Mission 19

Note to Readers: A lot of the facts in this one are true and also a lot of what is described actually happened. The VC were cruel and hated the hill tribes with a passion. ARVN troops were almost as bad as the VC, and it created a lot of tension with the teams working in the bush. LZ Hardtimes was a firebase and thus the VC gave it hell every chance they got to do so.

I had just come out from putting on my camo's to go back to my hooch when the tail end of a conversation between Chief and Gunny caught my attention. I was finally getting released after six days of sweating and freezing to death hourly and not necessarily in that order. Although I was effectively blocked from taking any missions for a few more days I was just glad to go back to my hooch. I hated hospitals. Anyway their conversation was a bit shocking to me considering how well I knew the VC and their habits.

"Dammit Gunny, the truce is supposed to be for fifteen days from what I heard. That means no more patrols and we can finally get time to take care of some personal things. Besides if it's true then ole Sarge won't be going on any missions for awhile. Besides, the Doc has grounded him for a few days."

"I know that, but for this truce to work the VC have to quit fighting altogether. Now I been here long enough to know that Charlie just aint gonna drop their arms and play nice for a half a month. I don't care what the Brass says; something's funny about this whole damned truce thing."

"Well if you two are done discussing the finer points of Charlie's manners, I would like to get the hell out of here. I need some food that's not liquid and my weapon cause I feel naked."

With that declaration I got Gunny's famous glare and Chief just rolled his eyes. I was grinning when I went to the front desk to get my meds and followed Gunny to the jeep sitting out front. Chief climbed in the back and we went directly to the base armory where Gunny issued me a new 16 because of the bad shape my old one was in. I had noticed a couple of bubbles inside the barrel and the inner mechanism was sloppy so I planned on replacing it anyway. We finished up and headed for the chow hall so I could get some food in me. Needless to say the clinic food was like all hospitals that I had been in and was always overcooked and almost cold by the time the orderlies got it to the patients. I was also looking forward to a good hot cup of coffee which for some reason seemed to always be hiding in the clinic on base.

We finally got seated and I ate till I thought I would bust which of course made me about half nauseous cause my stomach was still just a tad upset from all the quinine I had been taking but I rapidly settled it with coffee. Umm did it taste good and hot to my refined palate. Chief was laughing at me by the time I settled back in the chair sipping my third cup with my eyes closed. I was just slowly sipping it when a hand slapped me on the shoulder causing me to spill part of my cup in my lap. Damn that was hot. My eyes sprang open to the grinning face of Chung who was laughing almost as much as Chief was.

"You little short sawed off shit. Paybacks a bitch and you got a good one coming. I been waiting a week for a good hot cup of java and you cause me to spill it before I can drink it."

"Good you back Sarge. You not worry bout coffee you drink cause I know you and I bet you already drink whole pot before I get here. Sarge I send many men out to check on VC movement in area. I no like this truce thing and know VC not lay down arms for some holiday. There something wrong with this. Two men come back little bit ago and say VC moving in big numbers all over area. They say all armed heavy and carry many supplies. Sarge this tell me something else going on and I worry bout village since it so close to big base. I come talk to you to see what you think."

I looked at him and could see he was worried and in turn I was starting to worry about it myself. I knew Chung and he wasn't the type to panic, and if he said he was worried about the village then I was too. Unlike a lot of my counterparts I had become adopted by the people and was considered one of the village leaders and I had always made sure my village was well protected, fed, and medical care furnished on a regular basis. In turn I knew the village accepted me and expected me to make sure they were all safe.

"I don't like it either Chung so here is what we are going to do in the next few days. I figure doctors orders or not we have about three days to accomplish this. I know for a fact we are still going to Hardtimes and the General is gonna overrule the docs orders and tell us to go. Chung start the women and children to the hidden village. Make sure they take plenty of food and supplies. Then over the next couple of days bury in the pits all that can't be taken, and use all the claymores to booby trap the whole compound. If the damned VC do try to overrun the village I want them to find nothing but death. They might burn it but if we do this right they will probably lose a lot of men before they decide it's gonna cost them too much to try to take it. Dig out all the extra crossbows and make sure the villagers know they are not to fight unless directly threatened. When the last of the men and women move out tell the scouts to make sure they booby trap the trail leading to the hidden village. The way you set it all up is they won't make a hundred feet trying to trail anyone before they are blown to hell. Keep men circling the village so the VC won't know where we are burying the extra supplies? If any of the scouts see any VC near the village they are to kill them immediately and hide the bodies. If we do this right the VC will give the village a wide berth and we get to kill many of them without losing anyone from the village."

"That good plan Sarge, I think I know a couple of tricks to help keep VC away from empty village too. Ok I go back and start plan, but you need to come talk to elders tomorrow to tell them why we do this. They will want to see you cause they worried you not been in village for many days and they know you in hospital. Daughter say you better come see her so she know you ok. She say also to bring her some of that canned meat like last time and some of her favorite candy."

Chief busted out laughing at the canned meat statement and I gave him a dirty look because his big ass had started all of this. About a month back he had gotten his hands on a case of spam and had given it to my adopted daughter. She had fried some of it with several different spices and other things and had become the village chef or at least the head cook. The villagers had gone nuts over the stuff and bugged the hell out of me and Chief ever since wanting more of the canned marvel to eat. Oh and the fact that the empty cans were worth more than bullets didn't help matters any. I hadn't known anything about it until one of the elders had given me hell in front of the whole village for not offering it to everyone. Chief was laughing so hard at my blank look he had walked back to the hooch because I kicked him out of the jeep. Now every time Chung or Ling came to meet me she told them to tell me she wanted more of the meat to cook. Thanks to Chief it had become a joke with everyone on base that heard about it and to a man they tried to trade me cans of the stuff every time they saw me. It had gotten back to the Captain's ear, and now he joked with me about it and said he was going to change my call letters to Spam 1 the next time we went out. Now I had a thought and decided to act on it immediately.

"Ok Chung, start the ball rolling when you get back and let me know what the scouts find out. Chief, I have a job for you and I want it done by the time we go to the village tomorrow. You're to find every case or can of that damned foul tasting stuff they call Spam and get it ready to give to the village tomorrow. I don't care where you get it or what it costs you this is a direct order. Now I suggest you get moving cause I am expecting to be called into the Captain's office any minute. Chung tell the scouts to keep a close eye on the village and to be careful. Start the younger women and children to the hidden village today about dusk, and filter the rest a little at a time over the next day or two. I will be out tomorrow to talk to the elders. If you need anything send Ling or one of our men in to tell me. I don't know what it is about this so called truce, but I have a feeling it's a cover for something else. Now Chief quit giving me dirty looks and get hoppin. You only have until tomorrow to complete your assignment."

Chung jumped up grinning at the look on Chief's face and headed out. Chief just gave me a dirty glaring look and left too. When he got out the door I broke out laughing and everyone in the chow hall was looking at me like they thought I had went over the edge or something. I got up dropping the tray and headed out still chuckling to myself. I just knew the Leech was going to earn his nickname and knowing Chung he wasn't going to forget his new nickname any time soon. The yards had a vicious sense of humor and I know it was going to come up again at the most inopportune time for the stress relief factor. I also knew that if Chung know about it then our whole team did and they would be waiting to pay Chief back for some of his jokes and pranks. I didn't mind it and knew it made for better cohesion among us while we all worked together.

I was right and I didn't get halfway back to my hooch before one of the MP's caught me saying I was wanted in the Captain's office in fifteen. I didn't say a word just nodded and climbed into the jeep.

When we got to the shack I was shown right in to my surprise and what the Captain had to say didn't set very well with me.

"Sarge I suppose you've heard about this truce for the New Year? I personally think there's some other motive behind it. You will be going on a mission in three days regardless what the doc said. These are orders from the General. They still want your team up at Hardtimes to look for those missing villagers and to scout out VC troop movements. I know you just got out today but has Chung said anything about the VC movements in the area?"

I told him what Chung had told me and we discussed it for about fifteen minutes before he gave me that look and what he said next surprised me; "I been to the command bunker several times since this truce thing was announced and there has been virtually no radio traffic from the VC for a couple of days. HQ is letting men have weekends in Saigon and seem to be just keeping skeleton crews on a lot of the bases. Sarge I don't like nor do I trust this truce thing so I want you to watch your ass when you go to Hardtimes. If it looks like they are to be hit, I want you to warn them then duck into a hole somewhere. I have a bad feeling about this so I am warning all our teams the same way. Me and the General both have this little itch, but HQ thinks that Charley will honor the truce and there will be no problems during it. Sarge is there anything I can do from my end for Chung and your men?"

"No Cap, we have a plan in motion to protect the village. I have to go out to talk to the elders tomorrow but I think they have everything under control. We could use some more crossbow bolts though."

"Ok, see if Gunny has any in the armory and if he doesn't see if he can get some from one of the other supply pukes. Oh and tell Chief I have ten cases of spam for the village he can take out there tomorrow. I heard he was running around scrounging all he can find. What the hell was he thinking when he got them hooked on that crap? Didn't he know that stuff will kill you quicker than Charley?"

(NOTE) Actually a lot of the troops liked spam but I personally never cared for it. My mom used to send me a case of potted meat every month and it was worth its weight in gold right along side of the assorted flavor packs of cool aid. It helped mask the taste of the purification tablets we used to drop in our canteens. God did those tablets make the water taste nasty. The potted meat didn't taste too bad and was high in salt content. I personally loved it as did my men and all of us looked forward to my monthly care packages from home. Also Gunny had a source for aluminum crossbow bolts and they were highly sought after by my men. My guys brought him back souvenirs from the VC to trade for extras so they could give them to the hunters to use. Also the Gunny I always refer to was Gunnery Sgt. Major Henderson, USMC. He was a veteran of WWII and Korea. One of the finest men I ever had the privilege to meet and work with.)

By the time the meeting with the Captain was finished it was time to hit the chow hall again. I ate then went to the hooch to get some sleep since I was starting to feel a little wrung out. I never saw the Chief for the rest of the day and for some strange reason thinking about it made me fall asleep with a grin on my face.

I started the next day by sitting straight up in my cot thinking we were under a mortar barrage. When I woke up enough I realized it was the Chief snoring. God it sounded horrible almost like an elephant with lung problems only louder. As I threw a pillow I wondered why he was snoring since he never did in the bush. The pillow didn't work so I threw an empty ammo can bouncing it off the wall above his head. Even with all the noise from it he never flinched. I got up and grabbed the bucket full of water and threw it in his face.

After a few coughs and hacks his reflexes kicked in and he rolled off his cot hitting the hard floor with a loud "OOMPH." When he popped back up looking around wildly with water dripping I lost it.

"What the hell did you do that for Sarge?"

"If you snore like that out in the bush every VC in ten klicks will be on our asses and Chung would slit your throat if he could beat me to you. You were supposed to be on a job and here you are smelling like a whiskey still, and from the looks of you you're still drunk. What the hell were you thinking Chief; you know you and alcohol don't agree with each other?"

"Yea I know, but I ran into a supply Sgt. from the other side of the base and we made a deal that if I would buy the drinks all night he would slip me 20 cases of spam. I don't remember drinking anything, but I must have cause I feel like shit. Was I really snoring that loud?"

"I am not even going to answer that one. Cap says he has ten cases of spam to donate to your little load. He said he heard you were scrounging all over the base and decided out of the goodness of his heart to help your cause out. Now it's 0530 and since you wouldn't let me sleep in you can get up too. We will shower get some chow and get your gift to the villagers loaded. Dammit Chief did you do anything last night that would have the MP's looking for you?"

"Not that I know of why?"

"Cause you gonna be in deep shit with Gunny again because I don't see your weapon. You remember what happened the last time you lost it?"

I headed out the door laughing manically thinking about the last time he misplaced his weapon and Gunny's fit. He caught up with me looking like death warmed over, then his yell as the cold water hit his head made me laugh even harder. I did notice as we headed out for the chow hall he had a sidearm strapped to his waist and I just smiled wondering if he would remember where he left his 16 last night. The rest of the morning was anticlimactic and while he went looking for the supply Sgt. to get his spam, I went to the base PX and bought several boxes of the great big candy canes for my adopted daughter and the other kids of the village. I made sure to buy all that they would let me have cause I knew the elders would steal a lot of them since their sweet tooth's were a well known secret. I thought the kids would love these as they were peppermint, but had red stripes in them and were huge. They could chew for hours on these as they were hard as hell. I grabbed a box of Juicy Fruit gum for me and the men to chew in the bush as it helped to cut down on water consumption and tasted great to chew while walking. Chung had a weakness for it and I always made sure he had plenty for his own use. He had found out he could stretch it over the end of the barrel of his 16 to keep water out and still be able to fire it without removing it. He thought it was my idea and I never told him different.

I had been sitting on a bench outside of the PX for about fifteen minutes when the Chief pulled up and jumped out with a big grin on his face. He helped me put the boxes I had in the back of the truck and we headed for the armory. I noticed he had a 16 between the seats so I had to comment on it.

"I see you found a weapon. Is it yours or one you stole to replace the one you lost?"

"It's mine and I left it in the jeep last night when the Sgt. dropped me off. It has my mark on it."

"Well that's good. When we get to the armory strip it and look in the barrel and check for little bubbles on the inside of the barrel."

"Why would there be bubbles in the barrel?"

"Hell Chief I don't know. Before I went to the hospital I noticed what looked like small bubbles about halfway down the barrel when I cleaned mine. I pointed them out to Gunny and he about had a heart attack. I think when we go out this time we will use the AK's. I sure as hell don't want my weapon exploding in my face in the middle of a fire fight. I don't know what's causing it, but I will leave the fine points in Gunny's hands until we know what's going on. Now get the truck loaded so we can meet the elders and see if Chung has any more news about VC activity from the scouts."

"Ok Sarge. Oh the supply Sgt. says he has access to that potted meat you like so much. According to him they get about a thousand cases a month and he can't give the stuff away. He said he would trade you for some JD if you can get your hands on some."

"That's good to know. I will pass the word to Ling and see what he can come up with."

"You know I am gonna have to have a little talk with him and find out where he steals all that premium hooch he seems to find. Man some of that is worth its weight in gold. Did you know he has a whole stash of brandy he said he found?"

"Well he said it was brandy but I don't know if you could classify Cognac as brandy, and I know where he got it from even if he said it fell off a truck. If the Embassy ever found out what happened to their shipment he would be shot."

"I am not even gonna ask how he ended up with the booze from the Embassy. I wonder how he does it."

"You know, Gunny asked him the same thing before he ordered a case of Scotch. Now I don't know what Ling got out of the deal, but the Gunny had his Scotch the next day and it wasn't the cheap stuff either. According to what Jeffers said the Gunny was shocked because he never even knew that that type of booze was even being shipped in. Needless to say he was happy as hell."

"Well if Gunny is happy then everyone is happy."

We were stopped going out of the gate by an MP that had a god complex, but when he called the Captain about our cargo he changed his attitude and seemed like he couldn't get us away from him fast enough. Chief and I laughed all the way to the village. When we pulled in I was immediately attacked by my adopted daughter wanting to know if I had brought her any of that great canned meat. Even Chief got a kiss and hug when she looked into the back of the truck, but when she found out it wasn't all for her we both got a dirty look. I think she ended up with three cases for herself and wasn't very happy about it. The elders had nothing but toothless smiles for us as we handed out the rest of it. The candy canes went over big time and I made sure my daughter got two boxes of them. Even after handing out one to each of the kids who seemed to be multiplying from visit to visit, I still had enough to give one to every villager that wanted one and I noticed that none turned them down. They were a big hit and the kids seem fascinated with the red stripe around them and all of them seemed to be following it with their tongues as they licked the candy.

We finally was able to break away and meet with the elders and when I got my coffee it tasted suspiciously like it had been sweetened with peppermint instead of sugar. I wondered if the elders had been stealing sugar again but didn't ask. I asked why it seemed that none of the women and children had moved to the hidden village and was told they would be later but it was taking every person to help hide all the extra supplies the village had. When Chung spoke it cause me even more worry.