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“What?” asked Sergeant Salley, hoping for a bit of good news.
“I guess I’ll just come out with it. We lost Sergeant Sterling and Private Marthe in that explosion, and I couldn’t find Specialist Terrill,” Sergeant Stokes said with a look of remorse.
This was the first time Brian had lost men in combat. He felt like Muhammad Ali had just punched him in the chest. That’s supposed to happen to the other guy, but not our guys.
“What happened?” Brian asked slowly.
“A satchel charge into the bunker they were in on the perimeter. It took Sterling and Marthe right away. I’ll get with Keane and Boswell and get the bodies back here. You keep that artillery coming and get us some fast movers,” Sergeant Stokes said as he headed out the door.
After a short pause, Sergeant Salley asked, “You okay, Lieutenant?”
Bria
n looked up but couldn’t find the words. Finally he just shook his head. He stood there unable to move for a minute until the sound of another volley of artillery woke him up. Now he was pissed.
Sergeant Salley was back on his radio. “Gambler Six, we’re holding them with artillery, but I need air support. We’ll need a resupply of ammo soon and medevac.”
Brian wasn’t ready to say he’d had three soldiers killed. He was hoping Staff Sergeant Stokes had made a mistake.
“Gambler Four-One, roger, understood. Wait one.” This time it was Gambler Six on the radio. Why is it that when the shit hits the fan, the rear echelon wants you to wait?
A few minutes later, he heard, “Four-One. Tiger Six will be in the air in ten minutes and am requesting attack helicopters and fast movers from here. He’ll contact you when he is on station in about twenty minutes. You have priority of fires for everything in range.” Tiger Six was the ARVN Regimental Commander. He had a pretty good grasp of English and liked SFC Salley.
“Understood, Gambler Six. Do you have an ETA on fast movers? Standing by.” Salley laid the hand mike on the desk. I don’t need Tiger Six in the air, I need an airstrike, Salley was thinking.
“An airstrike has been requested. ETA is thirty minutes, over,” Gambler Six responded.
“Roger, Gambler Six, understood. Gambler Four-One, Out.” The two Vietnamese radio operators were watching Brian. Neither was probably over the age of nineteen, and they were both looking at him for some sign of assurance that help was coming. Although they didn’t speak English, nor Brian Vietnamese, a smile from Brian could work miracles, and they perked up when he gave them a thumbs-up.
Stepping out of the command bunker, Salley and Brian saw total chaos. Enemy mortar rounds had accurately destroyed most of the bunkers on the northern perimeter. An ammo storage bunker had taken a direct hit and stored ammo was exploding in the resulting fire. The aid station was a heap of broken timbers, open sand bags and bodies. Those had been the medics. It was quickly obvious that someone from Dai-uy’s unit had provided a detail map of the fortifications. The intensity of the small-arms fire had decreased as NVA reinforcements were being kept back due to the artillery, but Brian knew that eventually, the firing batteries were going to get low on ammo unless a resupply could be arranged as well. ARVN soldiers were showing their discipline and their training as they attempted to maneuver towards positions held by the NVA. Unfortunately, the perimeter had been reduced considerably, since the NVA now held the northern perimeter, and the line of defense was actually along the intended line of reserves. As Brian watched, Sergeant Stokes came behind him.
“Excuse me, sir, I want to put them in the bunker.” Sergeant Stokes had the body of Staff Sergeant Sterling over his shoulder. Sergeant Keane and Sergeant Boswell were behind him with the bodies of PFC Marthe and another advisor. “We’ll wrap them in their ponchos once we get them inside.”
“Okay, but put them in the back room,” Brian directed, as the command bunker had a dividing wall of sandbags through the center, creating two rooms.
“Sir, I’m going to see if I can get a chopper in here to get them and some of the wounded out,” Salley said as he moved away from Brian’s position towards the bunker door. “I’ll ask for an ammo resupply. No point in having a bird come in here empty. And water too,” Sergeant Salley added.
Carrying his radio, Brian moved to the top of the command bunker, which gave him a better view of the perimeter on all sides and especially the north side. From the exchange of different-colored tracers, he could clearly see the line of the enemy’s advance and the positions of the defenders. Taking up a position on the bunker, he was about to adjust another artillery barrage when the sound of a helicopter caught his attention. Looking up, he saw a lone UH-1H helicopter entering an orbit above the fire base. Sergeant Salley came out of the bunker with the AN/PRC-77 FM radio that had recently been issued to him, replacing the older AN/PRC-25.
“Gambler Four-One, Gambler Six, SITREP, over.”
“Gambler Six, Gambler Four-One, we have checked the penetration of the north perimeter through the artillery. I need an air strike on the north side, where they’re consolidating forces for the next push. Also need medevac and a resupply of ammo. I have three US Kilo India Alpha that I would like to get out. Over.”
“Gambler Four-One, did you say three Uniform Sierra Kilo India Alphas? Over.”
“Affirmative, Gambler Six.”
After a long pause, Brian heard, “Roger, Gambler Four-One. Be advised fast movers are on the way. Jockey Two-Three will be on station in five mikes to direct the strike for you. He’ll come down on your push. I’m going to send a log bird to you for resupply and extraction. How copy?”
“Gambler Six, I have good copy. Will be standing by. Over.”
“Four-One, the resupply bird will be Chicken-man Two-Seven, over.”
“Roger, we will be standing by,” Salley indicated.
Chapter 29
Firebase Six
