Montagnard and a small nine-year-old boy sat watching him from the porch of
their longhouse. The American colonel checked to see what the guard was doing and saw that the NVA soldier was reading a letter
from home. Garibaldi placed his palms together against his chest and tilted the top half of his body forward in an Oriental
sign of great respect to the old man. The boy whispered something in the nearsighted old man’s ear, and the Bru chieftain
smiled a betel-nut–stained grin and nodded his head in the direction of the Americans.
The squad leader was the first one to sight the American soldier walking down the center of the trail. He blinked his eyes
rapidly to clear his vision and confirmed that the man he saw was a black American. The sergeant didn’t take the time to wonder
what a lone GI was doing walking down a trail deep in NVA-held territory. He waited until the soldier drew near to his hidden
position and called out softly, “What in the hell are you doing here?”
James was startled and took a step sideways before catching himself. He spoke loud enough for the NVA point element to hear
him. “Man! Am I glad to see you! I got fucking lost!”
“Quiet!” The sergeant lifted up a little higher from his prone position and looked down the trail in the direction of Laos.
“This fucking place is crawling with NVA.”
James kept trying to locate the rest of the sergeant’s patrol hidden in the jungle, but couldn’t even find the man nearest
to the NCO. The NVA company had nearly walked into a perfect claymore ambush. “Naw… I just came from that way…” James pointed
down the trail, “and there ain’t anything
hostile
for a couple clicks at least.”
“Who are you with?” The sergeant remained in his camouflaged position.
“The Cav…”
“So are we… Second Brigade?”
“No… I’m with the First Brigade’s Recon Company….”
“Get your ass in here and off the trail.” The sergeant waved for James to join him.
The NVA point heard James talking in English and figured that he had run into an American element. The NVA company began maneuvering
around the area.
“You’re wasting your time on this trail…. My recon team has worked this area for the last three days, and we haven’t seen
any sign of NVA.”
“Yeah? We’ve been out here since last night and are about ready to pull back to the battalion’s perimeter.” The sergeant automatically
nodded his head in the direction the Cavalry unit was bivouacked.
James felt his stomach roll. An American battalion could maul the NVA company he was with in a matter of minutes. “How far?”
The sergeant pulled an ant off his cheek and looked at it before crushing the insect between his fingers. “A couple hundred
meters… Well, if you just came from that direction and say it’s clear, we might as well break this ambush.” The sergeant whistled
softly and called to his men. A minute passed with the Americans signaling to one another that it was all clear. The squad
left the protection of the jungle and eased out onto the trail. James was impressed with how well they were camouflaged and
how disciplined they were.
“Man, you’ve got a good team!” James smiled as he complimented the sergeant. “I didn’t even suspect that you were here.”
“Thanks; I work hard at keeping my men alive…. We might die in this fucking war, but it won’t be because I made a stupid mistake.”
“I know whatcha mean.” James turned his head away from the NCO so he couldn’t see his malignant smile.
The squad worked smoothly, breaking apart the claymore ambush and rolling up the wires to the antipersonnel mines. Within
five minutes the ambush site was clean and the men were ready to leave. The sergeant walked silently along the edge of the
trail through the old ambush kill zone and signaled for his men to follow him and James. A couple of the men gave James a
curious look, but none of them broke
their longhouse. The American colonel checked to see what the guard was doing and saw that the NVA soldier was reading a letter
from home. Garibaldi placed his palms together against his chest and tilted the top half of his body forward in an Oriental
sign of great respect to the old man. The boy whispered something in the nearsighted old man’s ear, and the Bru chieftain
smiled a betel-nut–stained grin and nodded his head in the direction of the Americans.
The squad leader was the first one to sight the American soldier walking down the center of the trail. He blinked his eyes
rapidly to clear his vision and confirmed that the man he saw was a black American. The sergeant didn’t take the time to wonder
what a lone GI was doing walking down a trail deep in NVA-held territory. He waited until the soldier drew near to his hidden
position and called out softly, “What in the hell are you doing here?”
James was startled and took a step sideways before catching himself. He spoke loud enough for the NVA point element to hear
him. “Man! Am I glad to see you! I got fucking lost!”
“Quiet!” The sergeant lifted up a little higher from his prone position and looked down the trail in the direction of Laos.
“This fucking place is crawling with NVA.”
James kept trying to locate the rest of the sergeant’s patrol hidden in the jungle, but couldn’t even find the man nearest
to the NCO. The NVA company had nearly walked into a perfect claymore ambush. “Naw… I just came from that way…” James pointed
down the trail, “and there ain’t anything
hostile
for a couple clicks at least.”
“Who are you with?” The sergeant remained in his camouflaged position.
“The Cav…”
“So are we… Second Brigade?”
“No… I’m with the First Brigade’s Recon Company….”
“Get your ass in here and off the trail.” The sergeant waved for James to join him.
The NVA point heard James talking in English and figured that he had run into an American element. The NVA company began maneuvering
around the area.
“You’re wasting your time on this trail…. My recon team has worked this area for the last three days, and we haven’t seen
any sign of NVA.”
“Yeah? We’ve been out here since last night and are about ready to pull back to the battalion’s perimeter.” The sergeant automatically
nodded his head in the direction the Cavalry unit was bivouacked.
James felt his stomach roll. An American battalion could maul the NVA company he was with in a matter of minutes. “How far?”
The sergeant pulled an ant off his cheek and looked at it before crushing the insect between his fingers. “A couple hundred
meters… Well, if you just came from that direction and say it’s clear, we might as well break this ambush.” The sergeant whistled
softly and called to his men. A minute passed with the Americans signaling to one another that it was all clear. The squad
left the protection of the jungle and eased out onto the trail. James was impressed with how well they were camouflaged and
how disciplined they were.
“Man, you’ve got a good team!” James smiled as he complimented the sergeant. “I didn’t even suspect that you were here.”
“Thanks; I work hard at keeping my men alive…. We might die in this fucking war, but it won’t be because I made a stupid mistake.”
“I know whatcha mean.” James turned his head away from the NCO so he couldn’t see his malignant smile.
The squad worked smoothly, breaking apart the claymore ambush and rolling up the wires to the antipersonnel mines. Within
five minutes the ambush site was clean and the men were ready to leave. The sergeant walked silently along the edge of the
trail through the old ambush kill zone and signaled for his men to follow him and James. A couple of the men gave James a
curious look, but none of them broke
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