Chapter 14
The next day arrived. Michael ate his evening chow of something that resembled a steak. It was not bad but nothing like the steaks his dad would grill.
After he had a few beers in the Party Place, Michael headed back to the Lola Hilton. The fate of Alan and C Squared still weighed heavy on his mind. He also wondered how Kim was doing with her sick mom.
The familiar music of Hueys filled the air indicating Crushers 7, 9, and 14 were landing back at LZ Lola. The three Hueys went out to pick up the Cong Crushers that Michael and the others dropped off earlier today. Their mission sent out to complete yesterday was a bust. The only VC they encountered was at LZ Wayne.
Michael ran toward the revetment area while the Hueys landed.
An ambulance pulled up next to the revetment area.
He watched while Crushers 7, 9, and 14 landed in available spots.
Michael watched while six Cong Crushers got out two injured buddies out of Crusher 7.
Four Medics rushed over to Crusher 7 with two stretchers in hand.
He then watched while eight Cong Crushers got out uninjured from Crusher 14.
Michael turned his eyes on Crusher 9 and saw three motionless bodies on the floor of the cargo area of the Huey. His stomach got nervous.
He saw the eight Cong Crushers get out while another ambulance pulled up.
Six Medics got out of the ambulance and rushed over to Crusher 9 with three stretchers.
The six Medics stopped and talked with two of the Cong Crushers who hung out by Crusher 9.
Michael could tell by their conservation that it could not be good.
He watched while the Medics placed the three lifeless bodies on the stretchers.
Michael rushed over to the ambulance.
He watched while the four Medics carried the stretchers over to the ambulance.
Michael wanted to break down crying. He realized the three dead bodies was Alan, C Squared, and the new X-Ray Wilbur. The poor kid was only in Vietnam for two weeks, and his return flight home would be in a body bag.
Michael stared at Alan's lifeless body. Two Medics placed the stretcher with Alan in the back of the ambulance.
Then it hit Michael like a ton of bricks. He could have been on Crusher 5. He could be a body back heading home.
Michael walked away from the ambulance, feeling sick.
He only made it ten feet from the ambulance, and he dropped to his knees. He vomited into the dirt, thinking about Alan and C Squared.
Michael got up on his feet and moped back to the Lola Hilton.
By one of the revetment walls, LTC Harrington and Sarge watched the ambulance drive away. Harrington hated his duty of notifying the families of the killed soldiers. He hated it with a passion. He turned around and walked back to his tent. Sarge lit up a fresh Camel then took a drag. He turned around and followed Harrington.
He only made it ten feet from the ambulance, and he dropped to his knees. He vomited again into the dirt, thinking about Alan and C Squared.
An hour had passed, and Michael fell asleep.
Kim entered the Lola Hilton and saw Michael in his bunk.
She walked over to Michael's bunk and looked down at him while he slept. She moved Michael to wake him up.
Michael opened his eyes and glanced up at Kim. "Hey, baby," he said with a little smile.
Kim sat down on the edge of Michael's bunk. She leaned down and gave him a little kiss in his lips. "I hear Alan killed by VC," she said.
"How did you know?" he asked while he sat up and was a little surprised.
"I hear soldier talk. They say Alan and everybody in Huey killed by VC," Kim replied and looked sad.
Michael's eyes welled up, and Kim held his hand for comfort.
"We walk. You'll feel better," Kim said while she stood up holding Michael's hand.
Michael smiled at her and got up off his bunk.
They held hands while they walked out of the Lola Hilton.
Michael and Kim walked around the LZ, and he remained quiet. But Kim was scanning the LZ over. It was like she was memorizing the layout.
A little while later, the sun was dropping behind the trees for a beautiful sunset.
Michael and Kim walked into the Party Place.
They sat at the bar and ordered two beers so Michael could drink his sorrows away.
CPL Keith Messing rolled a 16mm projector into the tent. He rolled it down to the other from the bar.
Calvin walked into the tent carrying a projector screen. He walked over to the front of the bar. He started setting up the screen. Calvin was the administrative assistant to Harrington and Sarge. He also worked the radio when Sarge was not available
"What's playing tonight?" Michael asked Calvin.
"Spooks Run Wild," Calvin replied while he made the final adjustments to the screen.
"Want to watch the movie?" Michael asked Kim.
She hesitated as if she had somewhere else to be at this moment. "I no hear movie Spooks Run Wild," Kim replied.
"You'll love it. It stars the East Side Kids. They did movies back in the forties," Michael replied while he recalled seeing them on TV back in the fifties.
She nodded that she would stay and watch the movie.
Five minutes had passed. Fifteen Cong Crushers entered the tent, ready to watch a movie to take their minds off the war.
The bar closed down since Hao was feeling sick and wanted to return to his village. And besides, the projector screen blocked access to the bar anyway.
Michael and Kim moved away from the bar and sat at a small table near the tent entrance. This was per her request.
Calvin started the projector, and the movie started playing with the opening credits.
A couple of Cong Crushers could not help but shove their hands into the light. They made shadow puppets for a few seconds. They were still kids at heart.
Kim started getting antsy. She looked at the screen. It showed Danny, Muggs, and Glimpy at a sweet shop soda fountain flirting with a blonde girl.
"How long movie?" Kim asked while she looked around the tent and saw. It was packed with Cong Crushers.
"An hour," Michael replied with his eyes glued to the screen.
"I go now," she said while she leaned over to Michael.
"Where are you going? The movie started," Michael asked. He watched while Danny, Muggs, and Glimpy missed the bus and high tailed it out of the sweet shop.
"I go home to mother. Make sure she well," Kim said while she leaned over and kissed Michael on his cheek.
"Can't you stay a little longer?" he pleaded her.
"No, I go now," she said then stood up and rushed over to the door and rushed out of the tent.
Michael looked concerned while she had to leave in such a hurry. He shrugged it off and went back to watching the movie.
Thirty minutes passed. Michael watched the scene of the movie where two of the East Side Kids are inside a dark house. Muggs sat behind a desk where candles lit the dark den. Glimpy and three other kids were by Muggs. Muggs freaks out after he opened a container and sees a skull inside.
Then out of the peaceful night, the boom of a mortar attack shook the once quiet tent.
Everybody froze for a second. They couldn't believe that the war was interrupting their movie.
Another boom from another mortar attack shook the tent. It knocked the projector off the table.
The movie was showing on one of the side of the tent.
Machine gunfire came from the perimeter of the LZ.
Footsteps filled the air while other Cong Crushers ran to the bunkers with their M-16s.
"Fucking VC!" one of the Cong Crushers yelled out from inside the tent.
Everybody jumped up and scrambled to the tent door.
The projector reels jammed. The scene in the movie froze, where Muggs, Glimpy, and the three other kids headed to the door of the den. A burn mark projected on the side of the tent. The bulb burned the 16mm film and burned the away Mugs, Glimpy, and the three other kids.
Michael ran out of the tent in a panic with the crowd of Cong Crushers.
It was utter chaos outside LZ Lola.
Cong Crushers ran to their tents to get their M-16s.
Other Cong Crushers ran to the bunkers with their M-16s in hand.
The music of machinegun fire from the Cong Crushers firing at the VC filled the air.
A mortar round hit the Party Place. It exploded into a ball of flames.
Six Cong Crushers with fire extinguishers put out flames on the tent. It was no use. What was once their place to get the war out of their minds would be gone. They were ready to kill with losing cases of beer. But they would rebuild.
Michael settled into a bunker with six other Cong Crushers. He did not waste a second and started firing his M-16 at the VC. They were at the edge of the jungle firing back with their AK-47 rifles at LZ Lola.
Michael saw a VC step out of the jungle and started to sneak to the perimeter of the LZ. He aimed his M-16 and fired off a few founds. The VC dropped dead to the dirt.
Michael and the others saw six VC running toward the concertina and razor wire at the perimeter of the LZ.
Michael and the others aimed their M-16 rifles at the approaching VC and fired off a bunch of rounds.
The six VC dropped to the dirt dead.
Then the sound of approaching Hueys filled the air.
Fifteen VC ran out of the jungle and headed to the perimeter of LZ Lola.
Michael and the guys in the bunker saw two Viper assault Hueys. They were racing to the rescue two hundred feet off the ground.
A bullet from a VC zinged inches past Michael's right arm. He ducked down for cover.
The assault Hueys named Viper 4 and 8 fired their machine guns at the VC while they ran to the perimeter. The Vipers were from LZ Snake Pit that was about fifteen miles away. They got a call to come in and assist LZ Lola.
All fifteen VC dropped dead to the dirt.
Vipers 4 and 8 made ascending banks to the right.
The jungle was quiet.
The LZ was quiet while everybody waited to see if any more VC would attempt to attack.
The jungle was still quiet while Vipers 4 and 8 made another pass two hundred feet by the LZ. The did not fire their machine guns.
After a few minutes, the word that the VC was no longer a threat spread around the LZ like wildfire.
Everybody in Michael's bunker started cheering while Vipers 4 and 8 flew away to head back to LZ Snake Pit.
"Who are we?" a soldier yelled out from a nearby bunker.
"Cong Crushers!" a bunch of soldiers yelled out in unison then stomped boots in the dirt.
Everybody started climbing out of the bunkers.
Michael headed back to the Lola Hilton. Exhaustion was taking over him and h and worried the LZ would have another attack. He wondered if he would survive the next one.
An hour later, they moved all the dead VC to another location in the LZ for later disposal.
Michael lay in his bunk and thought about the war and Kim. Then he felt a little pain on his right arm. He looked over at it and saw his fatigue shirt had a small tear in it. He realized it was from that bullet that zinged past his arm.
He sat up and removed his shirt and saw that the bullet grazed his arm. Nothing serious that warranted a trip to the Medical tent. He was not going to get a Purple Heart for a little bloody scratch. But he still felt a little faint over this minor wound.
He tossed his shirt on the floor then lay back down on his bunk. He prayed he would make it out of Vietnam alive. He also prayed that Kim would survive the war so he could take her home to Glendale.