Fly

Anchor Away

Liars, Cheats and Thieves

The Curiosity Coins Deal

Behind the Scenes

Planning and Scheming

New Plans

The Execution

The Trip

Settling Up

The Discovery

Initial Investigation

Immediate Follow Up

The Aftermath

Confession Time

The Wheeler Dealer

St. Petersburg Resident Agency

Albany FBI Office

Alexandria FBI Office

Albany FBI Office

Newark FBI Office

St. Petersburg Resident Agency

Initial Consequences for Reverend Jim

New York State Trial

Epilogue

Dedication

TO MY FAMILY WHOM I LOVE

ECCLESIASTES: CHAPTER 3:1-14

There is a time for everything….

Preface

Preparation for this story began many years ago when the first flashback triggered thoughts of past events for Markus…

It was on a rainy Saturday morning one August when our main character, Markus Britt, was in his garage looking for a Philips head screwdriver. When he opened the old green metal tool box in the trunk of his Toyota Camry, the first thing he noticed was not the screwdriver. It was the knife contained in the small light brown colored leather knife case. He immediately recognized the brown and orange colored bone handle of the trusty old knife he had purchased in Columbus, Georgia when he first began Ranger training at Ft. Benning. He immediately removed the item from the tool box and sat down in the old brown plastic yard chair perched beside the garage door. As he held the knife case in his hand, he noted the small leather strap with the silver colored metal snap which he had often used to secure it to his army harness that he had used during his military training exercises. He then began to think back about the events and times the item had been carried by him. That was the beginning of his flashbacks and became the trigger for writing this story which really begins in 1957.

Although the story is true as to the events reported and described, the name of the main character is fictitious as are many of the others mentioned. Some of those individuals however were real people. Such as the German General, Wilhelm Falley, who was ambushed and killed by Lt. Malcolm D. Brannen whose story of his experiences with the 82nd Airborne in WW II were factual and have been recorded in various books and articles.

Although the writer has altered some of the story line within this book, including the places and individual names, it could almost be considered a pseudo chronicle rather than a modern historical suspense novel.

Even the title of the book is in a way a flashback to 1933 when George Kelly Barnes, aka Machine Gun Kelly, was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee by FBI Agents from Birmingham. He was wanted in connection with the kidnapping of a wealthy Oklahoma City resident, Charles Urschel, and his friend Walter Jarrett. Allegedly, as Barnes was stealthily approached in his hide-out by FBI agents with handguns pointed at him early that fall morning, he was without a weapon and shouted out ‘Don’t Shoot, G-Men. Don’t shoot!’ According to FBI legend, his words G-man stuck for the description of Special Agents.

The purpose of the following story is to provide the reader with an insight into what it was like to have served as an officer in the United States Army during the Cold War, and thereafter what experiences a Special Agent in the FBI might have had while serving in small Resident Agencies and FBI Field Offices prior to 9/11.

So, sit back and enjoy what hopefully will be educational and entertaining as we begin this story…

*     *     *

In Foreign Fields

He was now living in "the golden years" of his life and had noticed that he was having more frequent flashbacks about events which had occurred during his younger years, when he had served in the U.S. Army, and even afterward when he served with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

While sitting in his favorite recliner one evening, Markus was watching TV. That evening Rick Steve’s Travels in Europe was focusing on England and France. While watching the program, WW II invasions sights in Normandy appeared on the screen. At that moment, Markus immediately began to recall a time some fifteen years after their marriage. He and his wife Rachel had returned to Europe to visit Rachel’s relatives. It was June 1976. On this occasion, they made their first visit to the Normandy beaches. Markus, who was an avid historian of World War II actions in Europe, and Rachel were staying in a small hotel in Sainte Mere Eglise while visiting the beaches and the surrounding areas where the landings had occurred on D-Day in 1944. Markus specifically focused on the church in the village square where a WW II style parachute was still displayed hanging from the church roof. As he stood there gazing up to the parachute, Markus recalled bits of a story told by his R.O.T.C. instructor at Stetson University, Lt. Colonel Malcolm D. Brannen. Colonel Brannen had told his class of students about his experiences with the paratroopers who jumped into Normandy during the night of the invasion….

*     *     *

D-Day

‘Here we go again!’, he thought. It was about 22:00 hours when 1st Lt. Malcolm D. Brannen took his stick position. His position was number sixteen in the olive-drab twin engine C-47. He was backed up against the cockpit, seated next to a captain who was the Battalion Operations officer and a sergeant from Headquarters Company, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 82nd Airborne Division. All three were trying to get as comfortable as possible in their small bucket seats. This was almost an impossibility due to all the equipment each were carrying. For example, Lt. Brannen’s load consisted of the usual airborne gear plus a stiff, uncomfortable jump suit impregnated against chlorine gas which he was wearing. His freshly sharpened trench knife was strapped to his right leg; K rations filled his pant pockets along with a bottle of Halazone tablets to help purify water, and his silk map of Normandy. Several grenades were attached to his shoulder straps. He was also wearing his pistol belt, with magazines attached, an entrenching tool, compass, first aid packet, and canteen filled with water.

If that had not been enough, he also had an olive drab musette bag loaded with extra underwear, socks, raincoat, flash-light and other personal items. He was armed with a .45 caliber pistol worn on his right hip, and a .30 caliber Carbine carried in a case attached to his left side. A gas mask hung under the Carbine and a pair of binoculars hung from his neck. His reserve chute was attached to the V rings on the main chute harness in front of his chest. His steel helmet and liner were strapped to his head. If he had weighed, Lt Brannen thought his total weight would have been almost 300 pounds. He pointed out that his face was an olive-drab color due to the camouflage paste which he had rubbed into his skin before boarding the aircraft.

Lt. Brannen had related in his story that the Battalion Operations Officer, was the Jump-Master for the eighteen paratroopers assigned to the aircraft and as such was responsible for the proper and safe exit for the other troopers.

After loading the aircraft, it was almost 22:50 hours before the pilot had warmed the engines and started to move the aircraft onto, and then down the runway. The noise of all the numerous other planes as well made it nearly impossible to concentrate, much less converse with one another.

All one could observe, due to the darkness, was a few field lights dotted along the runway and the green colored guidelights of the other planes. Finally, liftoff occurred and they were on their way. Soon they were flying across the Channel, which reflected a beautiful full moon, making the water below appear all silvery colored. By this time, the trooper’s cigarettes were out and no lights were showing inside the plane.

It was not very long before Lt. Brannen noticed they were passing between the islands off the French coast and he realized their drop zone was only about fifteen minutes away. Shortly after passing over the French coast, he began to hear the dull pounding of the German anti-aircraft flack guns. Then the plane began to roll and bounce when the flack struck nearby, so no one was saying much. Occasionally, someone would ask, Did you hear that one? referring to the flak from the enemy guns firing at them from below. Suddenly the red four-minute warning-light by the exit door came on as they approached their drop zone.

The Jumpmaster then yelled out, STAND UP! HOOK UP! STAND IN THE DOOR!

Lt. Brannen claimed that he and the other troopers immediately stood and hooked their snap fasteners to the static line cable running the length of the inside of the aircraft. By this time the aircraft was really bouncing around and everyone was holding onto the cable for dear-life and trying to keep from falling or throwing up. The red light then turned green and the Jump Master shouted, LETS GO!. Lt. Brannen recalled it only took a few seconds for the stick of eighteen to exit the door.

He claimed he felt the sudden jerk of his canopy opening, which threw his head upwards. Then he observed two chutes above, causing him to realize the sergeant and Battalion Operations Officer who had been seated beside him were also floating towards the ground. He could see the numerous red and green tracer bullets being shot towards them. He claimed it wasn’t them that frightened him but the ones he didn’t see, the invisible ones, and he wondered if they had his name on any of them. He could see many German machine gun nests pouring red hot tracers through the air and resolved to avoid them upon landing. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an apple orchard he was approaching. He tried to slip his chute to avoid the trees, but suddenly he went half way through an apple tree before his chute caught in the branches. That event left him dangling about two feet above the ground. He struggled to remove his trench knife and upon securing it, he began trying to cut through his risers but without initial success. About that time, he could see someone running past him, but he could not distinguish if it was friend or foe, so he stopped his movement until they passed.

Afterward, he continued to struggle to free himself, and finally the risers slipped further causing him to fall free but into a thicket of briars and nettles. He recalled them cutting into his hands and face but figured that was better than being sliced-up by the German machine gun bullets that were spraying the adjoining field about 100 yards from him. It was at this point he became thankful for the impregnated clothing which gave him protection at least from the thorns and nettles.

Lt. Brannen silently loosened himself from his chute leaving it in the tree and crawled slowly and quietly away from the nearest current, but silent German machine gun position about a hundred feet away. A little