The Rangers Are Coming (27 page)

              He shouldn’t have stood so close to the post,” said Robby with a grin.

26

Concord, Massachusetts
  

              The first Chinook set down at 9AM.  Fall had returned to New England in 1776 and the weather was clear and unseasonably warm.  The Chinook was filled with Rangers in standard fatigues with berets and no body armor.  Robby met them and directed them to the place the Grant family had designated as the burial site for their son.  The soldiers began digging immediately and had the grave finished in two hours.  Then they erected a large tent over the site and hid the grave with a gold frame of round poles that was draped in blue velvet.  A set of heavy straps were fixed over the frame to hold the casket and a winch installed to lower it.  All the dirt and the area around the burial site was covered with a green turf-like material that looked like grass but was actually synthetic.  Chairs for the family were placed near the gravesite.  In all, it was a truly lovely setting.

              Robby spent the morning with the Grant family, telling them all about their son’s bravery in battle and his leadership of a platoon of 50 men who had loved and followed their leader, and was considered the best soldier among them.  He was always the first to step onto the battlefield, and the last to leave it.  He never left a man behind, living or dead.  He described in as much detail possible, the engagement in Veracruz that had taken his life and said that it was just a chance shot that had caught him in the wrong place.  Robby joined the Grant family in weeping for his loss.

              At 1:30 PM, a second Chinook set down on the edge of the village green.  Robby, now dressed in his perfectly groomed dress blues was there to greet them.  When Robby came out of his room wearing the very smart and elegant uniform, his family  whistled in admiration.  They had never seen such a splendid uniform, even among the most distinguished of the British officers.  They fingered his stripes of rank, three up and two down, marking him as a high-ranking First Sergeant.  He had three rows of colored strips of medals on his uniform, demonstrating he had been decorated for bravery many times.  His elegant braided sash in pure white around his right shoulder was the badge of honor of a Ranger.  He wore a hat that was raised at the sides, flat on top and rose to a peak that went down to a shining visor.  In the center of the flat space in the front of the cap was an emblem, like a coat of arms that was the symbol of the Rangers.  His shoes were so shiny you could see your face in them.

              The entire population of Concord watched as the honor guard, all wearing the same dress blue uniforms marched off the back of the Chinook and formed a perfect square formation in front of Sergeant Pierce.  All of them had rifles, much shorter than muskets, but deadly looking.  Actually, they were carbines, broken out especially for this ceremony and drilled by the soldiers.

              The detail came to attention with their rifles at their sides.  Robby barked, “Detail, right shoulder arms.”  The soldiers moved in exact precision in shouldering their rifles.  “Display formation, Move!” ordered Robby.  The soldiers spread out by turning a left face and marching forward.  The back rank stayed put and the three succeeding rows moved forward, stopping by rank until the first rank came to a halt.  This put the formation into a bigger square with about three feet between each man.

              “Drill exercise, march,” cried Robby.

              The men began marching.  Without any further orders from Robby, the detail went to port arms and began spinning the rifles in unison.  They moved in complicated patterns, spinning the rifles and once turning to face the crowd throwing the rifles in the air and catching them in mid-air to a perfect Queen Anne salute.  Once while marching in three rows, the lead man threw his rifle in the air spinning and caught by the last man in the rank who had passed his rifle up to man in front of him.  Since all three rows of men did this maneuver at exactly the same time, the crowd whistled and cheered.

              When the demonstration was over, the men returned to their tight formation.  Robby had them place their weapons at their sides and ordered at ease.  The audience gave a long round of applause.

              Just as they came to a stop, another, smaller helicopter came down just in front of the formation and out stepped General George Washington, dressed in the same dress blues with gold braid on the visor of his cap, and two silver stars in the epaulets of his shoulders.  He was wearing white gloves, as were all the soldiers, including Robby.

              “Detail, attention,” ordered Robby.  You could hear the shoes snapping together in unison as the order was given.  Robby turned and faced the General and rendered a very crisp salute.  “Sir,” he said, “the detail is formed.”

              “Carry on with the ceremony, Sergeant,” said Washington, returning the salute as smartly.

              Robby marched to the back of the Chinook, “Honor Guard march!” he barked.

              Six men came marching in slow time out of the Chinook.  They were carrying the gleaming wooden casket that contained Sergeant Willis Grant, covered by a flag.  They were flanked by the honor guard, which had unveiled two flags, one of the United States, the same as on the casket, and the other the colors of the Ranger brigade.  In perfect slow time, the formation marched to the gravesite, followed by all the people of Concord with the Grant family dressed in black, leading the way.

              The Rangers set the casket on its frame and stepped back at attention.  The rest of the detail formed up at the front of the casket in two rows on each side.  General Washington reached his hand into the helicopter and out stepped Arcadia.  She was stunning as usual.  Her long blond hair hung down gracefully past the shoulders of her shimmering white dress that went all the way to the ground.  Robby always got goose bumps when he saw her in that elegant dress, with the silver belt around her slim waist.

              She nodded her head gracefully as she walked slowly with her arm wrapped around Washington.  The people of Concord took a collective gasp as Arcadia came past them, through the ranks of the Rangers.  They were as struck by her as everyone else.  Her crystal blue eyes emanated wisdom, compassion and love. 

              All were surprised to see that she knelt on a cushioned stool as she came to the casket, and bowed her head in prayer with her hands folded together.

              General Washington addressed all in clear voice.  “It’s never easy to bring to rest one of your own, especially Sergeant Willis Grant.  He was among the very first to volunteer for a life as a Ranger.  His service to the Brigade reflects great honor on our country, and our band of brothers who take him to his final rest today.  As his commanding officer, I will say I never saw a more brave and capable soldier.  As his friend, I will miss him, his quick smile and his happy disposition.

              He was so important to the Rangers that our spiritual leader, the one who has kept our faith all these years, who has given us the word of God in such clarity and insight, has asked permission to attend this ceremony and speak to you.  Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to present to you the lady Arcadia.

              Arcadia rose and stepped forward, as always to Robby her voice was like a harmony of lovely sounds that spoke truth, love of God and His love for us.

              “Willis was my friend.  I grieve that I will not be able to speak to him in this life, anymore.  Of course, this does not mean that Willis no longer exists.  He exists today more gloriously than ever before, because he has taken his place in the presence of the living God of the Universe who is nothing less than pure love.”

              “God is like the ocean.  The ocean does not have wet – it is wet.  You jump in, you get wet.  God does not have love – He is love.  His love is not a possession.  He can’t give it away as a reward for those who are good enough to earn it.  Love is simply who He is.  He loves each of you because of who you are.  You were created to be the object of His love.  Nothing you do can change that.  It is His nature.  Loving you is as natural to Him as breathing is to you.”

              “God became man in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus had to live as a man in order to experience all the things that crush us on a daily basis.  He had to suffer as a man, die like a man, in order for God to resurrect His soul and count him as the price for all our sins, and then to give us all the Holy Spirit so that the Jesus who lives within us all can join in fellowship with Him and with God.

              “Through Jesus, God is asking us to surrender our wills to Him.  He is asking you to let Him control your mind.  The mind is the most restless, unruly part of mankind.  Long after you have learned the discipline of holding your tongue, your thoughts defy you will and set themselves up against Him.  Man is the pinnacle of His creation and the human mind is wondrously complex.  God risked everything by granting us Free Will, and the freedom to think for yourself.  This is a Godlike privilege, forever setting you apart from animals.  He made you in His image, precariously close to deity.

              “Though the blood of Christ has fully redeemed you, your mind is the last bastion of rebellion.  Open yourself to His glorious presence, letting His light permeate your thinking.  When the spirit of Jesus is controlling your mind, you are filled with life and peace.”

              “Why have I spoken to you in this manner today, in the presence of the body of our fallen comrade?  It’s because the words I’ve spoken were his words.  Yes, your Willis had grown far in the mind of God.  So well he was able to speak with such clarity. I will never forget how perfectly he understood.  And, all of this in the middle of a war of rebellion, in which he had to believe in victory as an act of faith.  Every man you see before you today has made the same choices and that is why, if it were them in the casket now instead of Willis, it would not matter.  It would be they who would be sitting face to face with Jesus in Heaven at this moment.  Grief is human, but never forget that eternity is still eternal.  May God be with you all, and may the light of Jesus burn brightly in your hearts.”

              The stunned crowd of traditional Congregationalists had never heard the Gospel spoken in such a manner.  Arcadia’s words burned down to the core of their souls and all would say afterwards they were never so moved.

              The honor guard stepped forward, fired three rounds in unison from their carbines, and conducted the precise ceremony of the folding of the flag.  Washington took the folded flag and laid it in the lap of Willis’ mother saying, “A grateful nation thanks you for the service of your son.”  Then he slowly saluted, bowed and stepped away.  Arcadia went with him.  The special unit marched to the Chinook and both choppers took off.  The remaining chopper of men who had set the site, would wait until the casket was lowered and the crowd disbursed before cleaning the sight and place a rectangular stone with a carved inscription of the name, rank and dates of birth and death on it, with the added words,  “Died bravely in battle.”  Then as night fell, they too took off and only Robby was left.

              The hubbub over the events surrounding the funeral did not die out in a day or so.  It was the main topic of conversation for all the time that Robby remained on furlough in Concord.  A lot of the talk was about Arcadia.

              “How is it that we have never heard of this great leader in the war of freedom,” Robby was asked?

              “How is it that you never believed one of our greatest leaders would be a woman,” countered Robby?

              “Are there times when her counsel is sought in meetings of importance”?

              “I’ve been to meetings in which hers was the only voice, and when she was finished speaking, everybody got up to do what she said.”

              Ben was more direct, “That was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.  She is like an angel, and her voice was like poured honey.”

              “I will tell you something, brother,” said Robby, “there are a great many things about Arcadia that are special.  You will, no doubt, be surprised to learn that I had to beat over a dozen men in the combat martial arts tournament, just to get the privilege of meeting her in the ring, and the best I could do was a tie.”

              Before Ben could answer that remarkable bit of information, one of Robby’s sisters came running out of the house, “Robby you talking machine is making a noise.”

              Robby ran inside and picked up his radio, which was chirping that an incoming caller was on the line.  He answered, “This is Hawkeye, go.”

              “Hawkeye, this is Papa Grizzly, I hope you’ve enjoyed your leave, you earned it but it’s time to go back to work.  I will come right to the point.  We are forming a second brigade of Rangers.  We need to fill the ranks of the first brigade.  Willis Grant was not our only casualty, and expand our forces to cover and protect the rather huge country we have established.”

              “We are running a new ad in all the papers.  No subterfuge this time, we are  actively recruiting  new Rangers.  There are several other categories of people we are looking for, but I won’t mention them now.  The ad will appear in the papers during the next several days and you’ll stay to meet in the Boston Commons on May 1 through May 5.  I am sending you a detail of Rangers to help you with what I believe will be a big crowd.  Don’t recruit anyone you would not be willing to serve next to.  I suspect you will be turning away a lot of eager lads.”

              “I am also sending a special detail which is looking for men and women of superior intelligence.  They will serve the country in a different way.  The men I’m sending are some of the original permanent party who are specially trained to screen for such individuals.  Any questions, First Sergeant,” asked the General?