FROM: Robert Joseph
My writing style consists of dreaming up scenes or people and then creating a narrative that fits in the story. There are many times when I’ll spend a lot of time on one of these short stories, but for whatever reason they don’t make it to the finished product. However, on their own, they make for some interesting reading.
One of the stories that didn’t make the final book was a chapter about Reed Jackson’s life and how he struggled sorting out the moral issues of working for Addison National.
In SHADOW of DESCENT, Jackson did a complete “180” when he made the decision to turn the tables on Addison National. The more you know about Reed Jackson, the more you can understand why he made that decision. I personally liked writing about Reed Jackson and as I worked on this blog, I especially enjoyed reading about Reed Jackson. I hope you do as well.
The name Reed Jackson just sounds tough and it should! Reed Jackson earned his stripes and his scars with unconditional service to his country. Jackson was the man among men in the United States Navy SEALs. He led by example—first man in the hole—first man through the door. He had a natural physical strength with solid, chiseled features and airs of complete confidence. To understand Reed Jackson, we have to start with his father, John Jackson, and then learn about his older brother John Jackson Jr, (JJ).
John Jackson believed in his country and the United States Marines. John Jackson was a decorated veteran from the Vietnam War who actually was in the battle theater fighting the Viet Con. He lived with weak soldiers in the makeshift camps who cared more about getting high than doing their job. It made him sick. Jackson saw the new recruits stream into the jungle fortresses prepared for battle, but within a few weeks, their will to succeed started its decline. Alcohol, drugs, and prostitutes became a stronger influence than their military training. That cancer in the heart of the US armed forces was a stronger threat than the actual enemy.
There was no one person or incident responsible for this decay. An unpopular war at home in America, no definition of success, the uncertainty of the enemy’s identity, lack of support from the South Vietnam citizens, and no clear exit strategy all contributed to the sad state of affairs in Vietnam. John Jackson was right in the middle of that chaos, but he made daily decisions to stay focused on his ethics—his moral code—the principles of the United States Marines. He volunteered for every mission possible because he would rather be in the jungle fighting the enemy than in the camps laying witness to the deterioration. Jackson couldn’t win the Vietnam War, but he could dedicate his life to help rebuild the US Marines into the machine he envisioned.
***
John Jackson graduated from high school, married his high school sweetheart, and left for the Marines all in the same month. Cindy McKinley and John grew up in small-town America where Cindy was one of the middle sisters of a large family. There wasn’t much time or attention spent on any one child so the attention she received from John was noticed and appreciated. They were the high school sweethearts who loved every detail of their simple life.
When John left for boot camp the day after their honeymoon, he left behind his beautiful wife and the creation of a new life inside her. With a baby attached to her lifeline, Cindy had no chance to attend college or an opportunity to enjoy the early years of her life the way her friends had danced through those carefree years – the short period of time when a young person could enjoy life as an adult without true accountability – the years before the inevitable weight of adult responsibilities would sneak in and compromise young dreams.
Cindy lived in her parent’s home with the chaos of big family responsibilities. She helped around the house, tended to her baby boy, and waited for her soldier to return home. The late ’60s was a time before the internet, a time before cell phone technology, a time when overseas mail service was random. Cindy watched Walter Cronkite night after night, show gut-wrenching war stories. She waited for letters that never came. She had nightmares and cringed whenever there was an unfamiliar knock on the front door. During this time, she waited and dedicated every fiber of being to her strong beautiful son.
***
Four years and one week from the day he left, John Jackson was the one who knocked on that door, and the door opened to a sight he’ll never forget. She was what he dreamed of when he was buried in a bug-filled bunker or strapped to branches high in a tree above the jungle floor. The sight he forced himself to conjure as the enemy slashed bamboo canes across the meat of his ragged back.
He stayed alive. He did his duty. He fought the fight. He did not break. Jackson used his training and his memory of Cindy to divide each hour of captivity into very small parts—then try to survive just one of those short intervals. He could not have stayed alive without hope; hope that one day he would stand on that porch and see the sight of his beautiful Cindy restraining their rambunctious son.
With the slow realization that her husband was home, Cindy’s face changed from tepid anguish to the smile John remembered. Her posture changed from shielding hunched protectionism to the beautiful young woman he remembered. Her love beamed across the eerily quiet room. As John tentatively stepped through the front doorway, he witnessed his three-year-old son, John Jr. move from the guarded refuge behind the safety of his mother’s lean legs, to directly in front of his mother, firmly in place, at attention, shoulders squared, in position to protect her from this stranger who approached.
This unexpected, simple act of fearless heroism hit John Jackson the one place the Viet Con couldn’t find with their whips and canes. This single move from the sturdy, determined three-year-old boy to protect his mother, hit Jackson right in the middle of his heart. A shot so piercing, so targeted; the tough John Jackson finally broke. He had to hide his face to catch the tears from his welling eyes. Thoughts of his family, the years he missed, the horrors left behind in the jungle, and most of all the uncertainty of his own worthiness as a husband and father, swept from his mind to his heart and then right through the once impenetrable seal imprisoning years of his tears.
***
John and Cindy rekindled their relationship just where they left off and quickly made a home for themselves. John re-enlisted in the Marines and several years later, John Jr.’s little brother, Reed Jackson, was brought into this world with the same broad shoulders and determination expected from the stable of all the Jackson men.
Long before either boy had a chance to think for themselves, John Jackson Sr. made the decision that these boys were going to represent their country as US Navy SEALs, the most elite fighting group of the United States military. John Junior (JJ) negotiated the trail his father laid out for him and Reed would follow the start of that path, but Reed’s track would diverge after the tragic loss of his big brother.
***
The Jackson boys were both from good stock, so it was no surprise to see JJ excel in high school athletics. He received a full-ride scholarship to play football for the University of Texas. JJ was one of the best linebackers in the country and had a good chance to play on Sundays in the NFL. But, he went through college in the University ROTC program. The day after he graduated from college, JJ went directly into the Navy as an enlisted officer. He excelled at every level and as expected, he went on to become a Navy SEAL. Unfortunately, JJ gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country. The details of his death were never made public and even his father was sure he was not given an accurate account of what happened. John mourned his son’s passing, but this event reinforced his decision to take a different path with Reed’s training.
John questioned his decision to allow JJ to participate in athletics because there were too many variables outside his control. Coaches, girls, and fame contribute nothing to make a good soldier. A good soldier doesn’t need any of that. A good soldier follows orders and is trained to react to unexpected events. A good soldier adapts within the confines of his orders and figures out a way to succeed. The fame and heroism athletics encouraged do nothing to prepare a Navy Seal.
Success found in athletics involves immediate risk-reward decisions that JJ, because of his superior athleticism, found often. Success was rewarded with praise and fame that encouraged more of the same kind of decision making. John Sr. thought that kind of success was probably what cost JJ his life. The battlefield is not a fair fight – superior athleticism, while helpful, does absolutely nothing to stop a bullet. There is no place for heroic risk/reward decisions on the battlefield. Seals are so well prepared before they enter a combat zone, the outcome is nearly certain before they leave their base. In the unlikely event something happens that was not anticipated, Navy Seals adapt as a team. The last thing a team needs is one of the team members acting outside the confines of a team plan. Actions that veer from the team plan are a good way to get yourself and others killed. John Jackson never knew the details of JJ’s death but was certain the fame and success JJ achieved in athletics contributed.