Chapter 15

  Li knew he had made a mistake when he used his binoculars to look at the chopper as it passed. As he followed the aircraft's flight, he knew immediately that his lens might have caught the sun low in the western sky. When he saw the chopper turn, he knew he had been spotted and had to scramble for cover. He spotted a large fallen tree about thirty yards down the slope and quickly headed for it. He just made it safely under the tree when the chopper returned. Within seconds, the ground seemed to come alive as the M60 tore up the spot he had just vacated, and he could feel the vibration of the grenades as they detonated just up the hill. Like a tornado destroying everything in its path, the deadly killer was heading his way. Li turned away as dirt and debris flew into his face and eyes. He could hear the buzz of the bullets just inches away, and he just hoped that the fallen tree would protect him. He could feel the slugs devastating the tree as he prayed to Akshobhya to protect him from his enemies and for his ignorance and stupidity. But the blue Buddha failed to protect him. As the last few shots were fired, a round dug a furrow across his right kneecap that had been exposed. Li screamed out in excruciating pain and anger at the god that failed to protect him.

  *****

  From the hill, they had a very short trip north. Traveling just over six clicks, they arrived at the drop site. It was by a small clearing next to a stream one click east of QL20, one of the main roads leading into Xuan Loc. The Huey did a sweep around the landing drop before going in, but everyone failed to see the NVA troops that had taken cover. Shawn was sitting on the right outside bay door, and Jesse sat across from him. As they were descending and only 30 feet from touchdown, Shawn saw the twin smoke blast signatures of the two Soviet-made RPG-7 grenade launchers fired just seconds apart.

  “Incoming! Incoming! Abort, Abort,” Shawn yelled.

  The pilot, also looking for danger, saw what Shawn had seen and tried to pull up. The first grenade looked like it would come straight inside the cabin door but started to descend just 20 feet from the chopper. It passed under the skids and exploded with a deafening roar as it hit the ground just past and below them. They were not so lucky with the second. It found its mark as the tail section dipped down when the Huey tried to climb. The shell missed the rocket launchers, positioned just above the skids, and struck midway on the tail section. The blast shook the bird to its core and was immediately followed by NVA small arms fire, hitting the troop cabin and killing two of Hung’s men and wounding the third. Shawn and Jesse started to return fire as the crippled bird started yawing out of control from the tail rotor that was barely able to maintain side thrust.

  “Hang on, we’re going down,” the pilot yelled in Vietnamese.

  The tail rotor drive shaft was severely damaged, and the oil pressure was dropping quickly. The pilot had no choice but to try and land the stricken aircraft. Smoke started to fill the cabin as the pilot attempted to head south and put some distance between them and the NVA patrol. Several more RPGs barely missed the aircraft as machine guns and small arms fire continued to devastate the Huey. The soldiers inside the doomed bird were choking on the thick smoke engulfing the cockpit and cargo area. Then, the chopper caught fire.

  They would all die unless the pilot got the bird down fast. Hung yelled at the pilot, “Put it down now,” as he grabbed the fire extinguisher and started to fight the fire. With no clearing in sight, the pilot hoped they wouldn’t all die from the crash into the forest canopy and subsequent fall to terra firma.

  The Huey came down hard. It crashed into the treetops as the main rotors began tearing up the tops of the trees before they finally disintegrated.

  The heavy craft hung there for a few seconds before gravity eventually pulled it downward toward solid ground. The final few tree branches that held it precariously finally gave way, and the chopper took a nosedive and headed down fast. Branches whipped by the side doors as the men could only watch and wait for the chopper to eventually kiss the ground. With only a few feet before the chopper plowed into the earth, Jesse grabbed Shawn by the arm and pulled him out the side door. They both hit the ground hard and were almost crushed by the Huey as it hit and started to roll toward them. The impact killed the co-pilot instantly as a mass of metal crushed him. The pilot was unconscious, with both of his legs pinned in and broken, but he was alive.

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  Shawn hit and rolled on a relatively soft spot, while Jesse was less fortunate. He landed on a mound that didn’t allow him to plant his feet squarely. The tail section of the Huey just missed them both as it broke away from the main body and flipped sideways, with the tail rotor coming just inches away from Jesse’s head and Shawn’s thigh as it crashed into the ground between them. Shawn wasted no time getting to his feet, but Jesse was in pain. He was bleeding from a small gash in the side of his head, and his right ankle and wrist hurt like hell. Luckily, nothing was broken. Dazed and covered with soot from the fire, Jesse sat up and looked at the smoldering wreckage that was lying slightly on its side. As he wiped the dirt from his face, he realized that he was bleeding. Shawn staggered over to Jesse and sat down next to him. He took the bush towel from around his neck, soaked it with water from his canteen, and cleaned Jesse’s head wound.

  “Well, at least we’re alive…anything broken?” Shawn asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Good, stay here and clear your head while I see if anyone else made it.”

  “No, help me up; we have to get the hell out of here before the bad guys climb up our ass,” Jesse said as he checked the time on his watch.

  “Are you sure that you’re ok?”

  “I’m fine, just help me up.”

  Shawn put his arm around Jesse and helped him to his feet.

  Hung was still alive but was beaten up and slightly burned. He checked on his men first and then the pilots and the radio. Then he helped the only other survivor from the main cabin out of the smoldering wreck and climbed out himself. Hung leaned against the crashed fuselage and saw two men approaching through the light smoke. Not knowing if Shawn and Jesse were alive, he drew his sidearm and prepared to fire. When he recognized his two friends, he holstered his gun.

  "Anyone else?' Shawn said to Hung when they were only a few feet away.

  "The pilot's alive and unconscious. It looks like he's pinned in. I don't think we'll be able to pull him out." Hung paused, then said, "Everyone else is dead except Dang, who took a round in his calf. It looks like it cut right through the fibula. I put a tourniquet on it, but we'll need to patch him up and brace the leg before we leave. I'm not leaving him behind."

  Jesse wasn't surprised by Hung's knowledge of the human anatomy; sadly, he had seen firsthand what war and the ingenuity of man to design better means of killing another man could do to the human body.

  "No problem, Captain… I'm sorry for the loss of your men. They were all fine soldiers," Jesse said in a low somber tone.

  As much as Hung appreciated Jesse's kind words, he had no time to grieve.

  Hung put his head down and nodded slowly, "Thank you, Jesse. But right now, we have a pressing issue. I think we only put a few hundred meters between us and the NVA before we went down. We don't have much time before we're engaged, and I don't want to join my fallen friends just yet." Hung said with some urgency in his voice.

  “The radio?” Jesse asked.

  Hung shook his head, “radio’s shot. First, we need to see if we can save the pilot. If we can’t get him out, we’ll have to set a charge on the bird with a trip wire. I don’t want the bastards cutting him to pieces. Jesse, you work on that while I make a splint for Dang. Shawn, I want you to gather up some weapons. Grab two thumpers, one sixty, two M-16s, and as much ammo as you think we can carry.”

  Without a word, everyone moved to carry out their assigned tasks.

  When Jesse and Shawn entered the fuselage, they were quickly saddened by the sight of the men they knew well. Jesse said a quick prayer for the men, then turned his attention to the pilot while Shawn searched for weapons.

  The pilot was conscious now and in a lot of pain. It didn’t take them long for Jesse to see that they wouldn’t free him without cutting off his legs. They were crushed, and the sheet metal of the fuselage completely locked him in. He grabbed the medical kit and injected the pilot with morphine. While Jesse worked on the pilot, Shawn disengaged the M60 from its harness, grabbed ammo boxes, and placed them in a pile. Hung finished making a splint for Tung and looked into the cabin. He eyed Jesse, who just shook his head.

  “Jesse, I’ll need your help with the claymores. Is the pilot conscious?”

  Jesse nodded.

  “All right, let’s get to work.”

  The next few minutes were spent placing the claymores underneath the rocket launchers. When they were finished, Hung ran the wires into the cockpit.

  “I want all of you to gather all the weapons and as much ammo as you can carry and head south. I’ll be right behind you. I have one more thing to do,” Hung said.

  Without a reply, all three men obeyed Hung’s orders and proceeded to head south. Just before they left, Jesse looked into the cockpit and observed Hung talking to the pilot. He watched silently as he handed the doomed man a pistol and the claymore detonator switch. Jesse turned to leave, knowing his fate. He looked at his watch. Eleven minutes had passed from the time they went down. It was now time to leave.