Chapter 22
Twenty minutes had passed, and Crusher’s 15 and 16 were descending to one thousand feet. There were heading toward LZ Cobra.
Some of the Cong Crushers sat in the cargo area with their combat boots dangling outside. They had their M-16s ready for some action.
Inside Crusher 15 Chaz looked the area over for any signs of VC and had his M-60 machine gun ready. The area looked peaceful.
Inside Crusher 16, Dale also looked the area over for any signs of VC and had his M-60 machine gun ready.
Inside Crusher 15, Michael decided to snap out of his daydreams of Kim. He looked ahead and saw they were getting close to LZ Cobra.
“I’ll take the controls. We’ll come in a treetop level,” Michael told Bruce.
“You got it, boss,” Bruce replied. He removed his hands off the controls once Michael had control.
Crusher 15 started descending the same time Crusher 16 started descending.
“The area looks quiet,” Michael said while he scanned the area.
“I like the quiet. It means we’ll live,” Bruce replied. Michael leveled Crusher 15 off about twenty feet above the tops of the trees.
“Crusher sixteen going in,” Andy called out from the radio.
Michael and Bruce watched while Crusher 16 started its descend to the clearing in the LZ.
“Crusher fifteen going in,” Michael said into the radio.
“Okay guys, who are we?” Eddie yelled out.
“Cong Crushers,” the rest of Squad 2 yelled out then stomped on the floor of the cargo area in unison.
That stomping sound startled Michael since his mind drifted off to thoughts of Kim and Kevin.
Crusher 16 landed in the field.
Cong Crushers Squad 4 jumped out of the Huey and ran a safe distance from the threatening blades.
They crouched down in the field in case there was VC in the jungle. It was quiet.
Crusher 16 lifted off the ground and ascended into the sky.
Crusher 15 landed in the field.
Cong Crushers Squad 2 jumped out of Crusher 15 and ran a safe distance from the threatening blades.
They crouched down in the field in case there was VC in the jungle. It was quiet.
Crusher 15 lifted off to the ground and ascended into the sky.
The two squads of Cong Crushers ran to the jungle.
The gunfire came from one end of the jungle under the ascending path of the two Hueys.
Black smoke poured from the engine compartment of Crusher 16, and it started to fall out of the sky.
Michael and Bruce saw the black smoke pouring out of Crusher 16.
“Crusher sixteen. Is everything okay?” Michael asked into the radio.
“I can’t control her,” Andy replied from the radio. Background sounds of alarms blared from his console.
Michael and Bruce watched while Crusher 16 took a nosedive down to the ground.
“We’re going down! Crusher sixteen is going down by landing zone Cobra,” Andy cried out in a panic into the radio.
Michael and Bruce watched and waited for Crusher 16 to impact the ground. But bullets penetrating the bottom of their Huey took their eyes off their fallen buddies.
Chaz started firing his M-60 machine gun in the direction he thought the VC was shooting.
Red and yellow flashing lights and alarms went off all over the console.
“Fuck!” Michael yelled out. He glanced at the engine gauges and noticed they were all indicating engine trouble.
The sound of more bullets hitting the rear of the Huey was heard.
Chaz stopped firing his M-60 machine gun. Michael and Bruce were too preoccupied with the alarms from the console to notice.
“We lost our tail rotor,” Michael yelled out. He fought with the controls when Crusher 15 started going all over the place.
Down on the ground, the two squads of Cong Crushers were in a fierce battle swapping bullets with the VC. So far, the Cong Crushers were winning with killing six of the twelve VC.
Crusher 15 started spinning down to the ground.
“Mayday. Mayday. Crusher fifteen is going down in hot near landing zone Cobra,” Michael cried out into the radio.
Crusher 15 spun down to the ground in another clearing. Its nose dropped and dug in the dirt while the blades plowed into the ground. Dirt and grass flung everywhere.
Crusher 15 flipped over with the blades shearing off and flying away into the jungle.
Michael and Bruce were dazed and confused while they hung upside down from their seats.
The firing of M-16s was heard while the two squads of Cong Crushers exchanged bullets with the VC.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here before she blows,” Michael yelled out.
Michael and Bruce unbuckled their harness belts and dropped to the roof of the Huey.
The firing of guns between the Cong Crushers and VC stopped. The jungle was quiet. It was an eerie, spooky quiet.
Michael and Bruce removed their Colt 45 pistols they had tucked away in their flight suits. They opened their doors and crawled outside.
“Chaz,” Michael called out while he looked around the area for VC. The coast was clear.
Chaz did not respond.
“Chaz,” Michael called out again while he walked over to the cargo area.
He looked through the opened space and saw Chaz still hanging upside down from his seat. Chaz did not move. Blood dripped from Chaz’s chest and made a huge puddle on the roof of the Huey.
Bruce walked over to Chaz and felt for a pulse in his neck. “He’s gone,” he told Michael.
“I hate this fucking war!” Michael said while he stared at Chaz’s lifeless body hanging upside down. “Let’s get him down,” Michael said while he headed over to the other side of the Huey.
Michael walked over to Bruce, and they immediately got Chaz down and placed his body on the roof of their Huey.
The sound of a twig snapping was heard from behind Michael and Bruce. They turned around and saw four VC with AK-47s aimed at them.
“Drop your weapons!” one of the VC yelled out in Vietnamese at Michael and Bruce.
Michael and Bruce dropped their Colt 45 pistols to the ground.
“Shit,” Michael muttered under his breath. Visions of spending the rest of his life dying in a VC prison filled his mind.
The sound of gunfire was heard. Michael and Bruce almost crapped in their flight suits thinking the VC shot them.
Then to their surprise, the four VC had blank stares in their eyes while they dropped dead to the ground.
Ten feet from behind the VC was Cong Crushers Ralph, Willie, Craig, and Mark.
Michael and Bruce looked relieved while they bent down and picked up their Colt 45s.
“We thought we were shot,” Michael told the four Cong Crushers.
“We’re glad we could help,” Willie said while fellow Cong Crushers Eddie, Kirk, and Louis walked over.
“We lost our crew chief,” Michael told Eddie while he walked over to the Huey.
There was the sound of AK-47 gunfire twenty yards away.
More sounds of M-16s.
Squad 2, along with Michael and Bruce, looked around for more VC.
“Shark, this is Dragon,” the voice of Glenn was heard from the field radio that still clung to Mark’s back.
Eddie walked over to Mark and grabbed the handset of the radio. “Go ahead, Dragon, this is Shark,” Eddie answered into his handset.
“There are no survivors with the crash of sixteen. I repeat, no survivors,” Glenn replied from the radio.
“Understand no survivors. We have the pilots of fifteen. They are the only two survivors,” Eddie said into his handset.
“I’ll inform Papa Bear,” Glenn replied from the radio.
Eddie placed the handset back in the radio.
The smell of fuel started to fill the air.
“We better move away before she blows,” Michael told Eddie.
Michael and Bruce rushed away from their Huey along with Squad 2.
They ran off to a safe distance into the jungle and waited.
“Shark, this is Dragon,” Glenn’s voice came over the radio.
Eddie walked back over to Mark and grabbed the radio headset. “Go ahead, Dragon,” Eddie answered the call.
“Papa Bear said to place the dead in a spot in the landing zone and proceed with the mission. Bad weather is coming in for a day, so a rescue flight for the pilots is a no-go, so take them with you on the mission,” Glenn replied from the radio.
“Copy about the dead and proceed with the mission with pilots,” Eddie responded.
‘We’ll meet you at the specified location later tonight,” Glenn replied.
“Copy specified location,” Eddie replied then shoved the headset back in the backpack.
“Okay Crushers, we’ll proceed with the mission along with our two pilots,” Eddie told his troops.
It took a few seconds for Eddie’s comment to sink in the heads of Michael and Bruce.
“What? We’re going with you?” Bruce said and looked nervous.
“Bad weather was coming in and expected to last for a day, so a rescue mission is a no-go,” Eddie replied.
“But we don’t have any weapons,” Michael said and also looked nervous.
Eddie thought about a solution to Michael’s question. Then his eyes lit up when he had an idea. “I need Willie and Craig to drag Chaz out to a clearing in the landing zone for pickup tomorrow. Then take two AK-47s and some ammo off those gooks,” he told Willie and Craig.
Willie and Craig nodded they understood their orders and headed back to the dead VC bodies and Crusher 15.
“I don’t have any training for this type of mission,” Michael told Eddie.
“It’s easy. Follow us and kill any VC you run across,” Eddie replied with a serious look.
Michael and Bruce looked at each other.
“Or you can stay here and wait for a ride home and hope you don’t get overrun by VC,” Eddie said.
“Follow you and kill any VC we ran across seems easy enough,” Michael replied. He thought the alternative could be hazardous.
Bruce nodded his head in agreement.
Thunder filled the air. A storm was approaching from the south.
Willie and Craig had two AK-47s in hand and eight ammo magazines in hand.
They walked over to Michael and Bruce.
“Here ya go Mister Grayson,” Willie said while he handed Michael an AK-47 and four ammo magazines.
Michael shoved the magazines in his pockets in his flight suit.
Craig handed Bruce his AK-47 and four ammo magazines.
Bruce shoved the magazines in his pockets in his flight suit.
The sound of thunder meant an approaching storm.
Eddie removed a map and compass from his fatigue shirt pocket. He opened up the compass and unfolded the map. He glanced at the map and got a compass bearing of the direction he needed to head.
“Okay Crushers, let’s head out. Craig, you have point,” Eddie called out to his squad members and walked off in the direction they needed to head.
Craig took the lead and headed in the direction Eddie pointed.
The rest of the squad members followed Eddie. Mark tagged along near Eddie since he had the radio strapped to his back.
Michael and Bruce tagged in the middle of the pack of Cong Crushers.