Chapter 33
February 17, 1984
Gainesville, Florida
It had been a sleepless night for Bob Graham. Around 3 am, he finally gave up, and walked to the coffee room the hotel had set up near the emergency offices of the State of Florida. Pouring a cup of coffee, Graham pondered that this was going to be one of those things that might become scarce in the span of a few days. If I'm alive to enjoy coffee, I won't take it for granted. With that cheery thought, he made his way to Major General Ensslin's "War Room," where there were communications set up with the National Military Command Center and with the various bases around the state. Two large maps, one of the state and another of the country, were hung on a wall. On a table, a smaller map of Germany laid out, presumably to foresee what may come. A few enlisted men and two officers had the overnight duty. Graham went to speak to the senior one. "Good morning, Colonel. How are things going out there?"
"Well, we're on strip alert across the country now. That means that planes are out of hangars, on the deck, and ready to fly when the alarm sounds. We've got E-3A Sentry and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft flying patrols off the coasts, looking for any potential dangers out of Cuba. We got lucky with Grenada, if Ronnie hadn't decided to go in there, they'd have had that runway complete, sir. That'd make us a fatter target than we already are," the colonel replied. "Yeah, I thought it was stupid last fall, but I guess the President had more foresight than I gave him credit for," the governor said. "Do you think they're going to come? Are they really launching a war?"
"Sir, they're a bunch of old, scared men, so scared they've gone and done what they've never done before: they gave a military man complete control of the country. We had indications that Andropov wanted to hand off to a younger Politburo member, but he's out now, and probably dead. That was a paranoid bastard right there, all those years in the KGB. So, you've got addled fools like Chernenko, old Stalinists like Ustinov and Gromyko, and Kryuchkov at KGB. All of the top slots are headed by the very old guard, and they fear us, and that fear makes for a bad combination. They probably believe their own rhetoric, and Ogarkov is a pragmatist who was willing to subsume all of that to push their rhetoric. Think of how he pressed his defense of the KAL shootdown, despite everyone knowing they were lying. Ogarkov literally has control of everything, and that hasn't been the case since Stalin. He probably knows this is a bad idea, but he's going to eagerly carry it forward instead of pumping the brakes. I really have to question what's going on over there and what they're thinking. It's terrifying," concluded the colonel.
"What's your name and function here?" Graham asked.
"Lieutenant Colonel Castillo, sir. I was a homicide lieutenant in Miami when I got called up. The general had me assigned to intelligence, so here I am. Beats commanding a battalion in Germany. I might just survive here. Everyone over there, it'll be a miracle if anyone walks out of it alive. Ground war is going to be a meat grinder, and while those new M1 Abrams tanks we have are beautiful, the Soviets have so damn much of everything that numbers will overwhelm you, like the Lilliputians in Gulliver's Travels."
*****
Miami, Florida
Despite the interior siting of the Emergency Operations Center, it was still nerve-wracking for everyone inside when the sirens went off as scheduled for the test. Some of the civilian workers cringed at the sound, and in the streets, people froze. Every TV and radio station and the newspapers had all said the test would happen, but the actual sound had an effect on everyone. For the three minutes that the wailing noise blasted through the air, nothing happened. Workers stopped, traffic stopped, and the populace waited for it to stop so they knew it was indeed a test. That morning, the state police had announced that I-75 was northbound only until Weston, while I-95 was northbound until West Palm Beach, at which point people could break off onto other roadways. US-1 was cleared for the mandatory evacuation of Keys residents. Shelters were opened further north, now, all along the coastal communities from Boca Raton to Palm Bay, to accommodate the influx. National Guard companies were deployed in these areas to work with police and sheriff's departments in keeping peace and guiding the flow of traffic. The message was undeniable: war was coming to Florida, and you're best off leaving certain areas if you can.
In Tampa and St. Petersburg, those residents who chose to leave had fewer options. Orlando was out, and most people were afraid of going south to Fort Myers. To them, south meant being closer to Cuba and to danger, so they went east to Daytona Beach and St. Augustine or north to Gainesville and Ocala. Some of these people would've gone to Daytona in any case, since (at the moment) the Daytona 500 had not been cancelled. These people largely owned RV's or trailers, something that would be of use in alleviating the strain on resources in that area, although the gas rationing going into effect at 6 pm would put a crimp in that. Orlando itself was eerily quiet. The theme parks had closed after the flying ban went into effect yesterday, but many vacationers were stranded. Disney loaned school buses from the city and drove those who weren't able to fly out up to Atlanta Hartsfield, which was still open, but the going was slow with so many people desperate to leave.
In the Panhandle, people made their way to Biloxi and Gulfport primarily, with some enterprising types going to Troy, Alabama, home to Troy University and thereby a place with shelter (in their minds), not knowing that local folks from Montgomery were making their way to it as well, causing a number of fights and an angry call from George Wallace to Graham threatening to barricade the highways, even though such an action was unconstitutional (the Lemuel Penn case). Graham decided to take action on his own and have the roads to Alabama blocked off by state patrolmen miles south of the border. It wasn't legal, either, but it was easier to defend, and Graham didn't need more trouble than he had already. He opened up buildings at Florida State University, and messages were broadcast on all radio stations urging those headed for Alabama to go to Tallahassee. Graham was taking a major risk, despite Ensslin's assurances that Tallahassee wasn't a target, because if he were wrong, he'd have condemned many people to death in the worst possible way.
*****
New York, NY
"Reporting from New York, Tom Brokaw."
"Good evening from New York, where tonight, America nervously awaits the expiration of the Soviet ultimatum. We are four and a half hours away from six am Moscow time, when the Soviets said NATO forces must leave West Germany. NBC News will be on the air live again at 10 pm, Eastern Time, as we await the possible outbreak of war between the Soviet Union and NATO forces. Our correspondent in Moscow has been unavailable since the ultimatum was issued, along with those from the other networks. The Soviets claimed, through their embassy in Switzerland, that there are "communication difficulties," a reason that the American government, along with our network, has rejected. Meanwhile, tonight, here's Garrick Utley in Wolfsburg, West Germany."
"Good evening, Tom. It is 1:30 am here in Wolfsburg, one of the main crossing points into East Germany. This is likely to be one of the locations where the Warsaw Pact forces cross the border if they decide to invade the West. The Bonn government ordered a mandatory evacuation the moment the Soviet ultimatum was given to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Anyone within 50 kilometers of the border had to be out by midnight, and except for a few hardy souls determined to not run from the Soviets again, Wolfsburg is a ghost town tonight. The same is true of the countless towns and villages along the border. 38 years ago Germany was cut in two, and 30 years ago the border became permanent. Now, the reunification of Germany may be at the barrel of Soviet guns. Tom?"
"Thank you for that report, Garrick. Now, to the White House, where Chris Wallace is standing by. Chris?"
"Tom, the atmosphere has been enormously tense all day. The Reagan administration has been on countless phone calls with its NATO allies, as well as fruitless attempts to speak to the Soviets. Ambassador Dobrynin came and went from the West Wing, refusing to answer a single question. Massive protests took place outside the Soviet embassy today, requiring dozens of D.C. police to keep them from storming the gates. Smoke could be seen pouring from the chimneys, a sign, Tom, that they were burning their documents. The gates are locked, now, and Marines from the Marine Barracks here are guarding the embassy. In short, everyone believes war is going to be a certainty, and the only question is, who fires the first shot?"
"Chris, have you had a chance to speak to anyone besides the press office? Has anyone given any indication of why this has become inevitable?"
"Tom, nobody has been available. We've been kept pretty well cooped up in the press area or on the front lawn, well away from seeing any arrivals or departures. Of course, we have cameras in Lafayette Park, which is how we saw the Ambassador's car earlier today. We do know that the Vice President and his family left their official residence at the Naval Observatory yesterday here in Washington, but where they went, we do not know that answer. Larry Speakes says that Vice President is hard at work, using his worldwide experience and contacts to try and settle this crisis down before any border is breached. I would imagine, though, that if war breaks out, the Vice President will certainly be moved elsewhere. Congress recessed this afternoon, although many members headed back to their home districts or states a few days ago now. The leadership's whereabouts are unknown tonight, as they were taken under heavy security out of the Capitol after they recessed."
"Thank you, Chris. When we come back, we'll check in with more of our reporting team across the globe. Please stay tuned."
