“I said that’s the last of those heavy fucking trucks that goes aboard the Captain J.C. Buffett.”
“That’s simply not acceptable,” Colonel Kennedy said.
" ’Acceptable’ ?” the seaman parroted. “Who the fuck are you to tell me what goes aboard the Captain J.C. Buffett?”
“I think I had better discuss this with one of the ship’s officers,” Kennedy said. “Preferably with her captain. Presumably I can find him aboard?”
“You are discussing this with her captain,” the seaman said. “Who the fuck did you think you were talking to?”
“You’re the captain?”
“Captain John F. X. Moran at your service, Colonel.”
“Captain, obviously I owe you an apology—”
“Not yet,” Captain Moran interrupted.
“Thank you,” Kennedy said. “Captain, the vehicles we’re trying to load aboard your ship are essential to an operation. . . .”
“Putting the X Corps ashore at Wonsan,” Moran offered helpfully.
Colonel Kennedy found that helpfulness disturbing. For one thing, that the invasion force was headed for Wonsan was classified Top Secret. Colonel Kennedy wasn’t at all sure that Captain Moran had that kind of a security clearance, much less the Need to Know, at this point, the destination. He was sure that he was not supposed to casually introduce it into conversation the way he had.
“Wonsan?” Kennedy asked. “Who said anything about Wonsan?”
“Jesus Christ!” Moran said disgustedly. “If you really don’t know about Wonsan, Colonel, what’s going on here is the reloading of X Corps, which will then be transported around to the other side of the Korean Peninsula and landed at Wonsan.”
Colonel Kennedy decided not to respond directly.
“The X Corps Operations Officer sent me here to see that the heavy vehicles, such as the wrecker you just loaded aboard, were loaded aboard last, so they may be unloaded first when you reach your destination.”
“Colonel, let me try to explain this to you. When I off-loaded those vehicles when we came here, I just about completely fucked up the motors, booms, winches, and other equipment aboard. I knew it would. My gear is not designed to handle such heavy loads. But I figured, what the hell, the important thing is to get these vehicles ashore—I can get the gear repaired when I’m back in San Diego. But now I’m told I’m going to Wonsan, not ’Diego, and I have to load all this stuff back aboard, and then unload it again at Wonsan— where I understand there will be no functioning shoreside equipment to unload me.” He paused, then went on: “Still with me, Colonel?”
Colonel Kennedy nodded and said, “Go on, please.”
“What I can do, Colonel,” Moran went on, “is use the ship’s gear to load the lighter stuff—the jeeps, three-quarter -ton ammo carriers, and the six-by-sixes. I can also probably unload them in Wonsan, presuming I don’t fuck up my gear any more than it’s already fucked up by loading the heavy stuff.” He paused, and went on: “Am I getting through to you, Colonel?”
“Yes, you are,” Colonel Kennedy said. “There’s absolutely no chance—”
“Not a fucking chance. Now, do I start to see how much of the light stuff I can get aboard before the fucking tide starts going down and leaves me stranded in the fucking mud? Or what?”
“Under the circumstances, I think it would be best to start loading the lighter vehicles,” Colonel Kennedy said.
“Believe it or not, I’m sorry as hell about this,” Captain Moran said, and then walked back to where he had originally been standing.
He looked up at the ship.
“Okay, get those fucking lines down here,” he called. “We’re now going to start loading the light stuff.”
Colonel Kennedy turned to Captain MacNamara.
“It looks as if we have a problem, Captain,” he said. “What I suppose I’m going to have to do is see the Port Master, and see if these heavy vehicles can be loaded aboard another vessel.”
“Yes, sir,” MacNamara said. “Colonel, can I make a suggestion?”
“Absolutely.”
"Let me take them overland, across the peninsula,” MacNamara said.
“I don’t think I follow you,” Kennedy admitted.
“Colonel, maybe I jumped the gun a little, but when Captain Moran told me that X Corps was going to be re-landed at Wonsan, I looked at the maps.”
“And?”
“Excuse me, sir, I have to get the line moving,” MacNamara said, and trotted toward the lines of vehicles ready to be loaded. He jumped up on the running board of a GMC 6 × 6, and a moment later Kennedy saw a soldier appear behind the wheel. He started the 6 × 6’s