Rooster
Slayer
It was early in the morning hours in
an old French compound just north of Hue.
Just hours before dusk I had driven the Captain to the out post. As we
drove through the gate it was locked and sealed behind us. No way out,
It had a finality to it that sent shivers down my spine. It was getting
dark fast so their would be no returning to Phubai. I was assigned to
stay with the captain that night. Sorta fell under the body guard MOS.
We were taken to a square cement building inside the compound. It
reminded me of a tomb, Both dusty and damp. He was quartered in the bunk
above me. I can remember it was a fitful sleep, uneasy, I slept with my
rifle at my side. This compound was built in a circle and sand bags were
piled high around the edges of the wall. This was no ordinary outpost it
was hit day and night at all hours, It's reputation preceded this visit.
Machine gun fire brought the Captain
out of his bunk feet first into the middle of my chest.
I thought all hell was breaking loose and I actually had to wrestle him
to the dirt until he
regained his senses. Once he regained his bearings we grabbed our
weapons and manned the wall. It sounded like the fourth of July, rifles
were cracking and mortars were flying in and out of the post. Flashes of
light were blinding us, flares were sent up and as they floated to the
ground they cast eerie shadows into the tree line, it was like I was
watching this from someone else's eyes. Surreal, almost dreamlike, but
this sure as hell was no dream. We found that we were under attack, we
were being probed. What set the M60 blazing was just as weird as this
Gut wrenching feeling that came along with this hell hole. It seemed
that the gunner had actually fallen asleep while at his post. The VC
were crawling in through the wire at his position. Charley decided that
he was going to lift the M60 from the gunner,
it would be a prize to their arsenal if he could pull it off. Slowly
Charley pulled the
M60 toward him easing the machine gun from the gunner, What Charley
didn't realize was this, The gunner had his finger wrapped around the
trigger. When he pulled the M60 just a tad to far he wound up with a
burst of lead in his face, You can guess what hell broke loose after
that incident. Sleepy head sent a spray of bullets from that machine gun
that would have made John Wayne look like Mary Poppins dancing on the
hillside. This Sleepy eyed Machine Gunner had hero written all over his
ass.
Hey, If you read this and you
recognize this event, You can thank me personally for dropping your new
CO off that night. The next morning I hauled ass back to Phubai with
lightening speed. Not without taking a few Roosters lives that were just
a little slow in moving, as I was booking through one of the villes. All
I can remember was rooster feathers flying and getting swore at in
Vietnamese. Too bad, too sad, While driving alone in Vietnam one doesn't
stop to give mouth to beak resuscitation to fowl KIA.
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