The Vultures. Mark Hannon

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      Pat closed the door and the DA waved him to a chair as he sat down behind the stacks of paper on his desk.

      “Pat,” he said. “It’s terrible what happened to your son Rory over in Vietnam. I was told that he’s very badly hurt and will take a long time to recover. I want you to know that if there’s something we can do...”

      “I appreciate that,” Pat said, eyes lowered.

      “I mean that, Pat. I know you just started here, but if you need time off to visit him...”

      “Yeah, I might need that. We’re not sure how he’s doing now, but he’s headed for Walter Reed in Washington...”

      “Don’t they keep you updated?”

      “It’s the Army, boss. Delayed, incomplete, stiff messages. My wife’s – she’s a nurse – going crazy trying to find out what’s going on, what his condition is, what they’re doing for him...”

      Dan Butler nodded and knit his brows. “I might be able to help there. Do you know Max Reilly?”

      “The congressman? I know of him.”

      “Let me make a phone call to Max. He and I go back to Troop 163 together. Still play handball with him when he’s in town. He should be able to get this straightened out.”

      Politician, Pat thought. Campaign contributions required.

      As he picked up the phone, Butler caught Pat’s look. “Don’t worry, Max is all right. He always does the right thing by the good people.”

      19.

      After the Army told Pat and Rita when Rory was going to be transferred to Walter Reed, Rita called the evening charge nurse that she knew at the VA Hospital in Buffalo and asked about the Walter Reed doctors, then tried again to get in touch with them. After a week, Rory’s attending physician called her back.

      “May I speak to Mrs. Rita Brogan?”

      “This is she.”

      “Mrs. Brogan, this is Dr. Pancescu. I was asked to call you by Congressman Reilly. I’ll be the attending physician for Private First-Class Rory Brogan.”

      “Dr. Pancescu, my husband and I are coming down to Washington shortly after our son arrives and would like to meet with you and the other doctors who will be performing the surgeries to review the care plan for our son.”

      “Well, Mrs. Brogan, we’re rather busy here, as you may imagine, and getting all the doctors together at one time would be difficult. Briefly, we’ll be restoring his arm and leg to a condition where we can fit him for artificial limbs, and we’ll also be scheduling surgeries to restore his face and jaw to the extent we are able. Each surgery, depending on the results, will tell us what the next step is. You are aware that he is currently at the Clark Air Force Base Hospital in the Philippines, and of what his present condition is?”

      “Yes, we’re aware he’s in the Philippines, and that his vitals are stable, his left arm was traumatically amputated just below the elbow, his left leg is also amputated below the knee, his left eye and jaw were damaged. Can he communicate? Can he see out of his right eye?”

      “My understanding is his right eye is reactive to light, and we may be able to restore his sight there completely, over time. Because of the significant damage to his head and abdomen, he is being kept on a regimen of painkillers at a level where he is unable to communicate at this time, if he ever will. His left eye, excuse me, but I don’t know any other way to put this, but his left eye is destroyed and he will not have vision there again. We feel confident about the prostheses for his leg and arm, but as to the damage to his head and face...we just don’t know at this point.”

      “Doctor...Pancescu,” she said, looking at the notes she’d been taking, “I understand that Rory is scheduled to be transferred to Walter Reed next week, arriving at Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday. My husband and I intend drive down and see him when he gets admitted to Walter Reed. We will be in Washington for a week and will be visiting him daily. We want to meet with you and the other doctors who’ll be treating Rory before then and review his plan of care.”

      “Mrs. Brogan, I understand you’re wanting to help your son any way you can, but I don’t know if you understand...”

      “Dr. Pancescu, I am a graduate of the Mercy Hospital Nursing Program here in Buffalo and worked for a number of years in both the accident room there and in surgery. My husband is a combat veteran of World War II and, currently, a Special Investigator for the Erie County District Attorney. We want to meet with you and the other doctors and review the plan of care for our son when we get to Washington... and I’m sure Congressman Reilly would want the same thing.”

      “Well... Mrs. Brogan, let me consult with my colleagues, and I’ll call you back when we have arranged a time to meet.”

      “Thank you, doctor. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

      When they’d hung up, Rita sat down, put her hand to her face then looked out the window at the back yard and the garage with the basketball hoop on it. Tearing, she thought of how Pat had taught the boys how to dribble and shoot there, and how the backboard needed a coat of paint.

      20.

      When Rita came back from church, Pat was watching TV. She came in quietly, hung up her coat and went into the kitchen.

      “How’d it go?”

      “Pretty good. We said a Rosary and Father Ratajczak was telling us about the students across the street at College A. He said they were trying to get the kids at St. Joe’s to come into their storefront.”

      “Uh huh.”

      Rita sat down in her chair when the eleven o’clock news came on.

      “President Nixon today announced his intention of withdrawing 150,000 American troops from Vietnam over the next year...”

      Too late, she thought, it’s too late for my Rory.

      What the hell are we doing over there? Pat thought. If we’re pulling out, what was it all for? Rory...

      When they went to bed, he rested his hand on her hip, but she turned away from him.

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