There was a very long beep. The shaken King sputtered into the receiver.
“Diana, please call me…and ah, let me know how you are doing. Ah, I got the message that ah Vaughn—my son was—” the grieving father stopped short before continuing. “Just call me back, Diana. I’m on my way down to Alabama.”
Vaughn Matthew King picked up the telephone and made a call to reserve a flight out of the nearest airport. Then stumbling through his emotions, he began pacing. King was a disciplined man. From daily walks to his work schedule, he lived a disciplined military style. The news left him ultimately weakened. It was as if he didn’t know what next to do. Cautiously glancing around, King realized that he was still holding the telephone.
One thing was sure. King had to travel to Ft. Rucker, Alabama. Slumped shoulder, King’s lanky frame seemed to hang like wet branches on a massive tree after the rain. Teary-eyed, King willed his frozen body to return the phone to its place on the charger. Then lumbering to his closet, it appeared that the weight of the world was on his shoulders. The news broke his spirit while he dragged out an olive drab U.S. Army duffel bag. Tears were still rolling while he quietly started packing.
Hours later, King was all dressed up but felt unwilling to leave his house. His head was still reeling as he mentally went through a checklist of all the items in his duffel bag. Removing the photo of his son, wife, and himself, King laid it on top of his clothing and closed the bag. Silently he set the alarm. Then seemingly flowing on automatic, the heavyhearted King walked out of his house.
CHAPTER
3
The next morning Dr. Diana King awoke and glanced at her cellphone. A vast amount of missed calls were littering her caller I.D. log awaited her. Scrolling through them with great haste, Diana decided to call Dr. Ruth Janopolis, her mentor. She was close to both families, and especially to Diane’s.
Dr. Janopolis served as an officer in the United States Army and participated in Operation Desert Shield. Since 1991, Dr. Janopolis provided psychotherapy for returning soldiers. She continued to serve after the victory of the U.S. led coalition forces. Dr. Janopolis’ continual psychotherapeutic research was instrumental in identifying and defining factors combat stress played in military personnel’s high turnover rate.
September 11, 2001, a deadly coordinated attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon resulted in military action. The US-led coalition force successfully carried out a swift, precise response. Despite the successful outcome, Weapons of Mass Destruction allegedly thought to be in Iraq. Many soldiers at U.S. bases were already on full alert status. Prepped, they were ready for deployment to another Gulf War. Because of readiness status, some of these soldiers were participating in multiple Gulf campaigns. As a result, there was a crushing to morale, and retention level reached an all-time low. The work of Dr. Janopolis became a higher priority and proved to be a successful factor in the overseas campaign.
Her research and participation in clinical psychotherapy eventually led to a suitable launching of Dr. Janopolis’ private practice. Her popularity in research magazines and psychotherapy led to a boost in the demands of the doctor. Besides being involved with the treatment of thousands of returning troops diagnosed with combat neurosis, popularly known as Gulf War Syndrome, Dr. Janopolis also did a lecture tour on the college circuit.
On one such tour, Dr. Janopolis met a twenty-year-old graduate student. Diana Cornfield, filled with Southern charm and wit, pursued doctoral studies at the University of Kentucky. Diana found out that the doctor had a practice in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They were both from Alabama, and Janopolis knew Diana’s mother. A very close bond developed between Dr. Janopolis and the young student.
When Diana received news that her younger brother graduated from basic training at Paris Island and was pending deployment to the Persian Gulf, she immediately turned to Dr. Janopolis. The renowned therapist was instrumental in assisting Diana through this period. After graduating, Dr. Janopolis gave Diana the apprenticeship. Diana began interning in the treatment of many postwar, combat fatigued veterans.
Not only were returning soldiers from the Gulf War diagnosed in abundance for medical issues ranging from a skin rash to memory loss, but aviators would also have scheduled training and pre-training psych evaluation. Diana noticed that this was not the same for other military specialties. The discovery drew her curiosity, and while going through files, Diana questioned aviation referrals.
“Dr. Jan, don’t mean to bother you, but I’ve just got one question,” Diana said.
“You’re never bothering me. Ask away, Diana,” Dr. Janopolis said.
“Why does the army aviators get so many referrals for psych eval?”
“Oh yes, those referrals are for pre-training, and during their training, if they have any type of mishap, they’ll be referred.”
“I get all that, but why?”
“I think it has a lot to do with the stress of that particular skill. Aviators have to be responsible for millions of dollars worth of equipment. The army wants to make sure that psychologically they can handle that responsibility. The army only wants the crème de la crème.”
Diana looked up from the patients’ files she was holding and glanced at Dr. Janopolis for a beat. Then she said, “That explains it.”
“The only thing wrong with doing that is we wind up with some of the biggest egomaniacs wearing that aviator’s patch. Some of them can be real psychos—and I mean that in the best way possible. Because to fly those missions they do, you’ve got to be a psycho.”
They both shared the laughter. Then it was back to the business at hand. Since Dr. King interned under the guidance of Dr. Ruth Janopolis, she was also involved with the aviators’ schedule evaluation. Diana was taken aback by their brashness and bravado. They reminded her of her younger brother, Brad, who was now serving in the Gulf War. On a scheduled evaluation, her eyes caught the attention of two Army Lieutenants, Andrew Gatlin and Vaughn King II.
Both young men came on strong, but so did a lot of the military guys. They would drop compliments, and Diana didn’t mind all the attention. She would nip their come-ons in the bud with typical Southern charm. Thanking them gracefully, but never breaking the rule of dating any of the patients. When Lieutenants Gatlin and King tried their luck, it was a no-go. Rejecting their proposal, Diana made the clinic’s policy known to both lieutenants when they first approached.
“My buddy here and I were wondering what’s a pretty woman like you doing here? I say you in between posing jobs. My buddy here thinks you’re some famous actress rehearsing a role,” Lt. King said.
“Well, both you and your buddy are wrong. I am currently doing my doctorate and will be a psychotherapist. Now gentlemen, please have a seat. Before you do, please both take these forms and fill them out correctly. Thank you,” Diana said, declining any further suggestion.
“I could fly you to the moon,” Gatlin offered, walking away. “Are you gonna turn down the moon? I don’t know of anyone who’s turned down the moon…”
When they were alone in an examination room, Gatlin pleaded with Diana. He was ruggedly handsome, and her curiosity was tweaked even further when Gatlin confessed all about a bet he made with King. It seemed as if King was always winning, and going out with him would earn him the only victory over King. Always helpful, Diana fell for the ruse. Despite being forbidden, she went to dinner with Gatlin. Later, Diana would find out that King was in on the trick all the time. However, she maintained
