Battlefield China

Chapter 30 Characters’ Fates

Command Sergeant Major Luke Childers eventually went on to become the Sergeant Major of the Army six years following the end of World War III. He officially retired from the Army with thirty-four years of service as the most decorated Sergeant Major of the Army in history with the following awards: Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, three Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with a V device, four Purple Hearts, Meritorious Service Medal, four Commendation Medals and three Achievement Medals. Childers retired to his native home, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Schoolman retired with twenty-one years of service following the end of the war. With the loss of his family at the outset of the war, he returned to an empty home and fell into a deep depression and alcoholism. Two years after retiring, he decided he could no longer go on with the loss of his family and no further war to fight. He committed suicide on the second anniversary of his retirement.

Captain Jack Taylor left the Army as a major after ten years of service, once his student loans had been fully forgiven. He went on to lead a quiet life with his family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a certified public accountant.

First Lieutenant Ian Slater rose to the rank of major before leaving the Army after ten years of service. He did eventually complete his mechanical engineering degree and went to work at Tesla like his older brother. He would eventually retire from the California Army National Guard as a colonel twenty years later. A year after the war ended, the Silver Star medal he had been awarded in Korea was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the battle of the Yalu River and subsequent escape from capture the following day.

Brigadier General Micah Tilman went on to become a four-star general and eventually became the occupation commander for Allied forces in Asia at the end of the occupation term. He was a Marines’ Marine and went on to work for many veterans’ organizations following his retirement after thirty-four years of service to the Corps.

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Long continued his distinguished career in the Marines, eventually rising to the rank of four-star general and becoming the Commandant of the Marines. He retired after thirty-six years of service as the most decorated Marine in the Corps’s history. Six months following the end of the war, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Fei-ts Ui Reservoir during the liberation of Taiwan.

Captain Bennie McRae rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired. The day after he retired, he won $3 million dollars on a scratch-off lottery ticket. He took his money and military retirement and moved to a quiet ranch in Wyoming, where he worked on perfecting his hobby of fly fishing.

Lieutenant Colonel Rob “Pappi” Fortney had a wild and tumultuous marriage to his copilot, Double D, which lasted all of three months. Though they truly were the only people in the world to have had the same unique experience, they processed it very differently. Daniels’ nightmares haunted her, and she fell into a deep depression, which she self-medicated with booze and excessive shopping. Fortney faced his demons head-on. He found support groups, attended therapy, and eventually received a specially trained dog to help him cope.

After getting out of the military, he felt that he needed to do something to give back to humanity, so he became a high school football coach in the inner city. Helping others gave him a deeper purpose and made it easier to get out of the prison of his own mind. Although he was never completely free of the dreams that pervaded his sleep, his life during waking hours helped him to find new meaning and move forward.

President Wally Foss felt elated that the war had finally ended, but utterly spent as a man. While he had taken over as President when Gates had been assassinated, Wally had never actually wanted to be President. He had been happy to be the Vice President, working his connections in Congress to help move the President’s agenda through the halls where he had once walked and worked himself. The immense pressure of leading the United States of America and knowing that fate of humanity hung on many of the decisions he made was more than he could shoulder. When the war ended, he made the decision that rocked his supporters and political party, and he opted not to run for reelection. Just like Lyndon Johnson during the height of the Vietnam War, the thought of four more years as President was just too much. He didn’t feel he possessed the strength to lead the nation and the world through the reconstruction and peace years that lay ahead.

When his term ended on January 20, 2021, he retired to his native state of Indiana and a much quieter, reclusive life where he would focus on doing what he could to help the veterans of the greatest war the world had ever seen learn to reintegrate back into the society they had sacrificed so much to protect.

Secretary of Defense James Castle was determined to make sure the politicians didn’t screw up the peace deals or the much-needed reconstruction period that would be pivotal to holding the world together. Just as General Marshall and President Truman had known Germany and Japan would need to be rebuilt following the end of the war, Castle was determined to make sure Russia and China were cultivated and brought back into the fold of peaceful nations.

When President Foss announced that he would not seek reelection, Castle knew this was his chance to lead the nation and the world into a bright new future. He quickly submitted his resignation as Secretary of Defense and the following day announced his candidacy for President. Despite having no prior political experience, his popularity and high approval rating from his handling of the war led to a massive electoral win.

As the new President, he vowed to lead the world and the country into a new era of peace and economic prosperity.