Invasion Day: An Oral History of the Veech War by Micah Gurley (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

to take out the vehicles, but we didn't need them. After those vehicles shields went down, we plastered those things with hundreds of high-powered rounds a second. They fell as we chewed through them like butter. They weren't armored. Veech reliance on shields became their downfall. Their tactics were almost non-existent, simple to the point of confusion. Their arrogance led them to believe a truth that was a mirage.

Two young men approach the table. They both nod respectfully to Jackson, then walk up and greet Jackson's father: Mr. Thompson, we just wanted to say hello.

Mr. Thompson: Who's that now?

Jackson: Pop, these are the Kingsley boys, Martha's kids.

Mr. Thompson: Kingsley boys? Rascals both of them. (He laughs.) Good boys, good boys, you listen to your momma now, or I'll whup you, hear? And stay away from those Yankees! They've come south!

The boys give small smiles, nod their heads, and walk away. Jackson puts his hand on his father's hands as they begin to shake, then looks back at me as his father growls.

After that victory, our numbers skyrocketed. Before we knew it, we had over 30,000 men, with more pouring in. A lot of marines and Army soldiers showed up, those who had been cut off from the Army. Some came alone, others in broken fire squads and platoons. They soon flooded our army, along with more locals from up in the mountains. At the end of five years, we had over 200,000 men.

The battles got bigger and more difficult, but we never fell back, and we held the line. From Southern Georgia to Lake Erie, we stopped them. We began to push east after a year, meeting the Veech but always on our ground. The Veech's air support gave us problems, especially once we came down out of the mountains, but the flyboys did an excellent job wearing them down. As the war progressed and we moved further east, the battles became bigger, but our air support grew more potent, and theirs weaker, until we surrounded and destroyed them at the 2nd battle of D.C.

There are rumors that you had problems with the U.S. military?

The problem wasn't mine; it was theirs. For weeks after those first rushed battles, things got confused. The top brass had all been wiped out in D.C. and there was nobody to give orders. Then you had colonels and generals trying to take the initiative and make some offensive move without support from the other branches. It was chaos, or so I hear. (He shakes his head.)

Eventually, the president called up all military reserve, active, and non-active. I believe that was the last order he made before the Veech found him in his hole. Hell, I'd been out of the Army for fifteen years at the time, and I wasn't going to leave Roanoke and my son. Veech patrols were getting bigger and bigger, all intelligence telling me they were about to head west. (Pauses.) No, I wasn't leaving.

A Colonel showed up in a Black Hawk two days later. I believe I had about 20,000 men with me then, covering most of Virginia and into West Virginia. The colonel ordered me to report to top brass hiding in Colorado. I refused. I think he believed that since I was just a major all those years ago, I would be properly subordinate. (He laughs.)

That fellow piled out of his Black Hawk, strutting like a peacock, sure of himself. Some REMF coming to lay down the law. The kid must have been in his upper twenties, recently promoted due to death, no doubt. He was furious. Threatened me, my men, and everyone else around me with treason and told me the death penalty would be on the table. My men didn't take kindly to that, but the man kept talking. I told him that my inactive-ready reserve had lapsed, but he still kept on. He finally asked me about my son, and then it stopped being amusing. Before he could say another word, I shoved my .45 into his mouth, and I told him if he opened his mouth again, I'd kill him. He didn't. He got on his helicopter and took off.

The next day, a one-star general showed up. We talked, and I explained my situation to him. After about an hour, he asked me if I could hold the road west. I told him I could and I would. I became a brigadier the next day. (Gives a half-smile.)

How did you decide when to launch the offensive east?

A fine way to put the question. It would have been a disaster to launch an attack before we were ready. Those early battles showed that. Little planning with little intelligence resulted in near-catastrophic results. I wasn't having it. Millions were pouring out of the eastern seaboard, heading toward the mountains. We first organized those people, found them places to stay and food to eat. It wasn't pretty, but the job was done.

Then I had to organize the army. I had thousands of misplaced soldiers, tens of thousands of reserves, and every country boy who ever wore a John Deere hat showing up ready to fight. Organization and intelligence are what I spent the first six months doing.

But during that time, we had dozens of small battles. The Veech were dropping scores of troops all around the country, trying to take out essential infrastructure. The air force stopped some of them, but not many. We stopped the rest. I also sent hundreds of units forward to direct and help civilians move west. Some needed our help, others didn't, and still others refused to go anywhere.

You also have to remember, my line stretched nearly a thousand miles, encompassing multiple states. Logistics was a nightmare with trade and commerce shutdown. We had to hoard every drop of oil, every bag of rice, and every round of ammunition we could. Then we had to distribute it.

No, we moved when we were ready to defeat the enemy, not when a few journalists, with