It was dark in the C130 cockpit as they flew over Dak To.
The man took a spring clip and hooked it onto the handrail, took a Zippo out of his pocket and lit a magnesium bar with it.
When the doors on the C130 opened mid-flight, he got hit by a strong, cold wind. He paused for a moment looking down at the city lights below as he held the burning bar tightly in his hand. When he decided he’d seen enough, he took the flaming bar and threw it out of the plane right over the lights he’d just stopped to admire.
The small parachute opened instantly thereby slowing the fall of the blinding light.
The flares they used to throw over the city lit up everything and everyone below. Regardless of whether they shed light on the good or bad guys, the torches served as yet another safety precaution against Vietcong terrorist attacks.