Chapter Six
“That’s All I Want From You”
July 11, 1955
Red Rocks Amphitheater
Denver, Colorado
Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.
—Richard Hooker, English Dictionary, Preface
At the end of the evening the Boy Scouts returned to the stage for the closing ceremony. They continued their chants, their feather headbands bright and full. Bells jangled from their wrists and ankles. Their bright yellow and red blankets wavered in the spotlight.
Hank started to speak to Mary when someone tapped at his shoulder.
“Excuse me, General McCluney?”
He turned and saw an Air Force Colonel crouching next to him. “Yes?”
“Excuse me for bothering you, General. I’m Colonel Al Stoltz, Director of the Air Force Academy Construction Agency.”
“How do you do, Colonel. This is my wife, Mary.”
After exchanging handshakes, the Colonel continued to crouch and spoke in a low voice, obviously trying not to disturb the other guests around them. “Sir, would you mind coming with me so I can discuss something?”
Hank lifted the blanket he and Mary had wrapped around themselves and showed the Colonel his missing leg. “Can we stay here? It would be easier if I didn’t have to negotiate these stairs.”
“Is Rod okay?” Mary clutched Hank’s arm.
Colonel Stoltz blinked. “Rod?”
“Our son,” Hank said. “He’s a new basic cadet.”
“No, sir. This isn’t about your son. But congratulations, I’m sure he’s being well taken care of. This is about the Academy.”
“What about the Academy? It seemed fine when we left Lowry a few hours ago.”
“I mean the Colorado Springs site, General. The permanent campus.” Stoltz leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “Sorry to catch you now, sir, but I couldn’t get ahold of you earlier and I was told that you would be leaving for Southern California tomorrow morning.”
Hank smiled and patted Mary’s arm. “We were just talking about staying another day or so.”
“That’s great news, General. Then I’d like to invite you and your wife down to the Colorado Springs site tomorrow and show you around.”
“That’s nice of you, but why do you need me to come now? I was on the site selection committee and my job is over.”
Stoltz hesitated. “My agency is assigned to the Chief of Staff for Installations back in the Pentagon, but I’m remotely detached to Colorado Springs, down on North Stone Street. We’re starting construction and we don’t have any flag officers representing the Academy who actually reside in Colorado Springs.”
“General officers are assigned to the Continental Air Defense Command at Ent.”
“Yes, sir, that’s correct, but we don’t have any generals at our site representing the Academy’s interest. And that’s the problem. We’re getting distinguished visitors that require the protocol presence of a general to fight spot changes these people want to make to the new campus.”
Hank frowned. “Spot changes?”
“Yes, sir.” Stoltz glanced around, as if he were ensuring that there was no one around who might take offense. He scooted closer and lowered his voice. “For example, last week a political appointee ordered us to build the campus on different mesa than the one approved by the engineers. That would have set construction back a year!”
“Can’t your headquarters help out?”
“Yes, sir, and they did,” Stoltz said, “but only after I dropped everything and finally convinced Washington, D.C.to engage. That problem alone slipped our schedule by over a week. You see, what matters to these political visitors is rank; they want to interact with generals, not colonels. Plus, I can’t fight political battles and still keep to my schedule of opening the campus in 1958.”
“What do you want me to do, Colonel?” Hank felt Mary’s hand tighten around his arm. The crowd started clapping as the Boy Scouts completed their dance. After they left the stage, the western band that had played earlier in the day came out and started a set of foot stomping music; the crowd began to disperse.
Colonel Stoltz shifted his weight. “Sir, would you and Mrs. McCluney drive down and take a tour of the site? We haven’t started construction, but I want both of you to visit the spot the Site Commission picked for your son’s campus. After that I’ll make a proposal.”
“I want to hear your proposal now.” Mary’s voice was firm.
Stoltz set his mouth. “You should really come down to the site, first, ma’am.”
“Tell us the proposal, Colonel, or we’re not going,” Mary said.
The Colonel looked at Hank.
Hank shrugged.
Mary said, “What do you have in mind?”
“I’d like your husband to represent the Academy in an emeritus status.”
Mary drew herself up. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning he’d serve as our ambassador to our high-level visitors.” He turned to Hank. “As a retired two-star general, you, sir, have the protocol rank to fully engage these distinguished visitors, allowing me to do my job. With everyone from Senators to reporters showing up, we need some flag-level horsepower to represent the Academy in Colorado Springs.”
Hank nodded, going over the implications in his head. “The Chief doesn’t realize what you’re going through?”
“He’s aware, sir.”
“Isn’t he willing to assign a general officer out here?”
Colonel Stoltz looked pained. “Oh, General Twining understands, sir. The Academy already has a general officer assigned to it—Major General Briggs, the Superintendent, but he’s headquartered at Lowry, 70 miles away. It’s a good two-hour drive to the construction site from there and he can’t do that at the drop of a hat. Also, General Briggs won’t move down to the Springs until the new campus opens. I need a general officer on-site now, not in three years.”
Mary continued to press the Colonel. “This sounds like Hank will have to spend a lot of time in Colorado; he travels too much already. And with Rod gone, I don’t care to spend any more time away from my husband.”
Stoltz’s eyes widened. “Oh, don’t misunderstand me, ma’am. I’m not asking the general to take this on as a part time job—that wouldn’t help. I’m asking him to come to Colorado full-time, for you and him to move out here and set up a permanent residence in Colorado Springs. That’s why I want to show you the site.”
“Leave Southern California?”
“You’d be closer to your son if you do.”
Mary blinked, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
Hank nodded, having anticipated the need for them to move minutes ago. “We’ll see, Colonel. But first we’ll take a look at the site. Both of us.”
***