Chapter 25
February 9, 1984
Tallahassee, Florida
Bob Graham was home at a decent hour for the first time in over two months. Most of what needed to be done had been done. The seed program was underway, with farmers all over the state having raised greenhouses and planted vegetables. At substantial cost, Graham was able to procure a day’s worth of refined gasoline from Chevron, and it had been distributed to several secured key points around the state that were not expected to be hit. Gainesville received a somewhat larger amount, as it was going to be the temporary state capital when war broke out. Utilizing the idea of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, Graham had stockpiled meals prepared for astronauts. With civilian NASA missions shelved, the state was able to convince the Kennedy Space Center to donate their stockpile of “astro food.”
The governor was also mulling how to handle the surprising request he’d received yesterday evening. Gainesville’s most famous residents, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, had returned home yesterday from Los Angeles, and wanted to play a “concert for peace” at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, commonly known as “The Swamp.” The football stadium held over 80,000 fans, and Graham was a little concerned about security, given the split nature of Florida’s residents over possibly going to war. The college kids and cosmopolitan types in Miami were against it, but the Panhandle and central Florida residents were, to put it bluntly, redneck flag-waving Americans. Graham’s aides were nervous about a brawl breaking out between sides. Floridians weren’t always known for cool heads.
Graham and his wife, Adele, were sitting on the couch, watching Wheel of Fortune and sipping on red wine. Their children had come to stay with them, including their youngest, Gwen, a sophomore home from the University of North Carolina, where most of her professors had cancelled class until further notice. Bob thought Gwen would run for office one day, and hoped the country survived so she could. As Pat Sajak went to tell a contestant to spin the wheel, a breaking news graphic cut in. Graham’s head dropped. Can’t we go more than a couple days in a row without something bad happening?
“Good evening, I’m Tom Brokaw. We just left you a short while ago when the NBC Nightly News ended, but we have a special report out of Hamburg, West Germany tonight. The German counterterrorism group, GSG-9, has reportedly engaged a hostile force at the harbor. We have been unable to gain confirmation from the West Germany Ministry of Defense, but for what we do know, I have Garrick Utley on the phone from Hamburg. Garrick, what can you tell us?”
“Tom, we were turned in for the night at our hotel, which is near the harbor here. In the harbor is a dockyard, the Werftliegerunterstützung der Bundeswehr, or Dockyard Services for the Bundeswehr, the West German Army. About 45 minutes to an hour ago, we suddenly heard gunfire down by the water. Automatic weapons fire, with two distinct types of noise, and it went on for probably close to ten minutes. Myself and our cameraman and producer quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs, but by the time we did, the battle was over. We attempted to get closer to the harbor, but the streets had been blocked off by police, and one of them said that GSG-9 had stopped saboteurs from blowing up the dockyard.”
“Garrick, is there any word whatsoever on the identity of the attackers? Were they terrorists, soldiers, anti-war activists?”
“No, Tom, we don’t know at this time who the attackers were, but the suspicion amongst residents is that the Soviets were trying to scare West Germany from sticking with NATO. We’ve heard from sources in the Bundeswehr that the borders with East Germany have seen a greater influx of Soviet soldiers in recent days, but nothing to confirm that they have any responsibility for this attack…Tom, I’ve just been handed a note. The West German government is going to be holding a press briefing here in about two hours or so. The Minister of the Interior, Friedrich Zimmermann, is going to be boarding a plane shortly in Bonn and flying to Hamburg. This makes sense, in that GSG-9 reports to Minister Zimmermann. We’ll obviously be there for that, and will keep you posted on when that is.”
“Thank you, Garrick. That’s all for now, we may be back later this evening with the press conference in Hamburg depending on the timing. This is Tom Brokaw in New York, we return you now to your regularly scheduled program.”
The governor put down his wineglass. "Adele, honey, I think we all need to pack a suitcase. We may be leaving for Gainesville soon."
*****
February 10, 1984
Tallahassee, Florida
It'd been an uneasy night for the governor. His family was shaken by the news, and also by his directive to pack. It made the onset of war feel more certain, and the thought of that was terrifying. Graham was nervous about what he'd have to do, the orders he'd have to give, and it kept him from sleeping more than a few hours. He awoke before dawn and was driven to the office by a state trooper, with a chase car, because security was paramount now. After he arrived, he called down to the cafeteria and ordered a breakfast delivered to his office, then turned on the television while he reviewed evacuation orders that had been drafted. The plan called for three coach buses to be brought to the Capitol to transport the legislators and selected key aides to Gainesville. Graham included a key concession to ensure the compliance of everyone: spouses and children could drive to Gainesville. ID cards had been issued for the family members, and would be cross-checked upon arrival at Reitz Union. Each person would be booked a room at the Reitz Union hotel, a low-key facility built into the Reitz Student Union. It had beds for nearly 600 people in the rooms, while cots and air mattresses had been procured to accommodate families. If any overflow occurred, aides who were unmarried would be first given dorm rooms, and if those were full, the remainder would be provided cots set up in meeting rooms in the facility, with showers in the gym available. It was expected that this wouldn't be the most popular measure, but it sure beat being dead.
The University of Florida had received a substantial settlement for royalties the year over Gatorade, when Quaker Oats purchased Stokely Van Camp, the company licensed to produce the electrolyte-replacing beverage developed by researchers at UF's Institute for Agricultural Research. In this regard, and others, UF was outstandingly positioned to sustain the additional influx of people and help surrounding areas should the worst occur. As long as it was left untouched by the Soviets, UF had the ability to develop all manner of foodstuffs, and had, in fact, quietly reached out to Quaker Oats recently, asking for two million gallons worth of Gatorade in return for a reduction of the royalty payout. No corporation would resist the offer to retain cash, and so a deal was struck, and in the storage areas of the new Stephen O'Connell Center (four years old, but new in arena terms), pallet upon pallet of Gatorade was stored, for distribution as part of daily food handouts. It was expected that a bottle a day per person would help with the fact that food would be rationed. Two million gallons equated to 16 million bottles, 16 ounces per bottle. It was an astonishing amount, and even with the roughly 96,000 people in Gainesville (students included), it would last for nearly six months once distribution began.
By afternoon, the governor's office had distributed memos to all legislative offices detailing the schedule and recommending to those who were coming to Gainesville that they should have a large suitcase packed and ready to go in their office the next day. If they didn't, they would be responsible for obtaining clothing in Gainesville. It was also recommended that they have cash on hand. To help in this matter, as well as help other employees, Graham received assent from the Legislature to pay a "bonus" to any state employee who was designated for a position in reconstruction. The bills were mounting, and if war didn't come, taxes would have to be increased to cover the shortfall. The governor promised the legislators, in writing, that he would take any blame for a tax hike, but he wanted to be as prepared as possible.
While conducting his 3 pm status meeting, a loud, "Oh, shit!" was heard in the outer office. Everyone got up and went out, to be greeted by the sight of Graham's executive secretary shaking and the television in the corner showing burning wreckage at an airport. The civil defense head turned up the volume. "...sure why this happened yet, but we do know this was an American Air Force transport jet, bringing home dependents of military personnel stationed in the area. Dan, my knowledge is that this was a Lockheed Starlifter C-141, and it can hold 250-300 passengers in its passenger configuration. If so, this is a devastating catastrophe. The airport's fire department is here, trying to extinguish the fire, but as you can see from the pieces of the plane, it's unlikely anyone would have survived."
"Sander, has anyone from the U.S. Mission Office issued a statement? Any military commanders?"
"No, Dan, we haven't heard a thing, although I have to say, it's probably too early for anyone to have any comment or facts. All we know is that this plane exploded while preparing to leave the terminal and take off for the United States, and there's been substantial damage to that section of the terminal as well. There are likely more fatalities and injuries there as well, but we obviously can't get too close at the moment. It is just an awful moment, and coming on the heels of last night's attack in Hamburg, well, we've heard from Defense Ministry sources that they were Soviet Spetznaz, their special forces, much like our Green Berets, despite no formal identification offered by the Interior Minister who briefed the media in Hamburg hours after the dockyard attack. If that is indeed the case, if the Soviets were responsible, I don't see how war is avoidable. An attack by the Soviets on anything in West Germany is tantamount to a war declaration, and two attacks is something that can't be ignored by NATO. We may very well see panicked evacuations of border towns and cities within the next 24-48 hours, Dan. I hate to sound alarmist, but there's no way around what the facts are now."
"Sander, thank you, and we'll be back to you later. We've currently heard nothing from the White House, so we will be monitoring developments and break into programming as necessary. That was Sander Vanocur in Hamburg, and I'm Dan Rather in New York. We'll send you back to your regularly scheduled program right now. This has been a CBS News Special Report."
The governor looked at his aides. "Call the leadership. We need to have an expanded Emergency Powers Act passed immediately. We're going to initiate the evacuation to Gainesville tomorrow. This thing is going to happen...goddamn Soviets are too stupid to recognize what they're doing and where it's going to lead." He shook his head and walked back into his office to continue the (now much more important) status meeting.
