Chapter 11
Michael got an hour of sleep waking up at the crack of dawn.
Michael grabbed his towel and slipped on his flip flops. He headed out of the Lola Hilton and headed over to the shower tent. The door to that tent had a piece of scrap wood with the "Soapy Palace" white painted label.
He stepped onto the wooden floor of the Soapy Palace.
Michael stripped naked and stepped into the shower.
A five-foot-high wall provided some privacy.
He turned on the water that flowed out of a rubber bladder filled with water. He preferred a hot shower, but this was better than having body odor for days on end.
After his shower, Michael headed back to Lola Hilton and got dressed in his flight suit.
Michael headed out of Lola Hilton. He walked over to the Eloquent Army Cuisine tent for breakfast.
Breakfast this morning consisted of chipped beef in gravy over a slice of toast. The name was "Shit on a Shingle (SOS)." SOS came with powdered eggs, bacon, and coffee.
After breakfast, Michael headed back to the Lola Hilton. He wanted to kill some time until they were ready for today's mission.
Alan waited inside the Operations tent for word on a squad of Crushers. They needed extracting from another LZ.
During this wait, Michael decided to write a letter home, so he retired to his bunk with a pad of paper and a pen.
While Michael wrote "Dear Mom" on the piece of paper, someone entered the tent.
Hooch maid, Kim Ly, a pretty young Vietnamese girl, entered with a broom in hand. She wore baggy clothes and had black rubber sandals on her dirty bare feet. Kim always acted shy around the soldiers. But she seemed to be very observant of what's going on around the LZ. She earned $10 a month per soldier to do their laundry. She also shined their shoes and sweep the dirt off the wooden floors of the sleeping tents.
Kim started sweeping the floor and was cautious with being quiet, so she did not wake any of the sleeping pilots.
Michael heard the sound of the broom bristles rubbing across the floor. He looked over and saw Kim Ly and was immediately smitten by the sight of her. She appeared to be a foot shorter than he was, but he loved her long silky black hair and soft brown eyes.
Michael kept a discreet eye on Kim Ly while she swept the broom in the direction of his bunk.
Michael got off his bunk and walked over to Kim Ly while she swept the broom over at his bunk.
"Hello. My name is Michael," he said with a warm smile while he extended out his hand.
Kim Ly avoided eye contact with Michael and did not accept his offer with shaking hands. "My name is Kim Ly," she responded in a shy tone.
"Well, Kim Ly, it's a pleasure to meet you," Michael replied. He thought the Vietnamese women were intriguing and sexy.
"Me work now," Kim said. She continued to sweep the wooden floor, avoiding eye contact with Michael.
Michael noticed her black rubber sandals while he went back to his bunk to finish his letter. He found her sandals odd and appeared to be homemade.
When Kim got two bunks down from Michael's bunk, she smiled over her brief encounter with him.
Alan stepped inside the Lola Hilton.
"It's head off into the sky Michael," he called out from the tent opening.
"Shut the fuck up," one of the sleeping pilots yelled out after Alan's voice woke him up from a great dream with a sexy woman.
Michael shoved his pad of paper and pen in his locker and locked it.
He grabbed his flight helmet and glanced at Kim one last time before leaving the Lola Hilton.
Kim glanced back at the tent flap and smiled at the thought of Michael. She went back to sweeping the floor.
Michael walked through the row between the tents. "Who was that young Vietnamese girl that started sweeping the floor?" Michael asked Alan.
"That's our Hooch Maid, Kim Ly. We pay her ten dollars a month to do our laundry, shine our shoes and sweep the floor of the Lola Hilton," Alan replied.
"Do you know anything about her?" Michael asked. They walked out of the row between the tents and headed to the Huey's.
"I know very little about her. She seems sweet and shy. Rumor has it that the VC killed half of her family. She doesn't talk much. She comes in and does her chores around Lola then leaves. She walks around the LZ, watching everybody," said Alan. "Why are you asking?"
Michael looked at Alan with love in his eyes while he thought about Kim. "Curious."
"Why you horn dog you. You're interested in her," Alan said after he figured it out.
"What's with those black rubber sandals she wears? They look homemade," Michael asked and looked curious.
"Some guys call them Ho Chi Minh racing slicks."
"Ho Chi Minh racing slicks?"
"Yeah, the Vietnamese cut up old tires for the base of the sandal then cut up the inner tubes for the straps. They are crafty people. I have a pair, and they are comfortable."
Michael continued to smile, thinking about Kim.
Allan could sense his interest. "Watch out for these Vietnamese women. Some of them are VC," said Alan, and he looked serious. "Don't let your pecker get you in trouble."
"Do you think Kim is VC?" Michael asked.
"No indications so far," Alan replied while they walked up to Crusher 5 parked behind its revetment.
Michael saw C Squared sweeping out the cargo area of Crusher 5.
"Do you ever sleep? When we come back from a mission, you are working on the ship. When I first get here, you're working on the ship." Michael asked C Squared.
C Squared picked up a pillow and blanket off one of the cargo seat. He showed it to Michael. "A crew chief's work is never done," he said while he stowed the pillow and blanket away. Michael started to feel some respect for what a crew chief does with these helicopters.
"Is she ready?" Alan asked C Squared.
"She's ready," C Squared replied while sat in his seat by his 50-caliber machine gun.
Michael and Alan got inside Crusher 5 behind the controls.
Michael started the start-up procedure of Crusher 5.
"Where are we going? On another supply run?" Michael asked while the blades started to spin. He was looking forward to another afternoon on the beach.
"Extract some Cong Crushers at an LZ," Alan replied.
"Is it hot?" C Squared asked.
"Not according to the Cong Crushers we're picking up," Alan replied.
Michael looked a little nervous while he recalled last night's episode. He looked out his window and saw Crushers 2, and 3 starting up their engines.
Five minutes had passed. Crushers 2, 3, and 5 ascended into the sky.
A little while later, Michael flew Crusher 5 in formation along with Crushers 2, and 3. This would be his first formation flight in war, and he was a little nervous. Crusher 5 flew at the rear of the formation while they descended to treetop level.
C Squared kept a vigil down below for any signs of VC and had his machine ready to protect their chopper.
"There's the landing zone called Rascal," Alan said. He pointed at the red smoke in the middle of a clearing in the jungle.
"Got it," Michael said.
"Let me take her in since this is your first mission," Alan said.
"Okay," Michael replied, then removed his hands off the controls once he saw Alan had his hands on his controls.
"Crusher Two coming in," Rusty the aircraft commander said from the radio.
Michael watched while Crusher 2 landed and seven soldiers ran over to the waiting Huey. It looked like two of the soldiers were carrying a body to the waiting chopper.
"Crusher Three coming in," said 1LT Lieutenant Jay "Crazy Jay," Granger said from the radio. He was the aircraft commander of Crusher 3.
Michael watched while Crusher 3 started descending to the LZ.
"Crusher Two taking off," Rusty said from the radio.
Michael saw eight other soldiers running to Crusher 3 while Crusher 2 ascended into the sky.
"Crusher Five coming in," Alan said into the radio then he descended to the LZ.
"Crusher Three taking off," Crazy Jay said from the radio.
Michael watched while Crusher 3 ascended into the sky while Alan descended to the LZ.
"Crusher Three taking off," Crazy Jay said from the radio.
The skids of Crusher 5 touched the ground. Michael watched eight Cong Crushers race over to their Huey.
"We're fucking hot!" C Squared yelled out when he saw some VC at the tree line. He started firing his machine guns at the VC racing out of the jungle.
That caused Michael heart to jump, as he was not prepared for that sound.
Then the sound of gunfire came from the VC at the tree line.
Michael saw Crusher PVT Larry Monroe drop to the ground when he turned toward the tree line to fire his M-16.
Cong Crushers CPL Doug Thompson and PVT Cody Edwards rushed back over to PVT Moore.
They picked him up off the ground and dragged him over to Crusher 5.
C Squared provided coverage with his machine gun.
Michael saw two of the VC drop to the ground thanks to the machine gun fired by C Squared.
"Ahhhh!" Larry cried out in pain. He was being dragged by to other Cong Crushers named Thompson and Edwards.
SSG Brian Dyer ran behind them and fired his M-16 at the VC at the tree line.
"Ahhhh!" Larry continued to scream out in pain while his two buddies tossed him inside the cargo area of Crusher 5.
Brian, Thompson, and Edwards jumped in the cargo area of Crusher 5. C Squared continued with his machine gun coverage.
"Crusher Five taking off and we're under fire," Alan said in the radio while he lifted Crusher 5 off the ground.
Larry stopped screaming. All you could hear was C Squared firing his machine gun at the VC.
"Don't leave me, Larry," Brian yelled out at Larry, who started convulsing.
Michael turned around and saw a bloody gaping wound in Larry's chest. Larry had opened eyes with a lifeless stare.
Brian's eyes welled up when he realized Larry died. Brian treated all his troops like they were his kids since he was much older.
This was the second dead person Michael had seen in the past two days.
Bullets pelted the bottom of Crusher 5.
Some bullets hit Michael's chin bubble on Crusher 5.
Michael looked down at his chin bubble and saw three bullet holes. He peed in his flight suit. He felt he escaped death for the first time.
C Squared continued to fire his machine gun down at the trees while Alan ascended Crusher 5 into the sky.
A few minutes later, C Squared quit firing, realizing they were out of range.
It was quiet in Crusher 5 except for the unique sound of the Hueys blades.
How embarrassing to pee in your flight suit.
It was a somber ride in Crusher 5 while Michael flew back to LZ Lola. The Cong Crushers in the cargo area mourned the loss of a friend.