Mission 1

These are a series of short stories about some of the different operations I am familiar with during my time in Viet Nam. All names and characters are fictitious. You will have to decide what's real and what is not. Names of mountains and other topographical areas are fiction also. This is in first person and doesn't use a lot of the military jargon.

We were dropped in the valley just inside of Cambodia at almost sunset. As soon as we hit the ground we spread out in a defensive perimeter, and waited till the choppers disappeared to see if Charlie had noticed our arrival. Our team consisted of me, my second, and five small mountain people otherwise known as yards or Hue depending on the tribe you recruited from. I was the team leader, and the head man of the yards was Chung, half yard and half Chinese. Chung witnessed his whole family being tortured and killed by Charlie and hated the VC with a white hot passion. He kept souvenirs of every kill he made, and swore to kill a hundred VC for every member of his family they killed. I had been working with him and his men for about four months and he had a very high kill rate as well as the rest of us on our little seven man team. The yards were all mercenaries that were paid by MACV/SOG out of our base on the outskirts of Saigon.

For the most part we worked out in the bush on search and destroy missions all over the different battle areas as well as deep in Cambodia. Now to make this a little clearer we weren't in Cambodia, and we all knew if we got caught inside its borders we would be wrote off as being KIA or worse if we actually got captured. The present bounty on green beanies was about twenty five hundred American if they brought our heads back to their commanders. This particular mission was a little vague even to me as we were instructed to kill any VC as well as look for caves and supply dumps that we could destroy. To me and I told my Captain the same, this was fubar since if we started setting ambushes as soon as we hit the ground we would spend more time running that searching for hidden supplies. He agreed, but also said I was the team leader, and as always made all the decisions in the field.

We set out in the typical travel mode, Chung on point, two yards about a hundred feet on our sides and two about a hundred yards behind our direction of travel. We moved this way almost all night and about daybreak Chung came back saying he had found a good spot to lay up for the day with a good view of the trail we were following. He said there was a small clearing with fresh water and a good escape route if we needed it. He was familiar with this area as he had lived not too far from where we were at. We quickly moved to the small clearing and got out our c-rations to have a bite to eat if you could call World War 2 rations food. Chung went back to make sure there wasn't any sign of where we had quit the trail so the VC couldn't find us. I had to admit that in the short time I had been acquainted with Chung he had earned my trust and respect, not counting the last mission when he had saved my life from a sniper. The yards carried rice and dried fish to eat, and even though I didn't mind eating the rice, I never developed a taste for the fish they all seemed to love.

I would have went to supply and gotten LLRP rations for me and Roberts, but I just didn't have time as we were only in for two days before being sent back out. This made the third mission in a month and we were all dead on our feet. I had been able to get my yards a good sharp machete and sheath from the Marines as well as the aircraft metal crossbows and bolts for them. They carried their own usually, and they were good with them but these were better because of the power as well as being light weight. We all had full packs of ammo as well as grenades, claymores, and five blocks each of C-4, with the detonators being in my pack since I didn't trust anyone but my second with them. We used small balls of plastique to heat our rats with and make coffee for all of us. It was instant but kept us going when we were dead tired. We set the guard rotation and I went right to sleep after eating.

I woke with Chung shaking my shoulder and he put his finger across his lips as I started to open my mouth.

"VC come, look like big bunch. Have white men with them Sarge. They come down trail with many supplies. Come I show you."

I woke Roberts and told him to get the others ready to move as soon as I got back. He didn't question but just nodded his head. I took off behind Chung and we went into the bush headed toward another rise about a hundred yards to our left. When we broke into the clearing he went down to his stomach with me following his example. We crawled to the top and I got the binoculars out to have a look see. When he pointed I looked in that direction and saw what amounted to about a company of VC coming single file out of the trees. All were carrying large bundles of something on long poles, and from the looks they were heavy since the poles were doubled and still had a big sag in the middle. There was a Chinese major and a Russian Captain walking ahead of the column chatting back and forth. Now what the hell would they be doing with a company of VC and out here where there was no known NVA bases. I watched them for a little then got a surprise as they headed up the footpath in our direction. We backed off and moved back to where the others waited and I brought Roberts up to speed on what I had seen.

"Damn Sarge, there's nothing out here according to reconnaissance photos. I wonder where they are going, and why is a Chinese major, and a Russian Captain with them? Some things hinky about this. Want me to call in an air strike?"

"They won't strike this far in Roberts. No I think I will let Chung follow them and see where they go. Maybe one of those caves is a base or a supply dump. If it is then maybe we can blow it up and get them all at once."

"Ok Sarge but tell him to be careful because we have been lucky so far, and I don't want to lose one of the best yards I have ever worked with."

"Hell Roberts he moves through the bush like a ghost. Most of the time I don't even see him even when I know where he's at."

I went over to Chung and asked if he wanted to follow them for the rest of the day and maybe find out where they were going. He gave me that grin and took off before I could say anything else. I called one of the other yards over and in my broken language told him to set the others out in a square, and keep watch until Chung came back. He nodded and took off to tell the others. I knew he understood English but even in my broken way of talking it was a sign of respect to them because I was trying to learn their language, and it made them more loyal to me and Roberts. Now came the hard part, setting and waiting for word from Chung. I told Roberts to make some coffee then go back to sleep. He nodded handing me a cup, and lay back down seemingly to fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. I took my coffee and moved to the crest of the ridge and scanned the area around me with the binoculars to see if I could see any movement. I finished my coffee and put my cup away and decided to climb the tree that seemed to look out over the way the VC had been moving. I was finally able to get high enough through the canopy to get a clear view.

I quickly checked our back trail and it was still clear so I swung the binoculars back to where we had watched the VC come out and almost immediately noticed movement. I watched and saw a platoon of NVA regulars come out of the bush but instead of following the supplies they all stopped and started to set up like they were spending the night. Damn this was strange since it wasn't noon yet, and why were they just sitting around, setting up tents and starting cooking fires. I watched as several were sent out to clear some of the brush around the clearing they were in. I quickly switched back to where the supply train had went and watched for about ten minutes but didn't see any of them since the canopy was so thick. I switched back to the clearing and saw that another platoon had joined the first and they too were setting up small tents like they were going to be staying for awhile. Now I was getting a little antsy because if they sent out scouts we could be discovered. I looked uphill from where we were at and saw another clearing about a mile up the side of the mountain and decided to move our camp to it just to be on the safe side.

I quickly climbed out of the tree and woke Roberts telling him what I had seen and decided to do. He fully agreed with me, and we got our stuff together. I bird called for the yards to come in and briefed them, sending out a scout to check out the clearing before we got to it. He took off running and we walked out behind him heading into the bush. I told one of the yards to police up the area and to cover our trail, and he immediately fell back to do as I ordered. I wasn't worried about Chung finding us because for some reason he always was able to find me even if we moved. We marched for about an hour when the yard came back saying the clearing was ok, and that there was no sign showing it had ever been used by the VC or anyone else. It took us about another quarter of an hour to reach it and it was smaller than it looked through the binoculars. I decided we would set up in the bush on the edge of the clearing instead of making us sitting ducks just in case that platoon did send out a scout to look around. We got settled in and I took a nap not knowing the next time I would be able to do so. Roberts woke me with hot food and coffee and I immediately noticed it was almost dark. Man I hoped Chung showed up soon as I hated waiting blind and not knowing what was going on around me. We decided to keep radio silence just in case there was a listening post close to us. I didn't want to give away our position or alert the VC we were in the area. I told Roberts to go ahead and get a snooze and that I would wake him when Chung came in.

It was almost midnight when I heard a rustling on our back trail. I listened for a little bit and could tell it was something coming in our direction since it was on the same trail we had taken to come here. I shook Roberts and pointed behind us. He immediately went to the side pointing his sixteen in the same direction.

"Coming in Sarge."

It was Chung and he looked tired from what I could tell. I quickly fixed him a cup of coffee and he just nodded when I handed it to him.

"Big buildup in our area Sarge. Where we were and the other clearing full of NVA now. Must be hundred or more. They here for long time, have tents and boku food cooking. You moving very smart. I follow supplies to big cave in mountain. They take everything in and meet with others who camp near cave. They stay all night I think. Sarge, I hear them talk about attack on camp by river tomorrow night. They building ladders and have boku coffins already stacked by cave. Major say more men coming in morning from north."

"Do you think we can blow the cave when they pull out?"

"I think only a few stay to protect coffins. Sarge, as far as I see into cave it full of boxes that have big red crosses on them. I think they steal supplies from our side somewhere else and bring here to store."

"Ok Chung, get some sleep and we will move toward the cave in the morning."

"Ok Sarge, first I check men make sure they all awake and not sleep while watching. If they do I slit throat."

I watched him disappear into the dark as silent as a stalking tiger. I felt an involuntary shudder thinking of how he could move and was glad he was on my side. I also knew he meant every word about the men because he had already did one of the men that way when he caught him sleeping on duty. He was respected by all the yards and to a man they all listened to what he said. They also knew when he gave an order and it wasn't followed he wouldn't hesitate to kill them for not doing what he wanted. He was considered big medicine by all of them and we never had problems finding replacements if we lost a man along the way.

I told Roberts to go back to sleep and I stayed awake. It was about four in the morning when I woke him and lay down to get a few more winks myself. When Roberts woke me he put his finger across his mouth for silence and pointed to the clearing. I raised up and watched a platoon of NVA cross and go into the bush on the other side.

"That's the second platoon to cross since it got light enough to see. Sarge if they keep coming in firebase alpha don't stand a chance without a warning. You know as well as I do they are understaffed since it's only been there a month. I think it's time we broke radio silence and warned them."

"The VC won't move until dark so we won't do anything until we get a look at this cave. Before I alert them to us being here I want to see what's in it. We have plenty of time to give them warning but we can't afford to give ourselves away until we positively have too. Remember our LZ is a long ways from here and right in the middle of where all those VC are moving. Our secondary is in the middle of them too. No I think we will wait as long as possible before we give ourselves away. Let's get moving toward that cave. Whistle the yards in and get ready to move out."

I sent two of the men to the upper part of the clearing to see if there were any more NVA coming from that way. While we were waiting we moved to the point where the previous patrols went into the bush and I could tell right away it was a well used path. Being under the canopy you couldn't see it from the air. While we waited I made the appropriate marks on my map for the clearings and the trails I had seen so far. Chung pointed out a couple I had missed, and I made note of those also until we heard the all clear call from our scouts.

We moved carefully across the trail back into the bush trying to leave no sign of our passing. I sure as hell didn't want us being found this close to so many men that would love nothing more than to kill all of us for fun before attacking the camp. Chung hand signaled the two behind us to make sure there was no sign of our crossing when we moved into the bush on the other side. We kept moving and Chung caught up in about five minutes taking point again without being told to do so. He was about the best point man I had ever seen, and seemed to instinctively know when we were walking into booby traps or any other nasty surprises. Before our last mission I had presented all my men with a small gold Buddha to wear as a necklace. Roberts and I both wore them too. Since we never wore dog tags on a mission we tried to fit in with the yards as much as possible which they thought was great on our part even if we didn't worship the same as they did. We had been moving through thick jungle for about two hours when I called for a break and whistled Chung in leaving the others out on our perimeter. When he came back we had coffee hot and ready and we all sat down for a few minutes. We were all soaked with sweat but that was normal.

"Sarge, above the cave there is an old graveyard we can sneak into to look at the cave. VC not come near it they afraid of ghosts. NVA same so we should be able to watch the cave until the men move out."

"What about your men Chung? Are they afraid of ghosts too?"

"We be ok, just tuck Buddha in mouth and he protect us. You too Sarge."

I looked at Roberts and he just smiled and shrugged at me. I wasn't about to argue just asked him how much further it was to the cave. He grinned at me, and said it was about another hour going the way we were through the bush. We policed up and moved out again with Chung on point. We walked about an hour and twenty minutes before Chung signaled me to come up. I dropped my pack and moved to his side. He pointed out the mines and said he had already disarmed a path through them for us and to stay on his tail while he led us through. He whistled the flankers in and told them the same. We moved out single file and before I noticed the stones we were in the middle of a graveyard that looked very old. There must have been a village here a long time back because it was overgrown and the two stones I saw were leaning almost flat on the ground. He looked back and tucked the little Buddha into his mouth, and I saw Roberts doing the same so I followed suit. I hated the feel against my teeth but I didn't want to insult my team, and the smile I got from Chung when I did it was worth any discomfort I had.

There was an old falling down pagoda in the center and he led us that way. Just as we came up on it I saw him chop at something with his machete. When I got to where he was I saw a one stepper with its head cut off laying by the pagoda. He motioned for us to stop, and he carefully checked the area out to see if there were any more. I saw him chop again and knew he had gotten its mate because when he waved us up this one was the female because its coloring was lighter. We spread out around the old pagoda in a circle covering all points, and I dropped my pack motioning to Roberts to do the same. We crawled behind Chung for another hundred yards and he pointed toward a small valley below us.

I quickly got the binoculars out and checked to see that the sun wouldn't reflect off the lenses before I raised them to my eyes. When I got the focus right the picture in front of me took my breath away. I had a clear view into the cave and although I couldn't read the small stencils on the boxes I recognized them without having to read what was stenciled on their sides. There were boxes of guns and mortar rounds, and in the front just inside there had to be a hundred packs of Special Forces Paramedic treatment bags. These things had it all from morphine to field surgery kits. Where the hell had they gotten all of these I had no idea, but they wouldn't never get to use them if I had my way. Looking down near the entrance I could see several men setting up tables to treat the wounded that came back. These had to be doctors or personnel trained in battle triage, and I knew they would be staying behind tonight to get ready for the wounded that would be coming in. They would never get to do anything if I had it figured right. If we did our jobs the survivors would be coming back to nothing but a hole in the mountain. If they had all this stuff I knew there would be satchel charges inside and we would use them instead of our C-4. It they were timed and not short fused we could set them to go off within a couple of minutes of each other.

I panned a little further to the side and noticed three men sitting under camouflage netting. I focused in on them and started cussing under my breath. It was the Chinese major, the Russian Captain and one more man that shouldn't be here or even in this area. It was General Sun Yin, commander of the twelfth NVA battalion. Damn this wasn't good because if it was his men, they had never given up in any battle they went into. They usually accomplished their goal and faded to the north before anyone knew they were there.