Alternate History November 13, 1983: The Day That Shocked The World

[Sergeant Foley]

Special agent Corrigan
7:19 PM JST, Thursday, November 10, 1983
Tokyo, Japan
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Francis Corrigan was one of the best special agents of the US Secret Service, having joined the agency in 1975 following his military service in the US Marine Corps Reserve after 16 years.

One of his first assignments was working up the ranks in the US Department of the Treasury Public Relations Division for 13 months before getting asigned to the protection detail of then-US Attorney General (and later Vice President) Edward Brooke from 1977 to 1981. Afterwards, Corrigan continued working for the Secret Service by working hard on areas such as putting together coordinating protection security checkpoints on public events including the State of the Union Address, etc.,

Serving as part of the protection detail of President Reagan was a dream come true "This is a job of a lifetime. Protecting the President of the United States and doing everything possible in giving my life to save his if it comes to that." However, Corrigan and many others had no clue about a group of outside forces lurking and plotting against the 41st President.

It would have devastating consequences going forward.

 

[bintananth]

Same with my Argentinian American in-laws.

If Princess comes home with tears in her eyes while I'm enjoying a beer with her big brother there's a 50-50 chance that I'll be posting bail and calling lawyers before the sun rises.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER1 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
White House Chief of Staff James Baker

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[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 1 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
US Secretary of State George Pratt Shultz

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[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 4 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
The Cinderella Season of the 1983 Texas Longhorns Football Team

 

[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 4 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
Barbara Bush and how she defined the role of First Lady

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[Sergeant Foley]

Baker
8:56 PM JST, Thursday, November 10, 1983
Tokyo, Japan

December 2, 1981: Baker, Meese and Deaver during happier times.
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White House Chief of Staff James Addison Baker, III was among those accompanying the President and First Lady to Japan, Republic of Korea and the Philippines. Having been tapped to serve as Reagan's Chief of Staff in 1981, he was tasked with running the West Wing with a tight-fisted ship.

A former Democrat, who switched to the Republicans in 1970 at the urging of George HW Bush, who was running for the United States Senate that year, Baker was seen by many as a diehard Bush loyalist 100 percent and some considering him as the pointman. Having served as Under Secretary of Commerce under the Ford and Rockefeller administrations respectively. The rumors had swirled that Baket unsuccessfully enticed Bush to seek the Vice Presidency in 1976 but Bush flatly turned it down due to not wanting to undermine Holton, who was appointed to serve as Rocky's Vice President.

Following Bush's easy confirmation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Spring of 1976, Baker had considered staying on in his current job, but stepped down in 1977 and returned home to Texas. In 1978, backed by the Bush family and promiment Texas Republicans, Baker campaigned for Texas State Attorney General that year and despite his hard-working efforts, it was unsuccessful as Baker lost to former Texas House of Representatives Speaker Price Daniel, Jr., (Liberty), who won the election by double digits (55%-43%) and held the Lone Star State's Chief Law Enforcement position until his mysterious death in 1981.

Following the sudden death of Rockefeller and the ascension of Linwood Holton to the Presidency on January 26, 1979, Baker found himself in the behind-the-scenes initiatives such as convincing Bush to seek the Presidency (once Holton announced in June of 1979 that he wasn't seeking a full four-year term in 1980). That second bombshell followed the first political bombshell in May 1979 by then-Vice President Edward Brooke announcing his retirement from politics by refusing to run as well, Baker figured out this was the time to strike and his good best friend was the most qualified person for the Presidency.

Bush resigned as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in June 1979, moved back home to Houston, Texas and launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980: Baker was the campaign manager of that campaign.

Baker and Bush failed to realize that they faced a stronger and more tougher opponent when they ran into former California Governor Ronald Reagan (who got trounced badly in the 1976 Republican Presidential primaries by Rocky). After Reagan's "I am paying for this microphone Mr. Green" shtick, Reagan's campaign took off like a skyrocket too unstoppable for Bush to stop and the Bush campaign knew it.

Reagan went on to win the Republican Party presidential nomination very easily and to the surprise and shock of many Reaganites, he tapped the former CIA Director as Vice President. Reagan won the 1980 Presidential election so easily in a landslide and the rest was history.

Baker had a high degree of strong influence inside the Reagan administration, particularly domestic policy. While Reagan was satisfied with Baker's performance as White House Chief of Staff, others such as Meese, Deaver and Nofingzer weren't thrilled of Baker from the beginning. It was also noted that First Lady Nancy Reagan didn't like Baker either, due to his strong close friendship with the Bush family.

Nancy privately derided him as "that Texan outsider" whom she theorized was taking orders from Vice President Bush. Opponents also claimed that Baker was undermining majority of the conservative initiatives in the administration. By 1983, Baker had been psychologically worn down and tired due to the heavy burdens of his job. He attempted to convince Reagan to appoint him as National Security Advisor and Reagan initially agreed to do so. Yet several staunch Reagan loyalists were angered by what was happening and blocked it from happening.

However, international events and outside forces in particular, were going to change the course of history.......

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Shultz
10:00 PM JST, Thursday, November 10, 1983
US Embassy, Tokyo, Japan

March 3, 1981: State Dinner hosted by President Ronald Reagan in honor of Queen Elizabeth II at the MH DeYoung Memorial Stadium in San Francisco, California.
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George Pratt Shultz made history as the second man to serve in four different Cabinet positions in a Presidential administration since Elliot Richardson: serving as US Secretary of Labor, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, US Secretary of the Treasury and eventually US Secretary of State.

Tapped to serve as the nation's top diplomat in 1982 following the forced ouster of the controversial Alexander Haig, Shultz had to rely on the Foreign Diplomatic Service of the US State Department on critical issues on how the department should be run.

Considered one of the close confidants of the Reagan administration, Shultz was tasked of working on bringing peace to the Middle East (something that bedeviled previous Presidents). Following the invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis in June 1982, who strongly had good justifications because Lebanon was being used as a safe haven for terrorist attacks by the PLO. The United States joined by Britain, France and Italy followed suit by deploying military troops to Beirut supervising the expulsion of the PLO, acting as a peacekeeping force while diplomatic solutions were being negotiated and worked on.

In the meantime, Shultz had to grapple with another diplomatic debacle in the Argentine Republic. During the Falklands War of 1982, the military government of then-Argentine Republic President Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri ordered the invasion of the Falklands, where British citizens endured heinous abuse, torture and other violent methods inflicted upon them by Argentinian military troops. Prior to the Falklands War, the already ugly deterioration of diplomatic relations between the Argentine Republic and United Kingdom escalated when a group of Galtieri loyalists kidnapped Queen Elizabeth II in the middle of the night during Spring 1982 when the skilled kidnappers kidnapped the Queen by breaking into Buckingham Palace and hurriedly flying her out of the country. Classified information detailed she underwent horrific torture sessions in an undisclosed location in South America (according to some, the crazed loyalists of the reviled Junta held the Queen hostage for months), when news broke out of the Queen's mysterious kidnapping, a constitutional crisis exploded.

This resulted in Shultz lobbying President Reagan to cut off military aid to the Argentine Republic altogether and push for economic sanctions. One night, an elderly farmer in Brazil and his family found the Queen dead. Soon afterwards, the Brazilian government was notified about her mysterious death and immediately contacted the British Embassy in Brasilia. Angered by what occurred in mid-Fall 1982, the British people rallied behind the Monarchy and the British Armed Forces sent massive reinforcements into the Falklands and aggressively defeated the Argentinean military troops badly in the war that it didn't take too long before Argentines turned on the hated and reviled Military Junta which resulted in Galtieri's forced resignation and the ascension of Reynaldo Bignone as the 43rd President of the Argentine Republic.

Shultz staunchly supported Reagan's decision to deploying US military troops to the Caribbean island nation of Grenada on October 25, 1983, protecting American students trapped there and easily crushed the communist forces of the Grenadan government.

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[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 5 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
Backstory on Texas Lieutenant Governor William Pettus Hobby, Jr.,​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 5 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
Jack Yates Lions Football Team and their march toward an undefeated season during the 1985 Football Season

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[Sergeant Foley]

@bintananth @The Immortal Watch Dog @Buba @Tiamat @History Learner @almostinsane @Carrot of Truth @Circle of Willis @49ersfootball @Captain X @prinCZess @Planchar @gral

Coming up this week: Chapter 2.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Chapter 2: The Gipper addresses the Japanese National Diet
9:27 AM JST, Friday, November 11, 1983
Japanese National Diet
Tokyo, Japan

US President Ronald Reagan addresses Joint Session of the Japanese National Diet.
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Following breakfast in the private quarters of the Akasaka Palace, the Reagan's left via motorcade and arrived at the Japanese National Diet, where they arrived at 9:27 AM JST on Friday morning.

Inside the National Diet Building, Reagan became the first US President to deliver an address before a joint session of the National Diet. Following his address which included rounds of applause, there was a reception held for Diet leaders where they met personally with the Reagan's and other dignitaries; Upon arriving back at the Akasaka Palace, President Reagan attended a reception and did one-on-one interviews with American and Japanese press corps/journalists. At 11:46 AM JST, President and First Lady Reagan left Akasaka Palace via Marine One and helicoptered all the way towards the next destination: Hinode-cho School Landing Zone arriving at 12:08 PM JST.

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From the perspective of President Reagan on the day's events:"....From there we motored up into the wooded hills to Nakasone's hideaway, a tiny, typical Japanese home where we sat on the floor and had a real Japanese lunch. Back at Akasaka, the Emperor came over to officially say goodbye. Our team had a short meeting to compare notes and see if we'd left anything undone regarding the problems we'd come to discuss. Then a meeting with our very fine Ambassador to the Philippines. Taped my Saturday radio show, did 2 interviews: one for Japan and one for Korea. Met with a group of our servicemen and women celebrating the Marines' 209th birthday. Dinner and another message. The trip was a success. The Japanese had provided the utmost in security---22,000 men."

Reagan and Nakasone having lunch inside the Prime Minister's country retreat residence.

US President Ronald Reagan and US First Lady Nancy Reagan having tea with Japanese Prime Minister Yashuhiro Nakasone and Japanese First Lady Tsutako Nakasone.





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[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 5 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
13 March 1984: The death of Philippine President Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr.,

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[Sergeant Foley]

WE WANT EDWARDS ALL THE WAY: FORMER LOUISIANA GOVERNOR EDWIN W. EDWARDS (D) OVERWHELMINGLY DEFEATS INCUMBENT LOUISIANA GOVERNOR DAVID TREEN (R) IN LANDSLIDE; MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST LOUISIANA GOVERNOR TO SERVE THREE FULL TERMS.

Former Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards (D) celebrating during victory party at the Hotel Monteloene in New Orleans. ​

*Saturday, October 22, 1983: In what political experts and analysts never saw coming, former Louisiana Governor Edwin Washington Edwards (D) easily defeated incumbent Louisiana Governor David C. Treen (R) by rolling up numbers of high proportions, in excess of reaching over 60% of the statewide vote as Edwards, who previously held the Governorship from May 9, 1972 to March 10, 1980, made history becoming the first Louisiana Governor to serve three full terms in the Louisiana Governor's Mansion.

With 1,856 of the Pelican State's 3,158 precincts reporting, Edwards had 62.69 percent of the statewide vote and Treen only garnering just 36 of the statewide vote. Edwards also made history by being the first gubernatorial candidate to receive one million votes in Louisiana history; Edwards carried 62 out of 64 Parishes. He takes office for a historic 3rd full term on March 12, 1984.

*Louisiana Gubernatorial Election: October 22, 1983
Edwin W. Edwards (D): 1,409,870 (62.73%)✔
David C. Treen (R-incumbent): 585,692 (36.39%)
DEMOCRATIC GAIN

MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR WILLIAM F. WINTER REELECTED

*Tuesday, November 8, 1983: Mississippi Governor William F. Winter (D) made history becoming the first Mississippi Governor to succeed himself by easily winning reelection to a second term defeating challengers Leon Bramlett (R) and former Fayete Mayor Charles Evers (I) in a three-way contest by double digits, slighy lower than his larger victory from 1979 when he won the Governorship with 61% of the statewide vote.

Mississippians approved of Winter's job performance during his first term following the long-dragged-out passage of the Higher Education Reform Act following multiple setbacks and delays. Sources say Winter has all but announced his plans for reelection in 1987, which if completed, would make him the longest-serving Mississippi Governor with 12 years by January 14, 1992.

*Mississippi Gubernatorial Election: November 8, 1983
William F. Winter (D-incumbent): 529,325 (55.27%)✔
Leon Bramlett (R): 288,764 (38.88%)
Charles Evers (IND): 30,493 (4.12%)
DEMOCRATIC HOLD

COLLINS MAKES HISTORY AS KENTUCKY'S FIRST FEMALE GOVERNOR

*Tuesday, November 8, 1983: Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Martha Layne Collins (D) easily defeated State Senator Jim Bunning (R) and made history as the Commonwealth's first female Governor. She will replace outgoing Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown, Jr., (D), who is prohibited from succeeding himself in seeking a second term and will take office on December 13, 1983.

*Kentucky Gubernatorial Election: November 8, 1983 (OPEN)
Martha Layne Collins (D): 561,674 (54.50%)✔
Jim Bunning (R): 454,650 (44.11%)
DEMOCRATIC HOLD

 

[Sergeant Foley]

@Buba @Tiamat @History Learner @49ersfootball @The Immortal Watch Dog @Zyobot @stevep @TheRomanSlayer @WolfBear @DarthAwesome @bintananth @almostinsane @Carrot of Truth @Circle of Willis @Captain X @capctr @Captain_Pickle @darthpiva1988 @prinCZess

The following installments of Chapter 2 this week and next week:
1.) November 12, 1983: The Reagan's arrive in the Republic of Korea
2.) Personal PoV's
3.) National and International Headlines (November 8-12, 1983)
4.) Republic of Korea President Chun Doo-hwan
5.) November 13, 1983: Final speech by the Gipper
6.) Last meal of the Gipper as he ate with the troops
7.) November 13, 1983: ROK Army 1st Corps Headquarters
8.) Breaking News Alerts coming out of Seoul
9.) News journalists on the story of their lives
10.) The Major Announcement
11.) George Herbert Walker Bush
12.) Barbara Bush
13.) Ramifications of the carnage in Seoul
14.) State Funeral festivities of President Ronald Wilson Reagan
15.) The Bush administration takes shape
16.) International Headlines (November/December 1983)

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Next Stop: Republic of Korea!
Saturday, November 12, 1983
Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Arrival Honors Ceremony inside Kimpo International Airport. ​

Following a two hour and five minute trip from Japan, Air Force One arrived at the Kimpo International Airport, where Republic of Korea President Chun Doo-hwan and his wife, Republic of Korea First Lady Lee Soon-ja and other distinguished guests were awaiting the Reagan's. Following greetings and pleasantries, the Reagan's and Chun's walked inside the airport, where military crack troops were lined up in great, strong precision.

Soon afterwards, the Arrival Honors Ceremony took place where the National Anthems of the United States ("Star-Spangled Banner") and the Republic of Korea ("Aegukga") were performed respectively. Next, a great choir sung the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and remarks from both President Reagan and President Chun. This was the key height of the Asian Pacific tour because the Philippines was the next stop (scheduled for November 14th-17th); following the formal greetings of American and Korean dignitaries, the Reagan's got inside the Presidential limousine and the Chun's got inside their official limousine.

Security in the Republic of Korea was tight and also overwhelming due to the threats against Reagan by the North Koreans. The drive from the Kimpo International Airport all the way to the US Ambassador of the ROK's official residence (where US Ambassador to ROK Richard L. Walker and his wife, Ceny moved out so that the Reagan's can live there).

 

[Sergeant Foley]

*Tuesday, November 8, 1983: Wilson Goode (D) is elected as the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

*STS-9 vehicle again moves to launching pad.

*Wednesday, November 9, 1983: Amsterdam brewer Freddie Heineken is kidnapped.

*Discovery files from Vandenberg Air Force Base and arrived at Kennedy Space Center.

*Thursday, November 10, 1983: The US federal government shuts down.

*"Marvelous" Marvin Hagler retains the world middleweight boxing championship with a 15-round unanimous points decision over Roberto Duran at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the first time Hagler had taken the distance as champion.

*Friday, November 11, 1983: The first US cruise missiles arrive in Great Britain.

*Australian cricket wicketkeeper/batsman Wayne Phillips scored 159 on test debut against Pakistan at WACA, Perth.

*Saturday, November 12, 1983: Train crash in Marshall, Texas resulted in the deaths of four people.

*The New Jersey Devils' first overtime game, where they would lose to the Calgary Flames 4-3.

*Musical charts: #1 song 'Uptown Girl' by Billy Joel.

*Musical charts: #1 song 'All Night Long' (All Night) by Lionel Richie.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Personal PoV's: Corrigan
Saturday, November 12, 1983
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Throngs of crowds waving Korean and American flags cheering as US President Ronald Reagan and US First Lady Nancy Reagan ride through the heart of Seoul.
​

"It was a beautiful day in the Republic of Korea. The sun was out and the crowd was large, larger than I have ever seen. Plus the security was maximally huge due to the death threats, etc.,

Both the US Secret Service and the Korean Presidential Security Service coordinated together as well as working in making sure President Reagan's State Visit was going well, safe and calm.

I was riding in one of the leading cars, in the passenger seat: looking at the crowd, figuring out nobody was doing anything suspicious.

Of course, this came just two years after an assassination attempt on President Reagan on March 30, 1981 where that stupid ass nutjob opened fire. Reagan was shot but survived after emergency surgery; I figured that nobody was going to try to instigate any craziness."

Frank Corrigan
Special Agent, US Secret Service
November 12, 1983

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[Sergeant Foley]

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 2 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
Backstory on Republic of Korea President Chun Doo-hwan

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[Sergeant Foley]

COMING UP NEXT IN CHAPTER 2 OF THE 11.13.83 INCIDENT
Saturday, November 12, 1983: Highlights of the Gipper's address to the ROK National Assembly

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