The Miracle Magical Train

The year was 1965, and the summer was poised to be a scorcher. The nightly national news relentlessly covered the Vietnam conflict, which had been ongoing for some time. Katie Ann Clark was excited to be out of school for the summer and eagerly anticipated her transition from tween to teen.

Katie Ann was quite unique for such a tender age. From when she was five, she had known things before they happened, often speaking of voices that told her things about people she had never met. Her parents chalked it up to an active imagination and her creativity in storytelling.

This warm summer day was already turning into a swelter. Her oldest brother, Ken, had left early to meet his friends at the schoolyard for a game of hoops. Her younger brother had gone off with his friends to play cowboys and Indians. Katie Ann was left alone because she was the only girl living within a five-block radius of her home. Her routine involved going into their tiny backyard to swing and do pull-ups on the clothesline’s T-post.

Clark’s small shotgun house was near the freight yards owned by the L&N Railroad. Occasionally, she was entertained when the Barnum & Bailey Circus came to the yards, giving her a chance to see the animals in the railroad cars.

As she swung on the pole, she noticed a new engine rolling by, pulling six freight cars marked U.S. Government. Katie Ann knew the engine would slow down and stop so the switchman on the tracks could redirect the train onto another track. When the train slowed, she saw something she had not seen for some time. Passenger cars were attached to this engine.

What truly caught her attention was that the train cars were filled with what she believed to be injured soldiers. As the train began to slow to a crawl, Katie Ann was surprised to hear various excited voices shouting, “American Girl!” The boys on the train rushed to her side of the car, stacked in twos, hanging out of the window. Some wanted to touch her hand and shake it. Katie Ann walked to the little field by the train, smiled shyly, and waved back at them. For those who wanted to touch her, she moved closer and reached up to take their hands. She could hear them talking about how beautiful she was.

Katie Ann never saw herself as pretty, much less beautiful. She was more of a tomboy than a lady. Katie Ann became aware of movement in the first car and noticed two men dressed in uniforms, wearing helmets with the letters M.P. Katie Ann felt a bit frightened and hoped she was not in trouble. She knew M.P. stood for Military Police. Her father had been one during World War II.

The first man who approached her slightly saluted, “Ma’am, you nearly derailed our train. These boys are injured soldiers who have been at war—many up to four years. They have not seen a real American girl in a long time.”

That touched Katie Ann’s heart for some reason. “I am sorry. I only wanted to say hi.” Poor Katie Ann was truly scared and thought she would be arrested.

The second M.P. spoke softly and reassuringly, “Our Commander on this train has asked us to request a favor of you.”

Katie Ann was confused, “What kind of favor can I do?”

The M.P. smiled, “If you don’t mind, would you join my partner Corporal Wallace on the train so the boys who have gone through an unimaginably horrible time at war can see you and perhaps receive a hug from you?”

“We will be with you so nothing inappropriate will happen,” Corporal Wallace assured her. “They have not seen someone like you for a while.”

Katie Ann looked down at her bare feet, feeling glad she had applied some of her unique Baby-Soft-Floral perfume before going outside. She had dabbed a little behind her ears and on her wrist, and the gentle fragrance brought her joy.

“Okay, I would be happy to meet these soldiers. My daddy was in the army and joined when he was 17. He was an M.P. like you. I hope I don’t need shoes.” Her innocent response brought smiles to the faces of both men.

“I believe it will make you seem more American and innocent to these young men.” Wallace walked with her down the track to the last car while the boys watched her every move. Wallace turned to his partner and said, “Frank, why don’t you go in and tell them what we are doing? Have them form a line for a hug from a real American girl.”

When Katie Ann appeared with Wallace at the back of the last car, wearing her cutoff shorts, powder blue babydoll, short-sleeved top, and dirty bare feet, Wallace leaned over and whispered, “To them, you are a goddess. You are the reason they went to war.”

Katie Ann noticed that each car contained about twenty boys. Some were lined up and walked awkwardly toward her. She observed that a couple of the men could not walk to her, so she asked Wallace, “Why are they still sitting?”

Frank said, “They are missing limbs.”

Katie Ann felt a wave of emotion swell within her. “I want to go to them when we are done and hug them, too.”

With each car, Katie Ann was approached. Some hugged her tightly, sniffed her hair, touched her face, or placed a chaste kiss on her forehead or cheek. For those who could not stand and come to her, she went to them. The voice in her head said, “They are broken, Katie Ann. Tell them what they need to hear and share the impression you get from them. They need hope.”

Katie Ann told each person she hugged that she hoped, at the end of this trip, that a good life awaited them. To their amazement, she whispered the name of a loved one waiting for them when they were discharged home. Katie-Ann also added, “Thank you for caring about me and our freedom.

When she arrived at the last car, she saw ten men lying on cots, attended by nurses. Two were in comas, hooked up to bottles with tubes and needles in their arms. As she paused at the first patient, she was overwhelmed with sadness and grief. Taking a deep breath, Katie Ann bent down and grasped the man’s hand.

The nurse spoke softly, “We don’t think he’s going to make it by the time we reach the East Coast.”

Katie Ann felt the voice in her mind guiding her. She took his hand in both of hers and placed it against her face. Then, she leaned over and said, “You are so loved and have been missed. You must fight to come back. They and I are depending on you to overcome this last battle.”

The nurse who hovered the most over this patient was in love with him. She watched as his fingers curled around Katie Ann’s, and his thumb rubbed her wrist. “Beverly! Look, he is responding to her voice!”

Beverly knew her friend was in love with this patient. She soothed, “Nancy, it may be a muscle reaction. Don’t get your hopes up.”

Nancy shook her head, “He moved his thumb over her wrist!”

Wallace then escorted Katie Ann to the bedridden patients, and she touched them and encouraged them to get better. Then, she was led to the last passenger car.

One man sat in the car at a desk with a stack of envelopes beside him. He glanced up to see a slender girl standing barefoot before him and smiled. “Come here, girl, tell me, what is your name?”

Katie Ann’s throat felt dry and sounded raspy as she responded, “Katie Ann Clark.” She noticed he was writing something on a sheet of paper. When she said her name, his eyebrows raised.

“What is your father’s name?” He tried not to sound gruff.

Katie Ann noticed he had a silver star on his lapels and epaulets. “Joseph Clark,” she said, “Am I in trouble?” Katie Ann felt uncertain and slightly overwhelmed by the man, who looked up and studied her with a reassuring smile.

He reached up to his lapel, removed one of the silver stars, and pinned it to his letter. Folding it, he wrote her father’s name on it. He looked at the two M.P. soldiers. “How was her visit?”

Wallace spoke with admiration. “It was magic, Sir. When she entered the car, you could feel the elation and joy in each of those boys. It was the perfect medicine for them.”

Frank agreed, “If I may, Sir, I would never have believed it if I had not seen it! They perked right up, and I think a few proposed to her. She said she was not old enough to get married, so they said they would come back when she was older and ask again.”

One of the nurses approached the car and spoke softly to Wallace, leaving him stunned. “Really?” He turned with a look of astonishment. “Sir, may I speak?”

The General sitting at the desk nodded. Wallace spoke with reverence. “I don’t know what she did or what potion she used, but Sergeant Bennett has awakened from his coma. He asked if he had been dreaming about a girl with long dark hair who smelled like flowers was just a dream or if she was real.”

The general stood up, reached for Katie Ann’s hand, and led her back to the car she had left. The two nurses adjusted the pillows around the man on the cot, and his eyes turned to Katie Ann’s face as he smiled, “You were real. You are exactly how I envisioned you.”

The other coma patient started to come around and asked, “Is the angel back?”

Katie Ann was then taken back to the first car, where the General handed her an envelope with her father’s name on it. “Deliver this to your father with my compliments.”

Taking the envelope, Katie Ann was led off the train and watched as it pulled away. Some of the boys were waving to her.

Later that afternoon, when her father arrived home, they sat at the supper table. Katie Ann gave her father the letter.

“What is this, Kati-did?” he asked, using his favorite nickname for her. He noticed it bore the official stamp of a United States Army seal.

“It’s from the kind man on the train. He asked me to meet the boys returning from war, Poppa.”

If he had not had proof in front of him, Katie Ann’s dad would have thought she was making up another fantastic story. He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. His look of astonishment landed on the silver star. He unpinned it from the letter and began to read it.

“Dear Joseph, I trust you won’t mind my calling you Joseph, or even Joe. My name is William Clark, and I am a General with the United States Army. I want you to know that you have a very special daughter. She possesses the magic of innocence and compassion.

Today, while waiting for track transfers to send my contingent of 122 men to the East Coast, our nation’s selected soldiers first encountered an American girl. When they arrived home and were shuttled to this train, they had not seen an American girl for over four years. With her whimsical smile, bare feet, and tousled, windblown hair, she reminded them why they made sacrifices for our nation.

She instilled in them the reasons for their sacrifices, providing them hope. Today, for these boys who were forced to become men before their time, she has become their magic and the most beautiful American Girl in their world. I have enclosed one of my stars to honor her service to my men. If anyone deserves to be a General, it is she.” –General William Clark, United States Army

Katie-Ann heard her father muse softly, “I wonder if we are related?”

Katie Ann grew concerned. She saw her father’s eyes well with tears. “Poppa, I am sorry. Did I do something wrong?”

Her father looked at his daughter with immense pride, leaned over, and kissed her cheek. “No, Kati-did, nothing’s wrong. If anything, you did everything right.” He then slid the silver star over to her. “The General wanted you to have this as a sign of his appreciation for what you did today. Later, you can tell me what happened.”

Katie-Ann grew up and held that memory in her heart. She believed in magic. As she began researching her genealogy, she discovered that General William Clark was related to her father; he was a third cousin twice removed. That day became more special in Katie-Ann’s mind and heart from then on.In her darkest days, she would hold that silver star in her hand, feeling a sense of hope and pride.