“I saw them cruise by before lunch.” Dan said between gulps of the icy beer. “God that tastes great. First one I’ve had since I was on Okinawa.
“Fresh off the LST and out of the Chief’s club freezer.”
Has Brad finished up for the Army?”
“Yeah. He’ll go back with the MAG 16 crew on Monday grading the laterite fill they’re laying over the sand for roads and pads.”
I thought the EAs were going to run us some grade lines on the pit?”
“Like you saw, they cruised by and looked.”
“Yeah so? When are they going to do it?”
“They aren’t. They said that they would be wasting their time since they can’t do anything to improve what you’re doing by eye without grade stakes. The engineering specs don’t give any specifics to slope and gradients. Just says it should be put back into a natural shape and slope so it won’t slid or be dangerous to the local people.
Have you seen Honcho?”
“Actually I have. Monday he stopped by when he was walking towards the Brigade gate. Then this morning he was riding around with Ryder in the weapons carrier. They stopped and shared some ice water then headed south.”
“Ryder playing commando again?”
“Looked like it. Came back about a half hour later heading north. Didn’t stop, just blew the horn. Haven’t seen anybody act like that since I was around teenagers and their first cars.”
The chief laughed. Or maybe it was between a laugh and a snicker. “I’m going to have to talk to him again. Also about having Honcho riding around with him.”
On Monday morning Dan was running late in getting the D8 down the road to the pit. The fuel truck hadn’t refueled the Cat over the weekend . When the road crew dropped him off he had to use the gate guard’s phone to call Alpha Company and have them divert the fuel truck out to him. About 45 minutes later the truck arrived and with profuse apologies the Cat was topped off with 110 gallons of diesel fuel.
Running down the shoulder of Highway 1 by the Brigade Headquarter’s gate he thought he heard the popping of rifle fire but passed it off as target practice within the compound.
Strange morning he thought to himself. Gate guards with full combat gear and nobody off duty hanging around the gate. Thinking no more about it, his mind on a way to get an R & R to Okinawa. He knew that Brad had the one on the 26th scheduled. Dan knew that the next date open wouldn’t be until in June and by that time he might have orders to another battalion that was just arriving or would soon arrive in-country. Then he would put in for a 30 day delay en route for leave in Okinawa.
Dan had been dressing up the last of the scraper slot and paused on the top of the hill looking over what he had accomplished. Hearing something strange but not quite sure what it was he pulled the D8’s throttle into idle and listen intently. Again off in the distance on the north side of the hill he heard what he thought was far off rifle fire. Must be the doggies playing around. He thought since it seemed to come from the area of Brigade Headquarters.
Dan pushed the throttle control back up and adjust the blade to make a final pass down the top edge of the scraper slot.
An Army jeep pull into what used to be the scraper slot and come up the hill towards him. He shut the throttle down, put the Cat into neutral and set the brakes but left the blade in the pile of laterite he was moving.
The soldier who climbed out of the passenger side of the jeep was carrying an M16, had a Colt .45 hanging from his right hip and wore a helmet. As he approached Dan and got close enough for him to see the rank insignia on the cloth cover of the soldier’s helmet he realized that the man climbing up over the track of his D8 Cat was a one star, Brigadier General.
“Morning, Sir.”
The General smiled, shook his head and finished climbing onto the deck of the Cat. “You’re alone out here Seabee?” He smiled again. “It figures. You’re the Seabee who was running this pit operation while the pads were being built. I was with Lt. Roberts on the inspection tour and thought I recognized you.
Anyway.” Not giving Dan time to answer or comment the General went on. “We’ve been taking sniper rounds into camp off and on all morning since first light, and I guess nobody bothered to inform you. So you might want to be careful and maybe get some security out here with you.
They’re just over that hill.” He pointed back behind Dan indicating the backside of the hill they were on.
“I’ll leave it up to you. It’s your call, but keep your eyes open.
By the way Seabee, you guys did a tremendous job for us. It’s much appreciated.”
With that the General jumped off the Cat track and trotted back to his jeep and PFC driver.
As they pulled back onto the highway the General waved with a friendly gesture and smile.
Before going back to work, Dan stood and removed his flak jacket from where he had folded it and tucked it beside the hydraulic reservoir next to his seat and put it on. No helmet but the jacket is better than nothing.
It was coming up on 1500 hours and Dan was starting to get thirsty and wanted a snack when he stopped the Cat on the top of his run next to the scraper’s slot.
I’ll go over across the hill and take a break in the shade of the trees. This thought brought Linh into his mind. Wonder where she is? I can’t believe how fast she disappeared that day. Hard to believe she could actually be VC. More like ‘Life in America’ would be her style.
After a few more seconds of looking around he started to grade another path down the hill towards the grove of trees.
She’s a pretty woman and has a delicious body. I almost lost it though. VC or not. I don’t know if I could have held out from the opportunity or not?
Maybe I’m lucky that idiot doggie decided to start firing warning shots at that precise moment in time. I could have ended up dead or made love to her and be screwed up massively. I wouldn’t want to do that to Suzie.
At that very moment he heard the first round crack over his head. “Shit!! That was a live round.” Then he heard the sharp thump of rounds hitting the D8’s fuel tank behind him followed almost simultaneously by the cracks from an AK47. It seemed to take forever for him to push the Cat’s gear shift into neutral, lock the gear shift handle in position at the same time as he stepped on the brakes pulled up the brake lock, grab his M14 out of its rack and with the toe of his right boot pushed the throttle into idle.Two steps got him down onto the track on the side of the Cat away from the top of the hill when the fourth AK47 round snapped by his left shoulder. Two more steps brought him to the end of the track where he jumped down between the front of the Cat and the heavy steel blade as the fifth AK47 round passed over his head.
He pulled back the slide on his M14 putting a round in the chamber before cautiously moved over towards the side of the blade and the front of the track so he could see back towards the top of the hill. For several minutes he watched the hill and checked all around the perimeter of the hill without seeing any movement or other signs of the sniper.
Wanting a better view of the hill behind the Cat Dan decided to belly crawl underneath the Cat and use the hitch on the rear of the bulldozer for cover. He had no more than laid down and was only a couple feet under the front of the Cat when he smelled the diesel fuel and saw the wetness as a stream of diesel fuel ran from the back of the Cat and ran downhill under it and into his intended path.
No way can I crawl back there without getting in that diesel fuel. The hell with it. I have enough angle on the hill so if I go out on the right side the Cat will give me cover enough so I can see if he’s still there or has hauled ass out of the area.
He must know that he didn’t hit me. Lucky for me he’s a lousy shot!
Cautiously he squeezed in front of the right track and slid over the dozer blade’s attaching arm. He landed on the ground in a crouch hesitating to look over the surrounding area. If he’s anywhere close by it will be above me.
Here goes nothing. He thought before moving rapidly in a crouch towards the rear of the Cat.
For what seemed to be hours, but a check of his watch was barely over five minutes, Dan searched the green leafed bushes and low growing trees along the top of the hill and down towards the grove of trees as far as he could see. He used all the skills he had learned and used hunting in the forests of the Northwest. A few more minutes and his patience started to run out.
That son of a bitch isn’t going to keep me pinned here all afternoon. I can drop over the edge to the south and work my way up to the top where I think he was. Either he’s gone or I’ll find him. Obviously there was only one and he has no weapon big enough to take on the Cat.
“BULLSHIT!” Dan changed his mind. Moving fast and low, Dan climbed back up over the track and into the seat of the Cat. With his M14 across his knees and his head below the level of the top of the fuel tank he threw the transmission into high gear. Pushed the throttle to full as he raised the blade all the way up and pivoted the bulldozer inside its own track and sped up towards the top of the hill as fast as the dozer would go.
When his line of vision was just below the hill’s crest without being sniped at he pivoted the dozer 90 degrees to the left. Set the brakes, slide the gear shift and locking it into neutral, pulled the throttle down into idle before he bailed over the left, downhill side of the dozer. On a crouching trot he left the absolute safety of the Cat and moved around the blade and up the hill. When he reached a point barely over the crest of the hill and into the low growing leafy green brush he dropped down onto one knee and stayed quiet for several minutes before slowly moving up towards the highest point on the hill and just deep enough into the brush where a sniper would have hidden and still be able to see down the hill.
He had a clear shot at me from anywhere here. “What’s that?” He spoke to himself quietly when the sun struck and shined off of something a few feet ahead and a bit to the right of him in the brush.
Staying low, he moved forward and again dropped down to kneel. Looking all around and listening for anything moving through the brush and small trees before he reached down and picked up five fired cartridge cases. AK47’s 7.62X39 mm military, Chinese rounds. He had five chances to get me and blew it from less than a hundred yards.
Satisfied that he was now alone, he still stayed low as he walked back to the dozer and went by the back to check on it’s fuel tank. “Shit!” He spoke aloud to himself. Two very nice not quite perfectly round holes on the upper left of the tank. One was about 6 inches down from the top of the tank and the second was about half way down from the top and that one was still leaking out since the Cat was leaning on an angle to the left. Both having entered at a slightly down angle.
Guess I better get out of here in case he gets brave and wants another chance at me. The General was correct. I should have somebody out here watching my back.
He ran the D8 up the road to the Brigade Headquarter’s gate and brought a smile to the Army squad leader’s face when Dan pulled through the gate which was just barely wide enough to fit the blade through. Dan stopped and the soldier climbed up on the track to talk to him.
“All right if I leave this here tonight. I had a bit of a problem a while ago.”
“Yeah, no sweat. Actually the General passed the word when he came back from talking to you that if you need anything to help you out. What’s up”
“First I’d like to leave it overnight. I also got to do a bit of maintenance on it. Got a couple holes in the fuel tank.”
“Sure. That’s okay. Just run it in besides and a bit behind the guard shack. There will be a squad here 24/7 until we’re sure Charlie ain’t around anymore.”
While he waited for the Cat’s engine to cool down a bit, Dan shucked off his flak jacket and cleared the round out of the chamber of his M14.
After Dan shut down the Cat the soldier he had been talking to came around to where Dan was looking at the now dry holes in the fuel tank.
“Hey guys, come see this.” The Sergeant hollered at the rest of his squad.
“I would say that you did and do have a bit of a problem. Bad shot huh?”
“Thankfully for me. Yes.”
They both turned to the whine of a jeep coming up along side of them. “You got a problem, Dan?”
Chief Thomas asked as he climbed out of his jeep. “How come you parked here?”
He stepped up beside Dan Davis and reached up to put a finger on each hole. “Nice group. Probably not where he wanted them though.”
“Smart ass. Here, want a souvenir?” Dan asked as he handed the empty cases to Thomas.
“Five? And all he could hit was the fuel tank twice.”
“I guess we can only give him a ‘C-’ for effort. Chicken-shit ran though. I couldn’t find him.”
“Maybe he ran out of bullets.” One of the soldiers who were standing around quipped.
“So what do you want to do, Dan?”
“Plug the holes and go on as if nothing happened. I do want a shotgun to watch my back for a couple days though.”
“All right by me.
Can we leave this here?” Thomas asked the Sergeant.
“No problem. You guys are all ready on the General’s ‘Good Guys’ list.”
Turning to Dan with a questioning look and before Thomas could ask the Sergeant spoke up. “The General said to give your operator here any help, or anything else he wanted.”
After getting some doweling from the Army’s carpenter shop, and whittling them down so they could hammer one in each bullet hole, Chief Thomas and Petty Officer Davis climbed into the Chief’s jeep and headed back to Chu Lai.
“What was that all about?”
“What?”
“You and the General?”
“He came to the pit to warn me about the snipers. Said we’re maybe a bit crazy, but did them a great job.
Real nice guy.”
“How long before you’re going to tell anybody about the bullet holes and your temporary repairs. You do realize that Chief Marks is going to go ape when he finds out about it.”
“Not if he doesn’t know when it happened. I’d like to finish the pit up over the next couple of days. Then you can tell him.”
“Me? I’ve got to tell him?”
“I sure as hell don’t want to. Besides, you have more horse power than I do. And Mr. Roberts for one loves you.”
“All right. But you owe me big time.”
“What kind of pay back?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll think of something.”
“It isn’t going to be nice is it?”
“Probably not.”
TWENTY-ONE
On Tuesday, last night, Dan had run the D8 in from Highway 1 and the laterite pit to the Chu Lai gate.
“Marks wants the D8 in the shop today so he’s sending out a lowboy to pick it up shortly. He also said that he’s glad you’re okay and that the sniper was a bad shot. Let’s pull out the plugs and as far as he’s concerned it’s best not to say when it happened. I’m sure he knows, but Mr. Roberts told him to forget it. Just fix it.” Chief Thomas filled Dan in as they traveled across the Chu Lai cantonment heading for the Highway 1 gate. “They want Burgess to take a convoy with some stuff for the well drillers at Binh Son. So after you load the Cat I’ll run you over to Mag 16 to pickup Brad’s grader. You can run it doing some maintenance on the highway for a few days.”
“Gotcha. So I’ll stay here and load the dozer. When you get back from the quarry I’ll be here.”
“That will work. Meet ya back here in an hour or so.”
Dan was chatting with the Marine on the gate after loading the Cat and waiting for Thomas to reappear. The whine of a military jeep caught his attention but it was coming from the opposite direction that he expected Thomas to come from.
When Brad Burgess saw Dan at the gate he pulled off the road and parked next to the gua
rd shack. “I have to wait for the lowboy and another truck load of stuff to get here. What are you doing hanging out at the gate?”
“Waiting forTom. Just sent my dozer to Chief Marks to get the bullet holes patched. Huge convoy you have, huh?”
“Yeah. Me, my jeep and two trucks. Nice day for a joy ride down the ‘Street of No Joy’ anyway.”
“Jesus. You are in a good cynical mood this morning.”
“Actually I was trying for a joke and lighter note.”
“Don’t tell anybody but you missed. Your R & R still on?”
“Oh yes. The 26th. Be home on the 27th.
Did you put in for your transfer, Dan?”
“Definitely. Should be about the first of July. About the time the battalion is headed for Port Hueneme.”
“Delay en-route? Stupid question wasn’t it? I know you put in for at least 30 days.”
“What do you hear from Tomi.?”
“Actually have a new letter right here in my pocket that I picked up on my way out of camp. Nothing special in it to anybody but me.”
“I know. Suzie and I are the same way.
She isn’t pregnant yet? I know you both want a kid, and Suzie and I also know what the chances are.”
“Nothing. We’ll keep trying and maybe we’ll prove the doctors wrong. For Tomi’s sake I keep hoping.”
When I was on R & R Suzie and I spent sometime with her and she has put on a little weight. She hasn’t been to a doctor, but in Suzie’s last letter a couple of days ago she said that she was convinced that Tomi is pregnant but doesn’t know it. The gist of it is she won’t know for sure until her doctor’s appointment on the 22nd.”
“I know about that appointment. It’s for the start of the paperwork for us to get married.”
“Yeah, we know. Anyway. Suzie didn’t know if we should say anything to you or not. Kind of left it up to me.”
Thanks, Dan. I know it’s difficult thing to handle for friends. I’ll listen to the tone and drift of her letters more carefully now with that in mind. I also know that if she thinks too much about it and then isn’t so, or tells me she thinks she is, she’ll be very disappointed. We’ve been through it before.”
“So Suzie told me. That’s why I decided you should have an idea what’s going on.”