13th Valley (73 page)

“Rover Two, Red Rover One,” the radio responded. It was Major Hellman, the battalion executive officer. The GreenMan must be sleeping after last night, Egan thought. Quickly Egan explained the target. “Can you adjust fire from your location? Over,” Hellman asked.

“That's affirmative,” Egan answered. The NVA squad was approaching hilltop. Cherry wanted Egan to hurry. “Armageddon Two, Rover Two,” Egan now radioed the artillery unit on Barnett.

“Roger, Rover Two. This is Armageddon Two. Over.”

Egan read off the coordinates. He spoke very quickly yet paced and distinctive and to Cherry it seemed slow. “Dinks in the open,” Egan said. He knew the cannon-cockers loved that call. “Lotsa dinks,” Egan encouraged them.

Cherry followed the enemy's progress through the binoculars. At the distance they appeared small and unreal. A second squad appeared and began climbing after the first. If they're supposed to be so good, Cherry thought, how come they're in the open?

“Whole battery. Hotel Echo. Airbursts at five zero,” Egan whispered. This was no time for test rounds.

“Shot out,” Cherry heard the radio rasp.

“Shot out,” Egan repeated gleefully.

Then came a horrible rushing sound. Cherry's heart was pumping massive surges of blood. Six rounds screamed down. Cherry's eyes were pasted to the binoculars. He could see the horror on the faces of the enemy. The rounds exploded. Four NVA soldiers were blown down. The NVA dropped, scattered. A second salvo screamed down. The rounds seemed to explode on the ground but in reality they were bursting a hundred-sixty feet above the earth and exploding a hot metal shower downward.

“Drop fifty.” Egan smiled.

Cherry could see soldiers wriggling. Others limped. One seemed blown to bits. Another ran without arms. One body dragged itself without legs. At the distance, in the dawn light, it seemed colorless and unreal. “Man, they're still there,” Cherry began. “We got seven. Seven hit bad. Least two dead. Keep em firing. There's some to the left. They ran left into that clump of trees. Some below.”

Egan called in the adjustments. He was no longer watching the action. He watched Cherry. Egan smiled, chuckled at Cherry's enthusiasm. His Cherry was going nuts. Egan loved it. “Here,” he said to Cherry. “You call in the adjustments.” Cherry took the hook. “Work em back en forth.”

Now Cherry transmitted. “Left fifty, add one hundred.”

The rounds screamed in and exploded uncomfortably close to Alpha. “Jesus Christ, watch it,” Egan laughed. “You're s'pose ta get them, not us.”

Cherry laughed, muted and hysterical. Jax laughed at them both from below. Brooks had reached the point now. He laughed with them too. They all laughed viewing the enemy carnage on the hill before them. “Let's go mop up,” Brooks said pleased.

Alpha approached the site of the NVA dead cautiously.

They were still in three columns, now spread farther apart, the two flanks forward, 1st Plt lagging in the center. They closed in upon the site. The flanks halted, 1st Plt swept up the middle. There were no bodies. No weapons. No equipment. There were a half-dozen blood trails and Polanski in 2d Sqd found a hand. Alpha pursued the blood trails south and west to the river's edge. The trails vanished.

Cherry was pissed. “Why do you expect them to leave the bodies of their comrades behind on the battlefield?” Minh asked Cherry after Alpha had retreated to a thickly vegetated rise. They had set up a quick perimeter and were now eating breakfast and resting. At 1st Plt CP, Jax, Moneski, Doc Johnson and Lt. Thomaston were listening to Minh and Cherry. “In American units,” Minh said seriously, “you pride yourselves on never leaving an American soldier's body behind. We Vietnamese are not different. The enemy is not different. It is not mysterious that they should take their dead and wounded. All armies do exactly the same.”

“I don't know,” Cherry said. “We saw about twenty dinks and I saw at least ten of em get greased. They musta had ah … there musta been like thirty or forty of em to sky like that.”

“Hellman don't believe we got em,” Monk said. “He was chewin out the L-T royal, Man. He didn't ee-ven need a radio. We coulda heard him right from the firebase.”

“Why he on the L-T's ass?” Jax questioned.

“Man, you know,” Doc said.

Thomaston injected, “It don't count unless you can verify the bodies.”

“What?” Cherry squealed.

“That's right, Bro,” Doc said. “Hey, you okay?” Doc stood up. Cherry indicated he was okay. Doc motioned him away from the others. “You doan look right, Mista,” Doc said.

“I'm okay, Doc,” Cherry said. “Really.” Doc looked at him unbelieving. “I, ah, got some cuts en some jock rot. That's all.” Doc still looked at him. “And, ah, the ah … the shits.”

“McCarthy give you anything?”

“Naw, Doc. It's okay. It's goin away.”

“Gonna get worse,” Doc said. “Mista, I ken smell ya. How long you had it?” Doc questioned Cherry on every detail to Cherry's embarrassment. “Listen, Mista,” Doc said finally, “that shit is dysentery. That caused by a flagellated protozoan. Dig? Under adverse conditions they can form a cyst. Not form it themselves but cause it. Right now you jus built up a concentration which is causin irritation in your intestines. That triggers the peristaltic action which gives you the shits. You know what I mean?”

“Wow!” Cherry said. Again the black medic with his Harlem street dialect had completely amazed him. He thought for a moment then asked, “What should I do?”

Doc pulled a vial from his pocket. “F-S-N 6505-074-4702,” he read off the label. “Lomotil. Two pills, four times a day. Slows intestinal motility. Doan go O-Din on em.” He handed the bottle to Cherry. Then Doc shook his head. He gave Cherry that unbelieving look again. “Man,” Doc whispered, “you still a cherry. I wasn't gonna say this but you gotta learn faster'n you is doin, Bro. You aint gonna be able to depend on Egan ta tell me somethin wrong with you. He DEROSin in two weeks.”

“Egan?!”

Doc looked at Cherry again, shook his head and walked away.

“I'm a pretty fair swimmer,” Cherry said to Lt. Brooks.

Alpha was at the river. They had backed off the rise where they had eaten breakfast, again using the unequal three-pronged formation, and had moved west, downstream 200 meters. Egan had walked point, Jax slack. They had crossed five trails running from the river toward the north escarpment. Three of the trails were narrow and old. Foliage had closed over them and small yellow grass shoots choked their middles. Two were red balls. Both showed signs of recent heavy use. Alpha had moved quietly, slowly, until the sounds of a helicopter fleet broke upon the valley. At that point Brooks had directed them to move to the river. The maneuver was similar to the first river crossing except using three prongs eliminated the need to establish flank security. Alpha had sat just back from the river's edge, observing. The helicopters were CAing Recon from Hill 848 to Delta's position on the north escarpment. Even in the rain the helicopters flew. They would be in the air nearly all day.

Brooks looked at Cherry. “How fair?” he asked.

“I use ta be on the swim team,” Cherry said.

“Do you know what you're volunteering for?” Brooks asked.

“Yes Sir.”

Brooks studied his face. Cahalan crawled up to them. “L-T.”

“Hey?” Brooks whispered. He was still watching Cherry.

“I just got word on Brunak.” Cherry and Brooks turned and looked at Cahalan. “They're going to medevac him to Japan,” Cahalan reported. “They say he's going to make it, they think.”

“Good,” Brooks nodded. “Send FO up here.”

Brunak, Cherry thought. Jesus H., I'd forgotten all about him and … and Silvers. Cherry looked through the grass and brush. Fifteen feet away the Khe Ta Laou was shimmering dark. Silvers, Cherry thought. I gotta write his folks.

Lt. Hoyden approached noiselessly and nodded to Brooks. “FO,” Brooks asked, “can we get some arty about 300 meters downriver and maybe some on the knoll and some up behind us?”

“Can do,” FO said. He pulled out his map and asked, “Where do you want it?”

“Someplace to distract the little people,” Brooks said. “Something to make them keep their heads down.”

“When?”

“Now.”

FO grabbed Brown's handset and radioed Armageddon Two. He talked to the FDC officer giving coordinates and explanations. “In one five,” FO whispered to Brooks. “Behind us and across only. Too much bird traffic downstream.”

Brooks nodded. He turned to Cherry. “Be ready. Go when the first round falls.”

Cherry moved a few feet to the left. Cahalan and Hoyden disappeared into the vegetation away from the river. Lt. Caldwell appeared next to Brooks. Without trying Cherry overheard their conversation.

“Larry,” Brooks asked. He sounded pissed. “Whatever possessed you to go straight through that meadow?”

“Lieutenant Brooks,” Caldwell said sarcastically, defensively, “my mission was to take my force east as best and as quickly as I could.”

“Your primary mission, Lieutenant Caldwell, is to insure the safety of your people. Moving east was secondary. You needlessly exposed yourself and your platoon in that meadow.”

“I did what I thought best, Sir,” Caldwell said tauntingly.

“Well, fuck it. You'd better start thinking differently, because, that was not the best.”

Cherry moved down to just above the river's edge. 1st Plt was behind him preparing themselves for the crossing. Cherry stripped naked. His crotch was still sore and inflamed. The infections on his arms were about the same. His asshole burned. The skin of his feet was mushy and convoluted. For all the cleaning he had tried to do in the last two days, he still stank. Being naked felt wonderful, even though it was cold. Cherry took an end of the heavy crossing rope from Egan. He wrapped it about his waist and Egan tied it. “Ask em ta call the weatherman,” Cherry whispered to Egan. “Ask em to turn on some sun.”

“Shee-it,” Egan laughed. “I don't think we know his freq.”

“Maybe we can call God,” Cherry suggested. “This weather sucks.”

Jax was there helping Egan coil the line. “God's freq on the high band,” Jax laughed. He went over to Cherry's gear and fiddled with the frequency settings on the PRC-25. “I think it 72/95,” Jax chuckled, “but I doan know his call sign.” Cherry and Egan chuckled too. “Augh fug,” Jax continued. He returned the dials to the proper settings, “Yo caint git Him on this set. You need a monster set.”

“Man,” Cherry whispered laughing, “maybe we can build a fire. I'm freezin my balls off.”

“Don't mean nothin,” Egan whispered. “They aint doin you no good out here.”

Two rounds freighttrained across the sky then exploded to Alpha's south. A third exploded upriver. Cherry crawled to the water and slipped silently in. More artillery rounds exploded. Cherry breast-stroked at an angle into the current. He swam smoothly, quickly, silently, a very strong swimmer. In twenty seconds he was on the opposite bank. He crawled from the river, scampered up the bank, backed into some brush, grasped the rope and motioned for someone to come across. Egan slipped into the water in lights with both his and Cherry's rifles. Even the minimal equipment sunk him. Cherry strained on the rope trying to keep Egan up but Egan and the line went under. Cherry strained harder. Egan's head broke the surface at mid-stream then down again. A minute later he emerged gasping at the far side. He stormed up the bank into cover, drained the barrel of both M-16s and searched the jungle. Jax was on his way over. Then Thomaston. Then Marko. Egan directed the south bank.

Thomaston and Marko secured the rope. Jax began the defensive ring. Egan stripped. He and Cherry slipped back into the water and became guides and life guards as the others crossed. Alpha's move went quickly and no equipment was lost. On each crossing Cherry dove under and washed a bit of his body, mostly his arms. This is blessed water, he thought. On the bank Brooks caught himself staring at the two naked soldiers. He became upset with himself.

“Fuckin gooks is aw'right,” Pop Randalph chuckled. “Look at them thangs, Sir.” Pop, Garbageman and Lt. De Barti had come to the CP with half a dozen traps.

“I'll be dipped in shit,” Garbageman giggled. “There got to be at least a dozen of em so far.”

Where Alpha had emerged from the river, the bank was littered with bamboo scraps as if someone had had a small mill by the water. There were numerous footpaths leading up and down the river's edge. 1st Plt had moved due south, 2d had gone west downstream, 3d east upriver. Fifty meters downstream 2d found the fishing camp. Then 3d Plt found the marijuana fields. Minutes later 1st found the ruins of an old village. It was like nothing any of them had ever seen before in the mountains.

De Barti held out two of the fish-traps to Brooks. “There's fresh tracks all over the place down there,” the platoon leader said to the company commander. “It looks like they got maybe a platoon of
dan cong
(civilian coolies) doing nothing but catching fish for their troops. We've got ten traps so far and we've only swept a small stretch of bank.”

Brooks lifted one of the traps and inspected it. The trap was a cylindrical bamboo cage closed at one end and having a bamboo cone opening at the other. The traps were simple yet the workmanship was elegant. Brooks sighed. “How's your security?” he asked.

Before De Barti could respond El Paso interrupted them with Caldwell's report of the marijuana field. Then fields. Two, then a third and finally a fourth. Then Paul Calhoun called from 2d Plt to report that they could not collect any more traps because they couldn't carry them all. “We're in their fishin grounds,” Calhoun reported. “They got enough traps here ta feed a regiment. We got a few small animal snares too.” A queer feeling ran up Garbageman's neck to the base of his skull as the report came in. He no longer felt like giggling.