Tag: Vietnam

“The lines to the TOC and the comm shack are cut. Radio traffic is a mess. Too much noise, too much interference. We are blind. Now you’re here I can send someone by foot.”

Ahead of them, the NVA regulars were already hammering the firebase. Tran could hear the distant thump of mortars, the crack of machine guns, the deep, rolling thunder of American artillery answering back. The NVA commander had barely looked at the VC as he gave the order:

Ahead of them, the NVA regulars were already hammering the firebase. Tran could hear the distant thump of mortars, the crack of machine guns, the deep, rolling thunder of American artillery answering back. The NVA commander had barely looked at the VC as he gave the order:

Ten wounded. Twenty dead. No names. No units. Just numbers.

Doc and two riflemen carried Specialist Grant on a poncho, his face pale, his breathing shallow. Donnie moved to help, Bodie glued to his side, ears pinned back against the rotor wash.

“Fresh sign or not, something’s off out there,” Reyes said. “Rook’s been twitchy all morning. He’s gasping now and we’re out of water. I got to get him in. Okay? You oaky with this boss?” Reyes still looked to Donnie as senior, though they both had nearly equal time in country after Donnie’s rehab.

“Fresh sign or not, something’s off out there,” Reyes said. “Rook’s been twitchy all morning. He’s gasping now and we’re out of water. I got to get him in. Okay? You oaky with this boss?” Reyes still looked to Donnie as senior, though they both had nearly equal time in country after Donnie’s rehab.

He slung his duffel over his shoulder and stepped down the ramp. He wasn’t the new guy anymore. He wasn’t the wounded kid in a hospital bed. He was a handler returning to his dog.

Firebase Bearcat was restless under the December sky. Colonel Jasper stalked the command shack, frustrated at the gap in his K9 operations. Bodie’s handler was gone, and the dog refused every substitute.

Several chapters of outline have come together to the point where I can start crafting the actual narrative. The next step is to type out the story.