Kung Fu Panda: Apocalypse Now by

Mitchicus

Chapter 1: Leaving Home and the Battle of Ia Drang

A/N: I am touching a subject that is very sensitive for many people…especially when I put fictional, animal characters in the places of true heroes. I do however want to make plain that this story is made to for entertainment, yet I want to tell of heroes who were never recognized for their valor. God bless our vets and America. I put these quotes in to get my point across, show the views of those who served, and to respect those for their service. I have nothing against the people of Vietnam. The US fought to rid that country of communism, and we withdrew instead of finishing the fight. Please don't flame me about this being unrealistic or not historically accurate. This is for entertainment and I am trying to keep it as historical as possible. Please don't review if it's not positive or something that way. When it comes to the names of battles and who won, that is FACT. The story is named "Apocalypse Now" after a famous Vietnam War movie. The battle here has taken some aspects out of the movie "We Were Soldiers", which is a true story.

"I was a combat medic during that war and was involved in 2 battles. It is real... My life has never been the same since coming home and I have had many sleepless nights wondering "Why". I had many young men die in my arms and they are the true heroes. WE DID NOT LOSE THAT WAR! We won every major battle. It was the politicians who lost the war... That's the truth..." –Vietnam combat medic

"I am British. Allow me to thank the courageous men and women of the US Armed Forces, without whom there would be no freedom." – Citizen of Great Britain

"A simple thank you such as you have given is all we Vietnam Veterans ever really wanted. That decade of the 60's was a terrible time for our country and the Vets were stuck right in the middle of a crazy war that nobody wanted to win. I am older and wiser now and can only give my support to the young troopers who are in Afghanistan and Iraq. I would only ask that you all do the same for their sakes. God Bless you all." – Vietnam Veteran

"Thank you very much for fighting for our freedom, I really appreciate it." – A patriotic American citizen

A/N: I have taken a movie and made it into something serious yet still entertaining. If you do not like what you read, please do not read it. This puts Po in the Sixties, meaning that in this story he never was in ancient China. I'm taking most of the characters from the movie, but some will be left out. For those of you, who are ready to journey into the Sixties as I tell you the stories of heroes, continue.

A lone veteran sits in a chair. Medals for his service to his country are hung on the walls, as well as pictures of him and his comrades. He will tell us what he went through.

November 22, 1963. It was a warm morning in California.

A red car pulled up in front of Po's apartment. Po looked out the window and smiled to see his friend Mitch in the front waiting for him. He opened up the front door and locked it behind him before jumping into the backseat of his friend's car.

"The others coming?" Po said as he gave him a high five.

Mitch grinned. "Of course. It's all set. Let's get rolling."

Po nodded and did not put on his seat belt before Mitch sped down the street, going for the rest of the friends.

The panda was twenty years old now. He wore a campus sweatshirt and jeans. He was still in college, studying for tests and not getting much of a break. He decided to not go to class until later that day, wanting to spend time with his friends.

Mitch was twenty one. He was a strong White Tiger with sea blue eyes. He wore a black leather jacket and blue jeans, sunglasses covering his eyes. The tiger was out of college and was readying for medical school, but he was spending his free time the best he could.

The two were best friends since they were cubs. Po's parents lived in China when the communists took over. They killed his parents and left him orphaned, but a goose found him and brought him with him back to the United States. He was there to see how his former country was doing when he found the panda. He had come to America before the communists, when the last empire fell. The goose raised the panda as his son, the two already embracing the American culture.

Po met Mitch there, whose grandparents had left China when the revolution occurred. Mitch grew up with his parents until they were tragically killed by a gang one fateful night. He was taken in by Po's stepfather for a time until an old Red Panda, named Shifu, adopted the White Tiger. Mitch grew in the art of Kung Fu, for his adopter was a skilled master in the art.

Po was taught by Shifu in Kung Fu as well, the panda and Mitch growing in the art for the use of self-defense. They met many friends while they trained with Shifu. Jackie, who everyone called Monkey, Lucy, whom everyone just called Viper, David, whom everyone referred to as Crane, Ryu, and Song. All were taking lessons from Shifu for self-defense, and they grew to be great friends.

Love was even found between them. Po began dating Song, but the relationship didn't last long however. The two had too different personalities, but they remained good friends. Mitch and Ryu fell in love with each other. They began dating three years ago, and were enjoying a long and happy relationship.

Though Po did not find anyone lasting like his best friend Mitch had, he never gave up hope; he would find the love of his life one day.

The car went down the road and turned the street for the next friend. Mitch slowed the speed of the car and stopped in front of Ryu's house. Soon the door opened, and Ryu ran out of it smiling.

The two friends smiled and waved to Ryu as she ran towards them. She jumped into the front right seat of the car next to Mitch and gave him a quick kiss.

"Hey guys." She said smiling.

"Ready Ryu?" Po asked grinning.

"Yep, it's always fun to have a day at the beach." Ryu said happily.

Ryu was a South Chinese Tiger with black eyes. She wore black pants, with a matching V-neck. A red dragon pattern covered the left side of her clothing. Though they all had adapted to America, they all still held onto the Chinese culture; after all, they lived in Chinatown.

Po and Mitch had heard of the president's plans for direct intervention to a land they had never even heard of before JFK spoke of it: Vietnam. Nevertheless, the two were influenced by their president. They asked themselves what not their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country.

Their friends however did not see fighting in a war as what they could do for their country. Crane claimed he would not go because he said that the army didn't need winged soldiers anymore. Monkey said that his religion (Buddhism) forbade it. The three girls knew they would never fight, and thought that the Peace Corps would be the way to go.

"You have some music we can listen to Mitch?" Ryu asked.

Mitch smiled and nodded, turning on the radio.

"Oh yeah, one of my favorites." Po said as the song began to play.

The song was I Get Around by The Beach Boys. One thing that all of the friends enjoyed was the music of the Sixties, and it seemed to be getting better and better.

Po hummed the music as they drove, finding Monkey's house. They got the primate in the back of the car, next finding Viper, then Crane, then finally Song.

"Dammit, this car's jammed." Monkey complained, the friends squished in the back of the car.

Mitch and Ryu laughed, the two enjoying the comfort of the front of the car. They sped down the streets, eventually coming to the beach. They parked it in front of the water, the friends getting out and beginning to talk.

"JFK's in Dallas, right?" Mitch asked.

Po nodded. "He's there to make a speech."

Mitch nodded. "Think that Vietnam stuff will die down?"

Po shrugged. "I don't know. It'll probably be another Korea actually."

"Yeah, probably. Kennedy has already sent Special Forces over there; it's only a matter of time before we get more involved."

"Are you two still talking about communism and that crap?" Song asked. "Come on, we're all here to have fun, not make ourselves get scared of nuclear war!"

Mitch nodded. "She's right. Let's go get changed."

They saw the changing tent down the beach. Song went first, then Viper, then Crane, then Monkey, then Ryu, then Po, then finally Mitch. All were now in their swimsuits.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Mitch asked, sticking his feet in the water of the ocean.

"It's too cold." Song complained, crossing her arms.

"The water's always cold, Song." Mitch said, causing the others to laugh.

Soon they went into the water, laughing and splashing each other. Po picked up Monkey and through him under the water while Mitch did the same to Ryu. The day seemed bright. Friends enjoying themselves on the beach of California. No one would guess that tragedy struck the country.

The music on the radio continued to play until it suddenly stopped. All of the friends stopped and turned towards the radio in the car.

"We interrupt this station to give you breaking news." The announcer said, and the friends raced up to the car to hear what it had to say. "President Kennedy has been shot. He has died of his wounds minutes ago. Vice President Johnson will be sworn in onboard Air Force One shortly."

The friends' jaws dropped, staring at the radio. Their president was dead. An assassination of a president had not happened since the end of the 1800's. They all looked up to their president. He got them through the Cuban Missile Crisis. They watched him and his family on the television. Now he was dead.

Mitch shook his head, still staring down at the radio in disbelief. Ryu put her paw on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Mitch and Po particularly looked up to the president. He was their hero.

"He was so young. The youngest president in office; now the youngest president to die in office." Mitch said.

Po shook his head, not believing what had happened as well. "He was the reason that our generation was under control. He controlled our generation, and even then they have been on the edge of rebellion. LBJ won't be able to hold them back now."

Mitch sighed, getting into the car. "Do you guys want to go back?"

They all nodded and went back into the car. The ride back was silent, each thinking of their dead president and what would happen to their country now. Mitch already knew what he would do now; Po was unsure of it.

The friends were dropped off at their homes, and Po went on to his classes. Mitch made his decision finally, asking himself what not his country could do for him, but what he could do for his country. He would join on Friday.

Po went through the week, still sad about the loss of the president. He sat in his dorm, reading about communism and all the rest of the world's sins. He then heard a knock on the door. He went to the door and opened it, finding Ryu standing there. She had a sad look on her face.

"Can I come in?" Ryu asked.

"Of course, Ryu." Po said and let her in, closing the door behind her.

She slowly sat on the couch and Po sat beside her.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

Ryu turned to him. "Mitch…he joined up."

"What?" Po said, shocked. "Why did he join up?"

"He said that he was ready to do his duty for his country." Ryu said, bowing her head.

Po hugged her. "It's ok. He'll be fine."

What Ryu didn't know was what thoughts were going through Po's mind at the time. He already was considering joining the military, and now that his best friend had joined, he certainly wouldn't let him go to war alone. He would serve his country as well, and be with his friend.

"I just don't want to lose him." Ryu said.

"He'll make it. I've just decided to join too; I'll watch his back." Po said.

"No, not you too." Ryu said.

"I can't just let my best friend go alone. We'll both come back." Po said.

Ryu nodded, breaking the hug. She stood up, and nodded solemnly.

"Thanks Po." She said before walking out of his dorm, closing the door behind her.

Po sighed, knowing that there was no turning back after telling Ryu that he would go with Mitch. He took his keys and went in his car to the recruiting center, joining up.

He then drove to Master Shifu's barracks, where the friends had trained for so long, and it would be one of the final things he would see in America. He entered it and found most of the friends sitting on the floor, talking. They turned and nodded to them, gesturing for him to sit as well. Mitch was there too, talking with them solemnly about him joining up.

"You're not going alone, Mitch." Po said, giving a light smile.

Mitch's eyes widened. "No, Po, you didn't! You didn't have to do that!"

"I wanted to. I want to serve my country and watch your back." Po responded.

"No offense Po, but I can handle myself; besides, I don't want you to die either."

"None of us are going to die. This will be just like WWII. We'll go in, beat the bad guys, and get out." Po said confidently.

"You have no idea what kind of war is being fought there." Mitch responded.

"We'll all make it. I've requested that I stick with you through the training and be put in the same squad, and they granted it. We leave Sunday."

It was now Sunday. Po and Mitch stood in uniform, with their friends beside them. Po hugged Shifu.

"You have been an excellent student. I pray that you return safely." Shifu said.

"We will, master. Mitch will come back too." Po responded.

Shifu broke the hug and brought Mitch down into a hug. "Goodbye, my son. I am very proud to have raised you to what you are now."

"Thank you for everything, father." Mitch said and broke the hug.

Slowly, the other friends said their goodbyes to the two.

Mitch hugged Ryu before giving her a passionate kiss. They broke the kiss, looking into the other's eyes.

"Goodbye, Ryu. The only thing I regret about joining up is leaving you." Mitch said, Ryu hugging him again.

"I love you Mitch. I'll write letters to you, ok?" Ryu said.

"That sounds great. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Mitch said.

"I'll try my best." Ryu said.

"Hey Po, that gives me an idea. How about we write letters to you and you write them back to us? You know, we all write in one letter, and you write in one letter back that is addressed to all of us?" Monkey asked.

Po smiled. "That sounds great."

Po hugged Song, the leopard crying. "Po, I'm sorry that we didn't work out. If this had anything to do with you-"

"No, that had nothing to do with it. Goodbye Song." Po said, pulling her close.

"Bye Po." Song said before slowly breaking the hug.

The military bus soon turned the corner and stopped in front of them, its doors opening.

"Well, this is it." Po said.

They said their last goodbyes, and started up the steps before turning and looking at them all. They waved goodbye and got onto the bus, finding other volunteers there. They sat by the window and looked out, waving to them once again until the bus drove off, Mitch and Po looking back at them until they vanished from view.

They drove from California to Louisiana, to a training ground known as "Tigerland". They stayed there training, the two excelling the other recruits in it. Soon, there was sparring. Mitch went one on one with a fellow soldier, and came out victorious quickly. The sergeant, known as "Sergeant Killjoy", ordered two more soldiers to go fight against Mitch. The White Tiger had used his Kung Fu to defeat the first, and did it against the three just as swiftly.

The same went for Po, where he defeated one, then three. Little did they know that a Green Beret colonel had been observing them from a watchtower, seeing their skills the entire time they had been there.

After the sparring, Po and Mitch were taken by Sergeant Killjoy to the colonel. Po and Mitch saluted the officer.

"At ease," The colonel said, the two dropping their arms. "What are your names?"

"I am Po and this is Mitch, we're from California, sir." Po responded.

"Where did you two learn to fight like that?"

"We have trained in Kung Fu our entire lives back home." Po said.

The colonel nodded. "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Colonel Branson of the Green Berets. I have observed you two for quite some time now, and I was wondering if you two would like to become Green Berets yourselves."

"It would be an honor, colonel." Mitch responded.

Po bit his lip. He knew that the Special Forces went on more dangerous missions, and coming out alive would be harder to do with joining them.

"What about you, son?" The colonel asked.

"Gladly, colonel." Po said, swallowing down the thought.

He knew that he had just gotten into something bigger than being in the marines. Now they were going to be Green Berets.

They left Tigerland and went to a secret training facility in Oregon, where they trained until 1965. It was now time to go to war, for President Johnson had just ordered ground troops to Vietnam.

Po and Mitch had excelled in the Green Beret Training. They now were marksmen with weapons, and were masters in guerilla warfare, just as their enemies were in the jungles that awaited them. They were given the symbol of the Green Berets, the Green Beret itself. They were promoted to captain already, and went to a nearby airport.

Po and Mitch walked up the steps of the military plane, turning back once to see the last of America before boarding the plane. The plane went straight to a military base in Vietnam, where they got off and were assigned a small, private barracks just for themselves. They looked up to see helicopters flying all through the sky, their blades making continuous roars. Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson played on speakers throughout the base as soldiers moved around it to and fro, their weapons over their shoulders.

By now they carried around M16s and M1911 pistols and wore Tiger camouflage pants, jackets, and even Boonie hats in the camouflage. The tiger camouflage was called that because of the black stripes like that of a tiger, the rest of the camouflage being green for the jungle. They wore black combat boots and had large packs over their shoulders, carrying what little personal belongings that they had as well as their Green Beret caps. Also, large combat knives were strapped to their chests for close quarters combat if they needed it, as well as bayonets that could be put on their rifles.

They entered the barracks and found their orders waiting on their bunks already, and they began unpacking their things. Before long, two soldiers appeared. One held two boxes, one holding M16 and M1911 ammo and the other holding grenades. The other soldier held a helmet with a bunch of stainless steel crosses on dog tag chains. Mitch and Po already had dog tags.

"Here's some ammo and grenades for you two." The first said, handing them the ammo and grenades.

Mitch and Po took four grenades, ten magazines for the pistols, and seven spare magazines for the assault rifles.

"Why do we need all of this so soon?" Mitch asked.

"Orders have changed." The soldier said. "You two have been ordered to accompany the Seventh Calvary as they go into the Ia Drang Valley."

"Ah, the Seventh Regiment." Mitch said laughing. "Same as Custer."

The two nodded, and the second stepped forward. "Any of you two religious?"

"I am." Mitch said and took one of the crosses and put it around his neck.

That would be Mitch's favorite piece of equipment. Mitch was not religious however, for he said that he had a personal relationship with God. Po didn't see the need to take a cross with him however.

"Alright, follow us." The second soldier said, taking the two with them out of the barracks after they had everything set down and were ready to go off to war.

They left the barracks and came to a landing pad just outside of it. On the pad was a brand new UH-1D Huey Helicopter Gunship. It was armed with XM157 rocket pods and M134 miniguns on each side. On the nose of the helicopter was a belt fed M75 40mm grenade launcher with a capacity of 300 rounds. On both sides of the helicopter, mounted for the passengers to use, was an M60 machine gun with an extended magazine to give it extra ammunition. It could hold eleven men in the back of it. Painted on the front of the helicopter was the famous sharks-mouth paint scheme, with permission from the famous Flying Tigers of WWII. On the side of the helicopter were the words "Death From Above".

"Damn, we sure are ready for war!" Po exclaimed.

Standing next to the helicopter were three wolves. Each wore a flak jacket and two had on a pilot's helmet, while one just had a green helmet. The first stepped forward.

"You must be our lucky passengers. I am Staff Sergeant Jefferson, but you can call me 'Red'." The wolf said.

"Where did you get that nickname?" Mitch asked.

"It's a long story. This is my co-pilot, Sergeant Chase." The wolf said.

"Nice to meet you." Chase said and shook each of their hands.

"This is Corporal Mason, who serves as the door gunner and crew chief, whatever you need him to do back in the cabin."

"A pleasure serving with you two." Mason said and shook their hands.

"We'll be usually taking you down and taking you out of places, but it depends if superiors have other orders for us. We will also be supporting ground troops with this firepower. Soon the platoon will be ready." Red said.

"What platoon?" Po asked.

The three grinned, and then laughed, leaving the two still standing puzzled.

"We'll tell you two after you get out of Ia Drang alive!" Mason exclaimed. "They call it 'The Valley of Death' for a reason!"

"Well, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." Mitch said grinning, causing them all to laugh.

"God, we're going to enjoy blasting those commies away with you two." Red said. "Now pile in, we need to get down to X-Ray!"

"Good luck you two." The first soldier that came to their barracks said as he and the other walked off.

Po and Mitch went into the helicopter and sat down on the seats, the rotor blades beginning to spin and the helicopter beginning to start. Mason gave them hi fives and sat next to the door, manning the M60 sticking out of the helicopter on the right side.

The helicopter slowly got off of the ground, going forward and beginning a diagonal rise into the air. Po looked out the side of the helicopter and saw the base begin to vanish, more and more helicopters flying to and fro from the base.

Red gave them the helicopter's frequency, telling them to use the Seventh Cavalry's radio to call them in for extraction. Mitch checked his weapons' ammo and grabbed onto the cross around his neck, closing his eyes and murmuring a quick prayer to God to protect him and the other Americans and to let His will be done.

Po got up and went to the left side of the helicopter, looking down at the landscape. The land held hills and mountains, all covered in jungle. Narrow rivers twisted through the landscape, and he saw a small village on a field. Small huts lay there, and villagers in straw hats went about farming on the rice patties. It was there when he saw her. He leaned out and saw a beautiful tiger walking down a small path. At hearing the helicopter, she looked up and smiled, waving to Po. The panda smiled back and waved. He was in love.

Mitch saw Po's actions and got up, going beside him and looking back at the village.

"You see that village Po?" Mitch asked.

"Yeah?" The panda answered.

"That's what we're fighting for also. We're fighting for people that just want to live in freedom and privacy. Unfortunately, Charlie has made that difficult. South Vietnam wants to be free; North Vietnam wants to enslave them." Mitch said, growling at the thought of the invaders.

Po nodded. "You are so right. This truly is a noble cause; just as it was in WWI and WWII, and Korea."

"Let's get set, we're almost there." Mitch said, sitting back down.

"There it is boys! The Valley of Death!" Red said happily and made his descent.

Po looked out and saw the valley, helicopters already dropping troops off. The helicopter hovered over the grass.

"Alright Berets, go, go, go!"

Mitch and Po jumped off, the two crouching and pointing their guns at the trees around them.

"Area's already secure, come see the CO." One soldier said and led them through the field to a tree surrounded area where several soldiers stood around an Indochinese Tiger. A captured NVA soldier.

A greying wolf stood there with an ARVN soldier and a fellow sergeant. Po and Mitch walked up to them, the four hardly noticing them. The prisoner spoke in Vietnamese, Mitch knowing what he was saying. The White Tiger had learned Vietnamese in case of going to war actually, and also spoke German (Po spoke German as well to know the same language as his friend).

"What did he say?" The wolf asked.

The ARVN soldier sighed. "He said that there are many more than two hundred North Vietnamese soldiers here than our reports said. He said there are two battalions in the hills, and more are coming."

The odds were grim. The Americans had reports that little more than two hundred NVA regulars were in the area, and they only took 450 men to wipe them out. Two battalions were one thousand six hundred men. The Americans could only get two hundred men in the first day. They would be fighting an entire day with an eight on one disadvantage.

"Secure the perimeters, everyone be on guard!" The wolf said, who was Lt. Colonel Hal Moore.

The prisoner was taken away and the two vanished, Hal Moore turning his attention to them.

"Captains Merindus and Ping, I've been expecting you." Moore said, the two saluting and then he put them at ease. "Glad to have your skills here, we're going to need all the help we can get to hold the line. Find a spot and don't let them break through."

"Yes sir!" The two said in unison and ran back to the field, dropping to the ground as they suddenly began to hear the crack of AK47s and M16s answering them.

"It's started, let's pick up the pace!" Po said

The two got up and sprinted forward, reaching a creek bed and crouching behind rocks like the soldiers around them.

"Soldiers, this is it, fire at will!" Mitch commanded as he and Po stuck their guns forward and aimed down the sights.

They first saw the enemy here. Tigers clad in light colored uniforms, leaves attached to them to gain camouflage. They carried AK47s, RPKs, MAT17s, and many more weapons that had been supplied to them by the Soviet Union and communist China. They were a tough and determined enemy, and they would die for their cause.

Po fired a burst of his rifle, hitting a soldier that yelled in pain before falling over. He turned his gun and switched it to semi-automatic, firing three bullets at three enemies, the three dropping to the ground.

Mitch fired a long burst a group of troops, killing them all. He then pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin, throwing it towards the enemy. The grenade exploded, sending NVA into the air and blowing their legs off. The soldiers howled in pain before Mitch shot them all, putting them out of their misery.

A GI mounted and M60 machine gun and began to fire, making the North Vietnamese begin to fall in large numbers from the powerful machine gun. Suddenly, a stick grenade landed to the side of Po. The panda's eyes widened, and time slowed.

"Grenade!" A brave GI yelled before diving onto the explosive.

Po quickly rolled away as the grenade exploded, the courageous American absorbing the blast and being killed instantly. Po went back to his spot and sighed, taking the dog tags off of the dead American's neck. It was courage and bravery like this that made Po never forget Vietnam. Americans sacrificed themselves for their friends in every war; Vietnam was no exception.

"Po, we need some help here!" Mitch yelled as he fired another burst, hearing a click.

He pulled out the magazine and slapped in a fresh one, aiming down the sights again and beginning to take down the North Vietnamese once again. A GI pulled out and M79 grenade launcher, nicknamed the "Thumper", and fired it into the communists. The blast blew a tiger in half, his intestines flying out in midair before the parts of his body fell to the ground.

Another large group of NVA came in, firing into the Americans and managing to kill a few of them.

"We need artillery in front of the creek bed!" A radio operator yelled into the speaker, receiving a response from the artillery officer that it was on the way.

Po soon heard a rumble, and then the whistle of shells coming towards them. The shells began exploding in front of them, consuming the NVA. But suddenly, a blast strayed too close to the Americans and killed three men.

"Move the artillery forward, you are hitting us!" The operator said, receiving static.

The officer got the message however, as the artillery went farther from them and still hit the communists. Mitch heard the NVA ordering a fall back, and he patted Po on the back as they watched the NVA withdraw.

"Nice shooting. One firefight out of many." Mitch said, the two's hearts pumping quickly.

The radio operator began talking with another operator over the radio, then turned to the two Special Forces.

"Lt. Col Hal Moore wants you two to go to his command post. He's sending you to the south perimeter." The operator said, the two nodding and hurrying off, carrying their rifles by the hand grips.

They ducked and hurried across the field, knowing that the NVA were that close to shoot them there and there was already the continuous sound of firefight all around the perimeter. They reached the same place they had seen Moore before, finding many radio operators, wounded, and mortar teams there, as well as Moore.

"There you two are. I received the report that the creek bed has been held, and the attack pushed back for now. Nice work, but it's far from being over. Charlie has us surrounded and is pushing up from the south perimeter; go in and help them out. I'll be going to the creek bed to make sure the line is held."

"I have tremendous respect for you sir." Po said.

"Why?" The wolf asked, smiling.

"You're the only high ranking officer I've heard of and seen that goes into battle with his troops, instead of being behind the safety of a desk miles away." Po responded.

"Thank you." Moore said. "I make sure that my men are alright and I fight just as hard as they do. Now go help them out!"

"Yes sir!" Mitch said as he and Po sprinted south, dodging bullets from North Vietnamese snipers and diving onto a small hill, lying beside a sniper. T

The sniper took a deep breath and held it before firing, the two hearing a screams shortly afterwards. He moved his head from the scope and smiled at them.

"You must be our saviors!" The sniper exclaimed.

"Just here to help." Po said grinning.

"NVA are trying to push through. Get up front with the rest of the grunts and give them some help. Get off of my hill."

The two laughed and hurried down the hill, diving in front of a fallen tree and using it as cover. They crouched and Po switched his weapon to fully automatic, firing into the waves of communists. Mitch did the same, as did the other troops around them. A tiger beside Mitch began to fire on an M60, firing nonstop into the communists and killing them in large numbers.

Mitch suddenly heard a bullet whiz as it drove into the GI's chest, the young American slumping down on the gun. Mitch knew that the M60 was keeping the men there alive and pulled the American off of the gun, manning it himself and embracing the firepower of the awesome machine gun. He watched as an enemy soldier had his guts shot out and his arms shot off as well, in awe of the power of the machine gun.

Po hit three enemies with headshots in a row, their craniums popping off as they fell to the ground. Soon the NVA withdrew from that area, the GIs cheering and checking their dead and wounded. It was very small compared to the many that the North Vietnamese were losing.

Small skirmishes went on through the night, the Americans managing to win the day. Po and Mitch were ordered back to the creek bed by Lt. Col Moore, and sat with their guns sticking out into the bushes. The atmosphere was eerie. The night was pitch black, where one could not see his hand in front of his face. There was the chirping of crickets, the occasional sound of a AK47 crackling and the American response, and the sound of helicopter blades as dead and wounded were airlifted out.

All was quiet one moment, until Mitch heard a crunch in the twigs in front of him. He quickly crawled to a radio operator.

"I heard rustling outside our lines. Call for illumination." Mitch commanded in a whisper.

The operator nodded and pulled out the radio.

"We need illumination on the creek bed." The operator said.

Mitch crawled back to his position, tapping Po on the shoulder.

"Get ready," He said, the two inserting in new magazines to their rifles and aiming down their sights.

Suddenly, an American mortar shot a flare into the air, illuminating the area. Po's eyes widened as in front of the American lines were hundreds of NVA right in front of them.

"Fire!" He commanded as all of the soldiers began to shoot, the communists not able to react.

One NVA soldier managed to dodge the bullets and tackled Mitch, the two rolling down the slope. The soldier tried to impale him with a bayonet but Mitch knocked him off of him, getting on top of him and drawing his combat knife. He thrust it into the communist's chest, making him scream in pain. He pulled the knife out and finally thrust it into his neck, the soldier gurgling before slumping to the ground.

Mitch got up and grabbed his M16, diving back to the position and beginning to fire again with the rest of them. The jungle was lit with the light of the assault rifles firing, and a lone M60 chomping through the bullets. The NVA retreated, the GIs panted from the startling attack.

The rest of the night was an eerie quiet. No one slept for fear of another attack.


Po, Mitch, and Lt. Col Hal Moore sat overlooking the creek bed, their guns pointed out into the jungle. It was the second day.

"Fire three shots into anything that looks suspicious." Moore said and all of the GIs shot into the jungle, firing at anything they saw.

They heard a few yells before hundreds of NVA jumped up, concealed by their camouflage and inching even closer to them every minute and beginning to fire. GIs began to grunt and fall over dead as Po fired at the advancing communists, taking out ten enemies before having to reload.

Mitch tossed three grenades into the masses before they exploded, killing large numbers of North Vietnamese. A GI pulled out and M72 LAW launcher and fired into the masses, a tree being shredded and impaling enemy soldiers with wood.

Moore saw that the Americans would not be able to hold them back much longer, and hurried over to the radio operator.

"Sir, what do you want me to call?" The GI asked.

"Broken Arrow." Moore responded, turning and killing a communist as he got too close to the lines.

The operator's eyes widened, and Moore nodded before going back to his position.

"Broken Arrow!" The operator yelled into the radio. "I say again, Broken Arrow!"

The creek bed was the key to victory in the battle. It was directly in front of the hills that the NVA were hiding in and were coming from, and would cut the Americans in a pitch fork movement if they broke through.

Meanwhile, in Saigon, the capitol of South Vietnam.

Radio operators listened to the GI call the strike. Two Washington Correspondents stood in front of a table, which held a map of the valley and showed the positions of the Americans and North Vietnamese.

"What does Broken Arrow mean?" The first asked.

"It means that an American unit has a chance of being overrun, and is calling on all available air units to assist it." The second replied.

"My God, there's no keeping this a secret now."

Jets, helicopter gunships, and bombers all took off of airstrips and aircraft carriers, heading for the Ia Drang Valley.

"Where the hell is that air support?" Po yelled as he fired into the chest of a NVA regular, making him drop dead.

Soon they saw another wave of enemies, this time not regulars, but the guerilla force of the Vietcong. They were black clothing and sandals, straw hats on their heads and carrying AK47s. Mitch fired a horizontal spray of his M16, dropping seven to the ground dead.

Suddenly, they heard the roar of a jet and then the clunk of bombs dropping. Flames consumed the area in front of the Americans. To Po, it felt like someone had just opened up a giant oven. It was napalm, an effective weapon that was helping the Americans greatly in the war. Burning at three thousand degrees Fahrenheit, it would burn any obstacle in its path.

They heard screams as the flames died down, showing burning Vietcong as they struggled to put themselves out. The Americans shot them dead, just as another load of napalm was dropped on advancing NVA.

"USA mother fucker!" One happy GI yelled.

Moore looked up and saw another jet approaching, straying too close to American lines.

He jumped up and waved him away, trying to get the pilot's attention before it was too late. But the pilot had already dropped the first bomb, and managed to pull up before delivering the second.

"Get down!" Moore yelled as Po and Mitch watched the bomb descend, as if it was in slow motion.

The napalm blasted part of the American lines, making GIs howl in pain as they were struck by the flames.

Moore's eyes widened as he watched his troops suffering, and patted Mitch on the shoulder.

"Come with me!" He commanded, Mitch following him as Po held the line.

They came over to a GI who was smoking, his fur and flesh burned away as he screamed in pain.

"Get this man to the landing zone for emergency extract. Grab him by the legs and pull!" Moore said and hurried to another one of his wounded men.

"It's going to be ok buddy, it'll be alright." Mitch said, comforting the American as he suffered.

What Mitch didn't know is that the combat boots had melted into the American's skin from the napalm. He grabbed him by the boots and pulled, finding the boots slowly slide and revealing bone. The American screamed louder than he ever had, Mitch's eyes widening as he looked at his bloody hands and struggled to figure out what to do.

He finally picked him up and put him over his shoulder, carrying him as fast as he could to the landing zone. Helicopters dropped in, delivering food, water, ammo, and the rest of the troops. They also were there to pick up the wounded, and Mitch rushed to a helicopter, dodging bullets on the hot LZ and set him on a stretcher there. The American pulled him close.

"Tell Moore, I'm proud that I fought for my country!" The American managed to say before the helicopter lifted off, leaving Mitch to watch it fly away before sprinting back to his position while more wounded from the accidental napalm strike were brought to the LZ.

Mitch dove back to his position and began firing again, shooting down the remainder of NVA and Vietcong. Suddenly, three helicopters came in, blasting the rest of the communists with rockets, miniguns, M60s, and grenade launchers. As they flew away, the communists went into a full retreat back to the hills.

In the distance Po heard B-52 bombers roar as they dropped their bombs on the surrounding area. Napalm was being dropped all around the LZ X-Ray, but luckily no more accidents occurred.

The day went down easier thanks to the increased troops and the air support. The communist enemy was now preparing to finally crush the Americans. They would put their reserves and all of their men at the creek bed, ready to finally overwhelm them. They would take no prisoners; they were cruel and vicious, just as the Sioux had been against Custer and his men. The next day would decide who would win the struggle.

At night, Moore ordered most of his troops to the creek bed, for he expected the attack. He was a brilliant leader, and had a plan of his own. Also at night, the NVA and remaining VC sneaked up to the American lines, building up in large numbers to finally crush the "evil Americans" as they called them.

Morning came, and all Americans were tired from another sleepless night, but were still ready to fight and die for their friends and country. Moore saw rustling in the bush in front of him. He didn't know that it was the leader, who would stand up and raise his arm forward, ordering the men to attack. He knew it was an enemy however, that was that close.

Moore pulled out a bayonet and put it on his M16, looking around at the rest of his men.

"Fix bayonets!" He commanded, knowing that this would be a close quarters fight.

The American soldiers did so, Po and Mitch putting on theirs and pointing out at the jungle once again. The NVA leader jumped up, and so did Moore. Moore fired three rounds, the first two killing the leader before he could even give the order and killing two men behind him. He sprayed the rest of the men there and charged.

The other Americans got up and also charged, cheering and firing their rifles at the completely surprised and totally off-guard North Vietnamese. Po cut a NVA soldier's neck open with the bayonet before shooting him while Mitch knocked one to the ground with the butt of his gun before thrusting his weapon into his downed foe.

The Americans continued to charge, shooting and stabbing any communist that was unfortunate enough to be there. They went up a hill, shooting down retreating NVA. They went up the hill, Po breathing heavily as they advanced upwards. Little did they know that they were running up to the main base of the NVA. Machine guns and entrenched troops awaited them.

Po and Mitch heard a roar of a vehicle before they reached the top, their eyes widening as they looked down the barrels of communist guns. They NVA never fired. Huey gunships rained hell down on the communists, blasting them with all of their firepower. Po and the others ducked to the ground in case the NVA tried to fire on them, their mouths opened as they watched the deaths of so many.

A NVA soldier's head popped off from a miniguns while one was blown in half by a rocket. Mitch looked up to see one of the hueys to be Red and the others. Red fired the grenade launcher, rockets, and miniguns all at the same time, entrapping the enemy with a rain of fire.

Soon the hueys pulled away, leaving few NVA still standing. Moore ordered the men forward, the Americans cheering and charging into the enemy base. Po shot the rest of the still able to fight NVA and walked beside Mitch, the two seeing a NVA soldier carrying the North Vietnamese flag as he fled. Mitch raised his gun and fired, the NVA soldier stopping as he yelled, then fell dead to the ground.

Mitch and Po went through the dead and wounded, turning to see a wounded NVA soldier. The soldier picked up an AK47 like a coward and fired into three GIs, killing them before he was shot by Po and Mitch.

"Damn NVA. They truly are brainwashed, or they are just downright evil." Mitch said growling.

Bodies were stacked of the NVA dead, and the captured were tied up. Weapons were stacked in piles as the hueys returned; ready to pick up the Americans. Red landed the huey in front of the two, Po and Mitch getting into the back of it.

"We saved your asses back there!" Red said grinning. "Glad you two made it!"

"Thanks for the help Red!" Po said, giving him a high five and sitting down on a seat, leaning against the back of the helicopter as he took a deep breath.

The battle was over for them. The NVA were retreating. The Seventh Calvary was being airlifted out, while fresh troops went in to chase down the retreating communists.

The helicopter took off, giving the two the last sight of the battlefield as they headed back to base. At the end of the battle, One thousand two hundred fifteen communists were killed, to a mere two hundred Americans dead. In the new war of attrition, a war where body count was measured as success instead of land gain, this was a major American victory.

Po shook his head, turning to Mitch as the tiger murmured a pray of thanks to his Lord.

"You glad you made it out?" Po asked.

Mitch opened his eyes and grinned. "Yeah, that was fun."

"Fun?" Po asked, shocked. "You called nearly dying and killing others fun?"

"Wake up, Po." Mitch said, laughing. "When you know you're doing the right thing, it's fun for me. Besides, this is just the beginning."

A/N: The two join the Green Berets and win the battle of Ia Drang! As you can see, the two share different opinions about the war now. Po and Mitch both are proud to fight for freedom, their country, and each other, but Po does not find war "fun"; Mitch does. Next chapter: The Platoon. Po and Mitch are introduced to a platoon that is to take their orders, and they journey into the jungles for their first battle. Please don't be negative about this story! This is for entertainment, so please don't be a troll or something. I'll have the next chapter out in a little while, so stay tuned! Please review, share, comment, and please, no flames!