Arc Light

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“Arc Light, Arc Light,” U.S. Army Captain Bernard Weaver heard faintly over the radio speaker’s din of electronic disturbance — the words leaving him stunned. South Korean Army Lieutenant Pak looked at Weaver quizzically. “What was that?” he asked in heavily accented English after it became clear that Weaver’s careful tuning of the frequency knob would not be successful in pulling the distant signal in.

“It’s… uh” — Weaver couldn’t believe it — “it’s the radio call for a B-52 strike.”

Pak’s eyes grew wide and his jaw fell. Huddled together at the table of the earthen Command Post, all seemed quiet. Surely, Weaver thought, he must have misheard the call. “Arc Light,” the words came to him, sending a shiver down his spine. What the hell’s going on?

Weaver looked down at his report and picked up the hand mike. He couldn’t make contact with the rear areas, but maybe they could hear him. “Alpha Lima Six Six, this is India Tango Four Seven. Stand by for OPREP-3.” It was an Operations Report that could have political ramifications, hence he’d given it a 3. As soon as he tried the radio he would pack up and head back on foot. The message was priority, headed directly to the Emergency Operations Center at the Pacific Command. “To EOCPACOM. From India Tango Four Seven. ‘Company-size element NKA infantry sighted by ROK Army in DMZ fifteen miles east southeast of Panmunjom,’ ” Weaver read, lifting his finger off the PUSH-TO-TALK button briefly, as taught, “ ‘at approximately 1630 Zulu. Observed activity included digging.’ ”

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