Week 4 Storybook, The Flight of Val

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The late afternoon sun glowed through thinning clouds. Resolute light broke through in angled columns landing on a mournful gathering. The echoing report of an honorary salute shook Major Newman with each crack. Opening his eyes and raising his bowed head, he recalled a moment he had shared with Val looking through a cockpit window.

“Look,” Val had said, pointing a finger at the golden rays breaking through the gray ceiling. “Someone is having a religious moment down there.” Major Newman had only responded with a nod as he scanned the instruments in front of him. Despite his fleeting acknowledgement, the moment had always resonated with him.

Now Newman looked upon a flag covered casket. As the mortal vessel of his commanding officer was lowered below the solemn crowd, he whispered to himself, “Today its yours.”

A year prior, Lieutenant Colonel Valisky had flown a routine patrol sortie that had left him under an OIG investigation. The Light Colonel believed in leading from the front. He always took his turn in the muck. He was a point man; tip of the spear. Valisky was known as “Skipper” to his squadron, but he was “Val” to his staff officers. This familiarity was the only breach into fraternization that the skipper offered his leadership corps.

To Newman, he was a brother. The pair had grown up in the same mid-west town. They had graduated high school together. Suffered through OCS and flight school together. Regardless of Newman’s significant accomplishments, Val was always a step above. This didn’t bother Newman. He was the son of a share cropper. Val was son of the local pastor. Newman had grown up in Val’s shadow. In many ways, Val owed Newman a debt for his consistent support. As a witness to the staunchly acerbic sense of moral justice that Pastor Valisky had beat into his son, Newman had been Val’s faithful recovery mechanism. As a testament to the character of the Valisky family, a young lieutenant Val had been gifted a book of prayers and a Kimber .45 caliber 1911 Pistol.

OIG’s report led to charges according to the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and resulted in a court martial. Val had been stripped of his command, demoted to field grade officer, and forced into an early retirement. During his fateful flight, a momentary lapse of sound judgement had realigned his moral compass. According to the Investigator General’s report, both aircraft in Val’s sortie had been painted by anti-aircraft artillery. In a response to the imminent threat, the two aircraft split from a formation flight and began evasive maneuvers. Val’s aircraft had gained altitude and popped chafe and flares. The magnetic metal chafe particles had thwarted the enemy’s target lock system, but the triple-A fire had taken out Val’s wing man. In retaliation, Val had returned fire on the artillery nest but had taken out three city blocks in the process. The collateral damage included an occupied elementary school.

In the trailing months, Val had begun to drink heavily. He had never known failure. In his mind, the military court should have vindicated him instead of convicting him. Newman visited his modest apartment on almost a daily basis. At first the Major would sit and lament the circumstances with his friend. After several months the shared misery turned to suicide watch.

Eventually Val’s final fate was realized through the hollow point of a .45 caliber round. Unable to ever recover from his professional fall, Val had dressed himself in his military whites, held his open prayer book in one hand, and his sidearm in the other. Upon citing an appeal for holy intervention, Val pulled the trigger. Newman had found his fallen brother in peace from the destruction he had become. 

Author's Note: Narayan's interpretation of the Ramayana, chapter six, tells the story of Rama and Lakshmana's encounter with the monkey Vali, his brother Sugreeva, and the monkey messenger Hanuman. In the story of Vali, Sugreeva's only release from his exile is through the death of the invincible Vali. In this adaptation, Newman is both the messenger Hanuman and the brother of Vali, Sugreeva. Valinsky is the avatar of Vali. Rama is portrayed through the prayer book and pistol that Valisky's father gives to him upon his commissioning.

Bibliography:

R. K. Narayan, The Ramayan : A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, Chapter 6 Vali, p 90-105.