A Farmer's Courage II: Vietnam 67'
Chapter 11: Hearts and Minds
Spring 23, 1967,
Ghost Town,
1430 hrs
"SQUAD! GATHER UP!" I assemble my squad (including Rick) by the T.O.C bunker
"Alright! Roll call!"
"PFC. Kowalski….hungry for meat!" Kowalski had been promoted after the assault in Artillery hill
"PFC. Gardner….here." Gardner
"Sergeant Short Timer. Radio's workin' fine over here LT!"
"PFC. Junior. Me and my sniper rifle will win this war all by our lonesome."
"Talk is cheap Junior…..I could rack up more kills with my M-60 than yours nigger!"
"Shut your trap Kowalski! We don't want to start a fight now!"
"Ok….sorry LT."
"Next!"
"Private. Rick Burton is ready for action!"
"What a geeky way to introduce himself……" Kowalski
"I agree with that!"
"LT supposed us to be patched in the field by a fuckin' cherry." Gardner
"A CHERRY?" Kowalski and Junior….to my surprise, they just notice him
"Goddamn it LT! You're wishing us to be patched up by a cherry?" I nod my head
"No…shit…" Kowalski sighs, scratching his head
"Hey…..where's Meat Grinder?" Short Timer
"Who's that?"
"Shut your fuckin' trap cherry, you don't need to know!" Gardner seemed to inherit the hatred of cherries……
"I saw him went to the back of the camp…….where they make good booku boom-boom." Junior
"Fuckin' A…" Kowalski
"I'll go get him. You guys head inside and keep your manners on!"
"YES SIR!"
I head towards the camp's 'back door', passing a few grunts, asking where Kai is and if anyone saw him. Eventually, most grunts DID saw him heading towards the boom-boom house (whore house). Moving up to the boom-boom house, I was greeted by Mama-san.
"Good morning G.I. We Vietnamese thank you for saving us that night."
"Err….yeah….sure…"
"We award those with free boom-boom with girls of choice. Only you didn't come LT."
"Sorry….I can't…"
"It's free charge LT. No need to pay."
"No thanks….I'm married."
"It's okay. Your wife isn't here right? Feel free to return and have fun with the girls."
"Err……yeah…..you see Tomkins?" Kai is mostly remembered as Tomkins or Meat Grinder here
"PFC. Kai Tomkins? Ooh my girls love his way with them LT. So I actually give him free boom-boom since we love his way with us. He's in the hut over there."
"Okay. Thanks mama-san." I walk out the steel gate and head towards the hut. Mama-san was still calling that I should go take some rest with the girls.
"Jesus….some horny bitches…….guess my boys screw with them too much." Approaching the hut, I encountered five of Mama-san's girls flirting around me
"You look good and strong G.I! Me boom-boom good with you!"
"No thanks! I'm married!"
"You need good time G.I? Me love you long time!"
"Thank you, but I'm married."
"G.I need boom-boom? Me party long time!"
"No thanks, my wife had pleased me too much!" Actually, we've only done it around three times after our son's born. Before that……I don't remember how much Ann slept with me
"G.I need good time? I…."
"No thanks! I'm here to get Kai and I'm out of here!" I dash out of the crowd of females fighting my way just to get to that small hut. Closing in I could already heard pants and moans inside. I walk up the small sets of stairs and slam open the door. I could see what Kai's doing inside
"KAI!" He immediately jumps off her, quite startled
"Yo, Jack! You can't see what I'm doing? I'm having fun here!"
"Get dressed…..we're moving out on a recon patrol." I walk out of the hut, and head towards the T.O.C bunker leaving Kai behind in the hut
"Damn…..one thing for sure Kai, you won't die a virgin."
(Ann's P.O.V back home)
"C'mon Honey, we're going to see Aunt Karen and Aunt Ellie."
"Kay' mom!"
It's been three weeks since my husband left the village to check on Kai. Things here are quite smooth as what I could recall. I've started receiving Jack's letter again these days, and am quite relieved to see that Jack's ok. Now I felt quite bad on forcing Rick and Doctor Tim to go check on him. Peter had grown to be just like his father and is helping me with the farm while I took care of the inn. Well, we're supposed to meet out with Karen and Elli now, discussing about their husband.
My son and I arrived at the inn at three after I help him finish jobs at the farm. I could bet Karen and Elli is already inside. I reach out for the door when the door suddenly swung open. A girl as old as Peter, or probably younger, greeted us at the door. I smile softly at her when Karen steps up behind her.
"You're late…."
"Sorry…..got a little caught up on the farm work and all."
"Well what are you doing standing there? C'mon! Ellie's already inside waiting!" I walk inside and took a seat where Ellie and Karen are.
"Ann, Peter, this is my daughter, Celia." Ellie introduced her daughter first while we take our seat
"Nice to meat you." Celia is Ellie's daughter; her only child. She's two years younger than Peter and inherits most of her mother's looks.
"Kids! Come!" Karen gather her children who's playing over by the counter
"This is Matthew, the eldest one."
"Hi."
"This is Tanya,"
"Hello." Karen got four kids. The eldest one is a boy, while the rest were girls. They all inherit their father and mother's traits.
"This is Claes,"
"….."
"And this is Nami." Nami is the girl we saw earlier before. She mostly inherits his father's looks. Red hair, blue eyes and all; only her attitude and taste reflected on Karen mostly.
"You got the looks of your father….." I glance at her, and she glance back at me
"Everyone kept saying that. They kept talking 'you look like your father' this, 'your eyes is the same of your father's that'…."
"NAMI! Mind your talking!"
"Yes, mother…" I sigh and look around the room and spot two other children. One of them, probably 2-3 years old is held by Matthew while the other one is clinging close to him as well. She's as old as Nami, probably year younger
"And…those are….." Karen pause…and so did Ellie
"The one Matthew's carrying is Lumina, Lumina Glory."
"She's…..Gray's daughter." Karen nods
"Yeah…..I was supposed to take a good care of her while he and his wife are out of the island. I've never heard from them since….."
"Ooh….."
"One thing, Gray wishes to teach her how to play piano or organ…just like Mary did when she's still alive; seems he's still in love with her." I glance at the other one who're clinging tightly to Matthew
"And….she is….?"
"She's Muffy Tomkins."
"That couldn't be because Kai aren't married yet Karen."
"No…..its Popuri and Kai's daughter…..Kai played with her too much. My husband was furious when he knew what happened back then."
"Ooh…."
"Kai haven't known this yet, so…keep it down okay? Popuri gave birth to her before she's captured and killed. She never knew who her father….or mother is."
"Yeah……and remember back then that from what had happened, we decided to let our kids live a little longer and spend their childhood more."
"The elixir….."
"Wish the Goddess would stop giving us that elixir every time we attend her festivals…..then again, it would be nice to live longer…."
"Yeah….."
"Erhm…." Elli…..I just remember there's a third person here
"Don't ignore me…….we're here to discuss about our husbands condition over there right?" We nod in agreement
"Kids, go play with your new friends okay? Matthew, you're the oldest here, so take good care of them. And mind your attitude; especially you Nami!"
"Yes, mother…"
"Celia, be nice to your new friends!"
"Peter, go play with them, and be nice; okay?" We watch as our kids gather in one spot before we continue
"So….how's Jack?" Karen start off
"He's fine….he's still recovering from his wound, but his find. Elli, how's Tim?" She sighs
"Tim's doing fine out there. He told me he kept on seeing someone fitted to a body bag and notified at his first day. He'd been taking care of the wounded back there. How's yours Karen?"
"Rick is……out there…..part of Jack and Kai's squad….."
"That's a good thing to hear."
"Let's just hope they'll return safely."
(Back to Jack)
Spring 23, 1967,
3 KM South of Shang Tri Village,
1500 hrs
"So…..we're supposed to take out the bunch of VC……"
"And rescue our fuckin' reporter…..damn that guy just kept us busy…."
"Louis Carlson….."
"Just hope he's not dead when we get there…."
"Shut your traps men! We're in their vicinity; Monty, take point!" He glances at me and nod
"Roger that LT!"
(Jack's Flashback)
Spring 23, 1967,
Ghost Town, T.O.C bunker, 30 min before departure
1430 hrs
"Nice to see you all here gentlemen; please, take a seat." The Colonel greeted us as we (including Kai and Rick) entered the T.O.C bunker that was built underground
"Alright, as you can see here, intel had spotted numerous VC activities around and in Shang Tri Village. We got a conclusion that the Villagers there were helping out the VC."
"So…..our mission was to kick them Vietnamese asses and wipe em' off?" Kowalski
"Shut your trap while I'm talking Private! Remember our code here, boys and girls: Hearts and Minds."
"Hearts and minds?" Rick is new here, so he might not know what it meant
"Yes, Cherry, hearts and minds! We're here to protect AND assist the innocent villagers here from VC and NVA plundering!" Gardner
"That's right private! Your knowledge is acceptable. Another thing we want to look about is one of our goddamn reporter by the name Louis Carlson and his goddamn cameraman!"
"What the heck are they doing there?" Junior
"Good question. They're there trying to report about some rumor they heard. We haven't heard about them since, so we're sending you guys to go and check their status, clear the village of VC presence and supplies, rescue, and evacuate the reporter out of the area. Got that?"
"Yes, sir." I nod, the captain then called someone into the bunker
"Suk Yord here will be your point man. He's one of our trainded montagnyards and he goes by the name Monty. He's part of your squad for this mission. He speaks fluent English, so don't be afraid to give him orders. Good luck boys and girls."
(End of Flashback)
Spring 23, 1967,
3KM South of Shang Tri Village,
1500 hrs
The jungle is in its moist and rainy season. Mosquitoes, bugs, leech, and VC is in its season. I sometimes wonder while I'm in a jungle patrol…..will the VC kill me first; or the jungle? We're creeping in the jungle. Every step we take, could lead us to death due to multiple VC traps that could be located in the area. It didn't take too long before we could smell dead corps and hear flies buzzing around.
"Damn….something stink quite bad here….."
"I could smell that….."
"Let's continue." We continue following Monty until Short Timer realizes where the foul smell from is: A pungi pit trap. Inside, a hog lies there with flies buzzing above
"Hell you Snit!" Short Timer
"Erkh…..goddamn it…." Kowalski
"Guess we know where that smell came from." Gardner
"This hog's sacrifice will be remembered for warning us about this trap." Junior
"What? What?" Rick is guarding our flank. He doesn't know anything about it
"None of your business cherry….." Gardner
"Eat that Rick….." Kai
"Squad, assemble." I wave my hand in the air, signaling to gather up
"VC had set booby traps here. They place signs like these, so watch each of your step boys." My men were gathered, listening
"Yeah, try not to get caught on one, Cherry." Gardner just couldn't stop sometimes. He kept on looking at Rick
"You're the damn expert Gardner? You do the job!"
"Sure thing, no sweat LT!" He got up from his position and starts moving forward by his own. We watch and follow him slowly until he reaches the marsh. He walks in; take a few steps and…..
'SNAP'
Gardner triggered himself one of the VC deadliest traps: The pungi whip trap. It killed him instantly….
"Damn it…sorry Gardner. I should've not said that word. We lost a good man today…..so try not to get your ass caught shit like this…."
"Jack, what about his body? We can't leave him out like this!" Rick
"We'll pick him up on our way back Rick…..we'll pick him on our way back. Let's move; Monty, on point."
"Roger that LT."
It's quite an unpleasant feeling really, after leaving Gardner's body there. It all happened in a flash….you almost got no time to react to it. He's gone. We continue moving forward, encountering a few more booby traps and taught Rick how to disarm the tripwire grenade trap and how to disarm the pungi whip trap. The pungi pit is better to be bypassed rather than risking your ass and try to dig up the bamboo out. Things started to heat up again once we're close to the village.
"Hey…LT…..isn't this thing is one of our helmets?" Kowalski point to something helmet like pinned to a tree with a machete. The machete was covered in blood.
"That's our helmet alright…..some poor bastard really got it…." Kai
"Yeah….." Rick
"Shut up cherry, you know nothing here yet." Junior
"Don't mind that thing and let's keep moving….."
Spring 23, 1967,
South of Shang Tri Village,
1524 hrs
We reach the village outskirts after 30 minute walk with no resistance, strangely. We don't know why, but sometimes, we wish the VC would attack so we could get Gardner out of our mind. He's a fun guy….I admit that.
"LT! I could see the village from here….."
"We could see that Kowalski…we could see that." Kai
The outskirts of the village were dikes divided by the villagers for rice planting. We could see some villagers working in their dikes planting rice. There's a hut in the middle, and more dikes behind it rising to the hill on top to the village. It's quite nice and pleasant really…..sad VC had been here.
"Kowalski, advance and recon the dikes; watch out for trip grenades or pit traps." He looks at me and smirk
"Sure thing LT." We watch from behind as Kowalski move along the hill sloped dikes and hike towards the village. After a moment, he stop and give us the hand signal to move on
"That's the sign guys, let's go. Monty, lead the way."
"Okay, LT."
'PANG'
"AKH! I'M HIT! I'M HIT!" A sudden rifle fire caught our attention. Kowalski was knocked out immediately as what we thought villagers were actually VC in disguise. A Soviet SG43 Heavy Machine gun was deployed in the small hut, immediately pinning us down. We were ambushed
"GET DOWN!" We drop down to the dikes, dodging shots and flying lead above our heads as more VC came to the dikes to support the previous one
"MEDIC!" Kowalski
"I'm moving up! Cover me Jack!" Rick
"No…wait. ANYONE BUT THE GODDAMN CHERRY!"
"Kowalski! He's our field medic! Get on with it!"
"You're expecting that cherry to patch me up? Hell no!"
(Rifle fire)
I turn my head towards Rick as he fires his M14 round by round, taking out the machine gunner, and two other VC. The others were dead silenced…..especially Kowalski who's lying over there. Kai was just smiling
"Still calling me a cherry? I already receive the baptism of fire." He keeps himself aiming the sight, trying to knock out the rest of the VC.
"What are you guys looking at? RETURN FIRE AT THEM!" I turn to the rest of my squad (who're still dumbfounded)
"Sorry LT! Never thought cherry knew how to use a rifle." Short Timer unlocks his M16 and start firing. So did Monty with his Remington shotgun and Junior with his sniper rifle. Kai deploy his M60 and finish the rest of the guys while I dash to Kowalski and carry him back to our squad.
"Rick, take a look at him. Is he alright?"
"……."
"Rick?"
"Jack, I've seen worse than this. This is peace of cake." He rambles through his med pack, takes out morphine and use it on Kowalski's wound
"That should handle it."
"Hey cherry! What about the bandage?"
"C'mon, it's not that serious! Just get back to the fight! I'll take a look at that when we're back at base!"
Spring 23, 1967,
South of Shang Tri Village,
1538 hrs
The fire finally stopped as Junior marks the last guy with a shot between his eyes. The unexpected ambush we're taken care of and Kowalski's wound; just as what Rick had said, was nothing.
"Check your weapons and ammos. Monty, lead the way." I give one of those orders to Monty. He nods and starts moving up the dike. We follow close behind
"Hey…. (Chuckles) water buffalos…" Kowalski, looking at one of the water buffalos we pass by
"Hoo…..check that chick out! Man! Look at the curves…" Short Timer
"No….check THAT one out! She looks a lot younger man!" Junior
"Heh, sad we can't pay these chicks out here for a good boom-boom." Kai
"Yeah…." Kowalski
Spring 23, 1967,
Shang Tri Village,
1542 hrs
"Alright men! Search the village for weapons, and round up the villages. Search the haystacks; the villagers could be hiding something!" I scatter my men as I stay at the center, monitoring my men
"Hey Jack." I turn my head towards Rick, still new to village checks
"You really think these innocent fellers' would be working with VC?"
"I'm sure of it….."
"Move it!" Short Timer moves in as he holds up one of the villagers. The others came with their captive as well
"All villagers round up LT." I nod, and turn towards Monty
"Monty, go check the haystacks."
"Roger that LT."
We stay in the center, watching our captives as Monty rambles through the village, burning haystacks. Beneath them, there were VC weapons after all.
"Fire in the hole!" Monty tosses a grenade towards the last haystack. Instead of burning the haystack, to my surprise, opens a trap door with a load of weapon caches
"Holy shit……that's one mother of a cache. See, I told you they're helping the VC!" Rick chuckles
"Yeah….."
"Monty, now ask one of the villagers where's our reporter are." He nods and starts talking to one of them.
"He said he's not far from here, just behind the village." He points towards a road leading somewhere
"Got it. I'll go check, you guys stay put."
Spring 23, 1967,
Northern Outskirts of Shang Tri Village
1550 hrs
It didn't take too much time, really. It's only a small walk (maybe 10 meters or so…) and I already could spot a group of VC with another hut. Finishing them is also another easy thing since they're only armed with pistols and machete. I got out from my cover, aim down the sight of my M16, and finish them off with a whole magazine (20 rounds). A minute later, I located the reporter and his cameraman….alive.
"You guys alright?"
"Thank God you came! I almost thought I'm a gonner or something!"
"No worries, we're here to help."
"We? Where's…."
"My squad? At the village. Lets go, we're getting out of here."
I guide them to the village where my squad greeted them……violently. Guys here don't like reporters, they hate em' since the press makes us look like the bad guys here. We exit the village via the dikes again; call an evac chopper to extract us out of here. Meanwhile, Rick and I return to grab Gardner's body.
Spring 23, 1967,
Somewhere North of Ghost Town,
1600 hrs
"Hey….lieutenant." I look up to the reporter, who's still mumbling something
"Let me tell ya' and your men what I got…"
"Okay. Go ahead, I'm all ears."
"The rumors are true…..the rumors of the NVA general. We don't know his name, but the villagers called him King Cong. Since then, VC numbers had swelled, civilian brutalization had increased, and executions of U.S prisoners had increased along with it." He shove me pictures…..horrible pictures of U.S soldier's head (only the head) serves as a decoration some what like those head hunter tribes do. But this time, the eyeballs been pulled out, along with the jaw. He probably ramble this photo through some dead VC since a smilling commie bastards beside this...thing
"Continue…."
"I heard from one of them VC conversation…."
"How do you…."
"I understand a bit of Vietnamese." He cut my talk and continues
"Anyways….I heard since his arrival, prisoner torture could take about a week…..or maybe months if necessary. Torturing them could be like cutting their fingers of or, slashing them with machete, or…..or….electrocutes them."
"What if the prisoner don't talk?"
"King Cong would execute them. He likes to execute them personally since he loves to look at them straight in the eye before he fires the trigger or behead them."
"Okay……"
"Are your men prepared for this LT? Well, do ya'?"
Along the whole trip, I kept on wondering: who is this King Cong, and where is he. But that thought never escapes my mind….even until we reach Ghost Town…..even in my dreams.