Today's Cliffhanger (Updated and bumped, again)
Contributed by Bill Faith
In Medias Res
CW4BillT (Hat tip: Jules C.)
The sun was just rising, so the temperature was only about 110F as I slogged along the PSP taxiway bordering the North Swamp. I passed a Scout pilot single-mindedly preflighting a Loach in the Cav revetments and loosened the underarm fasteners of my chicken plate to let some of the heat out. I wanted a drink of anything cold and wet, and I wanted a shave and a shower to get rid of the night’s accumulation of sweat, dust, blood, jet fuel, gunpowder residue, grease and hydraulic fluid -- aka, Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Flight Funk. I crossed the packed dust of the airfield boundary road and ambled toward my tent, mentally shedding flight gear and praying that the local VC wouldn’t mortar the shower shed while I was in it.
I had just divested myself of armor and armament when the company clerk trotted up and said, “Hey, Dai-Uy, Six wants to see you as soon as you get presentable -- he said take your time, but hurry up.”
*?* ...
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*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 2007.02.19.15:34 Sequel As Prequel
CW4BillT (Hat tip: Jules C.)
... “Black shirt’s reaching for something behind his back!”
The local guide was trying to decide if he could grab whatever he had in his waistband, arm it and use it before he was shredded by the crewchief’s M-60. And he was wavering toward “yes”…
“Point the gun between his eyes, smile and wave at him!”
He stopped reaching for whatever he had and waved back. Works every time.
A sudden motion caught his eye. He glanced at the cockpit and saw my arm outstretched toward his head, with my M1911 attached at the end. His hands went behind his neck, very, very slowly. The gunner hopped out, removed the grenade from his waistband and helped him aboard.
“Holy…hey, Sir, Back-Seat’s been going through the female’s dittybag. So far, he’s pulled out a K-54 and a blade and about a dozen green GI notepads and some kind of ID booklet and a wad of cash that’d choke the Jolly Green Giant. We hit paydirt!” ...
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*** Update and bump. Previous timestamp 2007.02.20.13:10 Occam’s Punji Stake
CW4BillT (Hat tip: Jules C.)
The Time: 2130 of the night following this incident.
The Place: The command bunker of the Tay Do Two Battalion Commander, twenty feet below the surface of a garden in Phong Dinh Province, RVN. ... Trinh smiled to ease Phouc’s apprehension. “Soldier Phouc, you have performed your mission well. But I feel that I may have missed something of import in the message. Now you may set Soldier Phouc aside and become Young Brother Phouc, as I will set aside Battalion Commander Trinh – we will sit together and my Young Brother will tell the tale of this morning’s events to his Eldest Brother…”
Trinh smiled to ease Phouc’s apprehension. “Soldier Phouc, you have performed your mission well. But I feel that I may have missed something of import in the message. Now you may set Soldier Phouc aside and become Young Brother Phouc, as I will set aside Battalion Commander Trinh – we will sit together and my Young Brother will tell the tale of this morning’s events to his Eldest Brother…”
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