Chapter 13

Our flight arrived at Nawngh Kam just after 1030 hrs. Captain Paribetra immediately posted guards while the rest of us busied ourselves unloading the chopper. In the meantime, MSG Sorenson and SFC Lee started laying out the camp from a plan that they and the Major had constructed. Our helicopter was on its way back to Chiang Rai before the next one arrived just after 1130 hrs with more troops and tents.

The Operations tent had been the first one erected. When the additional troops arrived, Tweed, Broyles, and I set about getting the generator shelter set up and then installing our radios in Operations and putting up the antennas for them. By that evening we had a good start on getting the camp set up.

Captain Paribetra had gone into town with one of his NCOs to consult with the village headman about hiring laborers to fill sandbags, carpenters, women to assist the cooks in the mess hall, and others to do laundry for the troops. He had also arranged to purchase lumber to be used in the camp. That night we had field rations, as the mess hall wasn't operational yet.

That evening I contacted Captain Tamusarit (Cowboy 6) on my radio for his report. He was delighted to hear that we were partly set up in Nawngh Kam. He also reported that several river-men had come into his camp to report previously seeing strangers moving on the river early in the morning and late in the evening.

At 2200 hrs, I contacted the B-Detachment on my radio to report that we were now at Nawngh Kam and would be going active in another two days.

On Sunday, the 2nd of November, the CONEX containers were delivered along with concertina wire and more sandbags. A number of women applied for the job of assistant cook / KP, plus there were others who offered laundry services. By that evening the camp was basically set up, though there was still much that needed to be done. Fortunately, much of it could be done by the local hires with supervision by the Rangers.

On Monday the 3rd, the Red Tigers arrived with two D Model Huey helicopters. The Black Horse delivered four fuel bladders and a pumping unit for them, as well as their tools and spare parts. We had already set up their tents for them. Our vehicles were the last items to arrive that afternoon.

Day laborers had been hired that morning to fill sandbags, while the Rangers erected concertina wire around the camp and the helicopter landing and refueling areas. The mess hall was active by noon, and we all had a hot meal for lunch; even the carpenters and laborers were fed.

The vehicles eased several problems, among which were moving filled sandbags into our area from where they were being filled, and moving lumber from town. The water system had also been set up. We had received four Navy cubes to hold water. These are sheet metal tanks that are four foot cubes and will each hold 530 gallons of water. They were set up on strong wooden frames that raised them far enough off the ground to make them easily useable. Two were at the mess hall and the other two were at the shower area near the river. The river water didn't require much treatment to make it potable, and all of the water for the mess hall was treated as well as that was intended for drinking.

On Tuesday the 4th, observation teams were sent out to Man-Namlet, 64 km up river from us, and a partial team was sent to Hlkanbon to join the people that Captain Tamusarit had there. Our own observation team here at Nawngh Kam had been active since the 2nd.

It didn't take long after that for things to get interesting. On Thursday evening, the 6th, at around 2000 hrs when it was quite dark, we all saw and heard a huge explosion on the far side of the river. Since our two observation stations here are separated by about 400 feet, we were able to triangulate where the explosion had occurred. It was only a short time later when the radio in Operations came alive with reports from our other observation posts. Man-Namlet and Hlkanbon both reported sightings of their own that were definitely not duplicates of ours.

Later still, Captain Tamusarit reported sightings from his location at Nawng-awn, and also from Wan Hsa-la. Again these were not duplicate sightings. The terrain and distance between the observation posts didn't allow that. We were all busy after that determining exactly where each of the explosions was located from the observed readings. Major Del Vecchio sent for the lead pilot from the Red Tigers, a Captain, to have him join us.

"You heard the explosion earlier, Captain?" the Major asked, when Captain Rust had joined us.

"Yes, sir. Do you have any idea what it was?" he asked.

"Oh yes, Captain!" the Major answered with a grin. "Those were the Chinese supplies going off."

"Chinese!?" the Captain asked, confused.

"Yes, the Chinese are the ones shipping supplies in here in preparation for their invasion. They had an 'Ammunition Malfunction'," the Major told the even more confused pilot.

"I thought it was the Burmese that were causing the problems," he said, as if he was unsure. "And what is an Ammunition Malfunction anyway?"

"I'll have to give you and your people a little briefing after this to explain things," the Major told him before getting to the reason he was there.

"Tomorrow we need you to ferry patrols out to these locations on the map to check on the source of these explosions. We have plotted where we believe they occurred from reports from our observers. You may need to do an aerial reconnaissance to determine the exact location. The first patrol will go in to examine its site while you return here to take out the second patrol to the other site," the Major told him.

"That's some pretty rugged terrain out there, sir. Are you sure of these sightings? The location could be hard to find otherwise," the Captain stated.

"Yes, Sergeant Baker will be going on one flight and Sergeant Tweed will go on the other one. They know exactly what to look for, as they have done this before."

"Before?" the Captain asked, confused again.

"Yes, in both Cambodia and Laos," the Major assured him.

"Okay sir. What time do you want us to leave?"

"I would think that 0800 would be fine. The sun will be well up by then," the Major told him. They left together so the Major could brief him and his people on our mission. Tweed and I just sat there for a while and looked at each other while SFC Lee and MSG Sorenson completed the work on the wall map. We then transferred the information to our own maps, double checking to be sure that it was accurate.

It was 2130 when Captain Tamusarit called back with his daily report. The Major was back by then.

"Are you fairly certain of those locations, Cowboy 6? Over," the Major asked part way through the report after receiving their sightings.

"Hand 6, Cowboy 6. Yes, we are fairly certain of the locations. I taught my people how to mark the locations just like we did it in Upper Cambodia. If there is a problem, can you provide assistance? Over."

"Cowboy 6, Hand 6. Yes, if necessary I can send one of the people from here that you served with previously. I'm sure that he would be able to locate the sites. Over."

"Hand 6, Cowboy 6. Roger. Will this frequency be open tomorrow during the day? Over."

"Cowboy 6, Hand 6. That could present a problem, as you are aware, but we will have a radio on this frequency all day tomorrow. Over."

"Hand 6, Cowboy 6. Roger. We'll have to see how things go. What about the middle location? Do you want us to take that one also? Over."

"Cowboy 6, Hand 6. Roger. If you have trouble with it, we'll send some people to help look for it. Over."

"Hand 6, Cowboy 6. Roger. We'll be in touch. Cowboy 6, out."

"We're going to be strapped for enough radios," I said after Cowboy 6 had signed off. "I'll put together the portable from the spare parts again and carry it tomorrow.

"All right, if you think that we'll need it," the Major agreed.

At 2200 hrs, I contacted the B-Detachment for our regular daily report. The Major made the report himself once I had made contact, and Jockey 3 had come on the air.

"Jockey 3, Hand 6. Be advised that we have reports of five; I say again five, separate explosions along the river tonight. We will be sending out patrols in the morning to investigate those reports. Over."

"Hand 6, Jockey 3. Were all of these reports visual sightings, and are you sure that they weren't of the same explosion? Over."

"Jockey 3, Hand 6. We have plotted all of the sightings, plus the distances the observers were apart and the terrain make it impossible for any of the sightings to be of the same explosion. The terrain here is very rugged. Over."

"Hand 6, Jockey 3. Roger. Keep us advised of what you find. Out," the B-Detachment S-3 signed off.

"Let's have a quick operations meeting before we all get some shuteye," the Major told us as he put down the mike. Captain Paribetra had been here for some time as had MSG Sorenson, SFC Lee, SFC Stills, Tweed and me. Broyles had arrived in the last few minutes.

"Which site do you want to take tomorrow, Sergeant Baker?" the Major asked first thing.

"I'll take the one across the river from us, sir," I answered.

"Okay, that leaves Sergeant Tweed with the one near Man-Namlet. I want one of our NCOs in each ship tomorrow," he added.

"I'll go with Tweed," SFC Stills offered.

"I'll go with Baker," SFC Lee volunteered.

"Sergeant Lee, I would prefer that you remain here to coordinate our efforts and keep track of things," the Major told him. Lee looked disappointed.

"I'll take SSG Taylor with me," I said having been prompted by my amulet. "I have a feeling he may be needed." The Major looked at me with a frown. I just reached into my shirt and jiggled my gold necklace.

"All right," the Major finally agreed. "What people do you have available, Captain Paribetra?"

"Sir, the second and third Platoons are available," Captain Paribetra informed us.

"I take it that your first Platoon is on observation duty?" the Major asked.

"Yes sir. I believe that the second Platoon can handle the mission."

"All right. Send two squads with the ships to each site," the Major agreed. "Have the other Platoon stand by."

"Do you anticipate any trouble, Sergeant Baker?" the Major asked next.

"No sir, but it pays to be careful," I answered.

"Anything else?" the Major asked.

"How long are we looking at these patrols being out, sir?" Captain Paribetra asked.

"I would think only tomorrow during daylight," the Major answered. "Have them draw three meals each to take with them and a basic load of ammunition, just in case though." The meeting broke up then, and we all headed for our beds, all but the Duty NCO that is.

"Is it always going to be us that get stuck with things like this?" Tweed asked when we were alone outside the Team tent.

"I'm afraid so, old buddy," I told him. "It's part of the benefits," I added.

"Yea, benefits!" Tweed replied. "Do you really think that you'll need Taylor tomorrow?"

"As I was considering who to take, his name popped into my mind at the same time that my amulet warmed up," I told him. Tweed didn't say anything to that before we both headed for our sleeping bags for the night.

Friday the 8th, started out really chilly in Nawngh Kam, and I was glad that we had hot water to wash up and shave with. The local carpenters had constructed a lean-to for us to clean up under, as the dew was rather heavy early in the morning now.

After a quick breakfast, I went to the Operations tent and assembled the portable radio from spare parts for the Radio. Broyles came in as I was checking my map again against the wall map there in Operations.

"Where did you get this?" Broyles asked as he looked over the portable.

"It's assembled from spare parts for the big radio," I told him before outlining his duties for the day. "You are going to need to be on duty here all day until I get back from the field. Keep a good log of all calls. I have an SOI for Tweed and will give it to him. Also keep an eye on the gas for the generator. The batteries in the two PRC 77s were changed this morning, so they shouldn't be any problem with them," I finished. I rigged the portable in my ruck along with a spare battery and the meals that I had drawn from the supply tent.

I took Tweeds radio and SOI over to him in the Rangers Operations tent where he had been since breakfast. SSG Taylor was already there also, as was the senior commo man for the 2nd Company, and the Platoon Leader for the 2nd Platoon, a Lieutenant. The Platoon Sergeant for the 2nd Platoon had his men outside the tent for a briefing. The Lieutenant and two of his squads would be going with me.

I got out my map and explained in Thai where we were going and what we were looking for to the Lieutenant and Platoon Sergeant. The Platoon Sergeant explained to his men where we were going, in what sounded like Hmong. We headed for the choppers just before 0800 hrs.

The Hueys were fueled and ready when we arrived. I spoke with the lead pilot, and we compared maps to be sure that we both had the same destination, as the others loaded into the choppers. I did a quick commo check with Broyles before boarding the chopper. SSG Taylor was on the second ship.

As I boarded, the Crew Chief handed me a helmet with an intercom connection so I could talk with the pilot. Since the seats had been removed, there was plenty of room for all of us. Shortly after 0800 hrs, we were in the air, and headed for our destination across the river.

There is a small river in another valley about ten kilometers from our camp. It is on the other side of the mountain chain that formed the valley that the Salween flowed through. It took us only a few minutes by air to be above it. It would have taken a day to reach it by crossing the Salween and going over the intervening mountains on foot.