The Day it 'Snowed' in Vietnam
"Hello, pretty lady," Face said, radiating pure charm at Betsy.
The young nurse jumped with surprise. The dressings she'd been putting away in the hospital supply closet tumbled to the ground.
"Lieu-Lieutenant Peck, sorry I didn't know you were there."
Face lavished the stuttering nurse with his most dazzling smile. "Let me help you, and please, call me Templeton."
He gathered up the dropped packets, making sure his fingers lightly brushed the nurse's trembling hand as he passed them over. He was rewarded with her cheeks flushing as Betsy struggled to meet his eyes.
"Thank you, Sir-um Templeton," she managed, turning back to the shelf but not before he saw her cute smile.
"Betsy, I wanted to bring you a little Christmas gift," he explained when she looked back at him. "I've got to go off base early tomorrow so I need to give it to you now." He stepped a little closer than was correct etiquette and couldn't help smiling again as the blush crept down her chest under her uniform.
"Oh, Templeton, you shouldn't have. I haven't gotten you anything." She eagerly accepted the small brown paper-wrapped parcel he pulled out of his jacket.
"Your smile is a gift in itself." He let his finger tips linger against her longer than was necessary before releasing the parcel.
Still looking flushed, Betsy tore open the paper and gasped. "Oh wow, real chocolate. I'm watching my figure but a little treat couldn't hurt."
Face smirked, he sure as hell had been watching her figure, too.
Betsy stuffed the candy in her pocket before nervously pushing some hair away from her face that had escaped her tight regulation bun. "I thought there were no missions tomorrow. Why do you have to leave the base?"
"My Alpha team has offered to do the Christmas macvee milk run. Then we're gonna do some aid work in a small hospital." He wanted to remind her that he was an elite commando, adding in details of his selfless nature would seal the deal.
Success. She looked enraptured.
"I was hoping you may have some spare supplies I could take with me. Y'know, in the spirit of Christmas." He delivered his killer smile.
He had to get BA to help carry the crates by the time Betsy had filled them to the brim. He joyously whistled 'Good King Wenceslas' while they relocated the generous donation of medical supplies to the flight line. He'd even arranged to take Betsy to Da Nang for dinner when they returned.
Leaving BA to assist Hannibal, who'd acquired a large hoard from the kitchens, Face headed off to the laundry.
Christmas Day
"Ya may be good, Faceman, but I think the Colonel still has the edge."
Face stopped loading the chopper and followed the laughing pilot's gaze. Hannibal casually strolled towards them, each arm slung around the waist of a young Donut Dolly.
Face smiled at the Red Cross volunteers, while giving a knowing look to Hannibal. He wondered if the two attractive girls had been planning to come on the mail run or if his CO had coerced them into it? The SRAO programme delivered candy, juice and smiles to the troops in the field, a touch of home was the slogan. He admired the donut dollies' festive red and blue Christmas uniforms, the dash of color was a welcome addition to the drab greens and browns on the FOB.
"Maureen, Rachel, please meet my team," Hannibal chuckled, releasing the girls and helping them towards the Huey.
Face noted the crude way Hannibal had emphasised his seniority and ownership of the a-team. Murdock was wrong; he had the edge over their CO. Face prided himself on the art of seduction. He didn't need to put the other men down to win a female's affections. He'd let it pass, a kind of Christmas gift for the older man. Ever the gentleman, Face smiled at Rachel, catching both her hands and lifting her into the cargo hold.
"Thank you, LT Peck," she said, her eyes scanning his chest for his name.
"He's Faceman and I'm HM Murdock, captain of your carriage, fair maiden," Murdock said hopping in after her and bowing while offering his hand.
Rachel gave a donut dolly trademark smile, warmly shaking his hand. Face mused how it was going to be a good day spending time with the girls. The chopper might be filled with testosterone as the team vied for attention but they so rarely got to even see the pretty women sent to boost morale, it'd be nice to have plenty of opportunities to assist the donut dollies with their mission.
The base was unnaturally quiet, no running choppers, shouts or rumble of machinery. The usual buzz of radio chatter was silenced with both sides relishing the ceasefire even if only for a day. This is what peace sounds like, Face thought wryly.
Poison was telling Ginger and Bazza, the peter pilot, about his wife planning a second Christmas for after he got home in a couple of weeks. He'd also be meeting his baby daughter for the first time. Everyone on the flight line was in a jubilant mood.
BA, the only exception, didn't look impressed. He glared at Face, who grinned back. The bulky Sergeant scowled, reluctantly clambering up behind Maureen whom Face had just lifted in.
Face chuckled softly, watching BA check and double check that the crates were securely strapped in, then quickly attaching his harness to an internal fixing point. Despite an outwardly tough appearance, he knew the muscle man had grown more and more nervous about flying.
"Muchacho, ya look like you're fixing for a ride at the fair," Murdock laughed at BA.
"Be safer at the fair with no fool in control," BA growled back.
Rachel sidled closer to Face to whisper in his ear, "Does Sergeant Baracus not like helicopters?"
He stopped laughing at BA's discomfort and ran his hand through his hair remembering the cause. Since they'd crashed and been taken prisoners by the Viet Cong, BA had struggled with flying. "More not liking the pilot," Face replied lightly, quickly schooling his expression to neutral. He wasn't going to let the memories of the beatings and starvation ruin today. Today they had a mission to find Binh and deliver good cheer along the way.
Smiling warmly, Face beckoned Maureen over, then quietly explained his plan to the pretty girls.
Face realized Murdock was flying higher than normal. Despite the ceasefire, he expected his buddy to be extra careful, especially with the ladies on board. Face sat with Poison, his legs hanging out the open side of the chopper, both men scanning the jungle for any threats.
Maureen gasped, causing Face to glance over his shoulder. Her expression was positively glowing. "It-it looks like snow," she said staring past him.
He looked back out to see what had grabbed her attention and also caught his breath. The early Christmas morning sun was slowly rising behind the mountains they headed towards. Long shadows were cast in the light and the rain had stopped, bringing the promise of a warm, clear day. A blanket of white mist sat in the valleys while the mountain tops stretched proudly towards the sun. Maureen was right, it did look like snow. A quick check of the other passengers assured Face that all of them were staring at the serenity outside. Even BA had cracked a small smile.
Damn, it was a beautiful country. He'd been here over twelve months yet Face felt this was the first time he'd noticed. The horror of war had stopped him from appreciating the stunning place they were in.
Murdock's voice briefly crackled over the head sets as he spoke to the MACV men they were visiting first.
Hannibal looked at Face with confusion when the Lieutenant retrieved several large boxes of laundry soap flakes. Face purposely ignored his CO while Rachel and Maureen enthusiastically opened the boxes, he wanted it to be a surprise for Hannibal, too.
Over the crew headsets Murdock sang an almost perfect rendition of Bing Crosby's 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.' The pilot had acquired a Santa hat which he'd rammed over his flight helmet. The women soon harmonised the song with him. As the bird dropped towards the first outpost even BA reluctantly joined in, the radio filled with the crew and passengers singing of festive cheer.
Face peered out the open side and down at the dirty, tired soldiers waiting on the LZ. He gave the women a wink before grabbing two large handfuls of soap flakes and launching them out the side. Rachel and Maureen copied him.
He watched with satisfaction as they made it 'snow' on the bemused men staring up at them. Ginger and Poison quickly caught on and snagged another box of soap and added to the cascading 'snowflakes'.
Murdock must have looked back to see what was going on. His song smoothly changed to Frank Sinatra's 'White Christmas', his peter pilot, Bazza and Hannibal laughing loudly at the spectacle.
By the time Murdock landed and shut his bird down, all the 'snow' had been whipped up and dissipated by the powerful rotor blades. Face could see the men at the remote outpost all had glistening eyes and he didn't think it was because of soap flakes getting in them.
"Merry Christmas, boys," Hannibal chuckled, jumping out the bird clasping a stack of foil wrapped packs containing hot turkey and pumpkin pie.
Rachel and Maureen were soon distributing Red Cross care parcels, mail and Christmas goodies, but most of all Face saw the soldiers light up being in the presence of the young American girls. The donut dollies really were a touch of home, representing the wives, sisters, mothers and girlfriends waiting for the men thousands of miles away.
After an all too short fifteen minutes, the team and crew climbed back in the chopper. They hung out the side waving and loudly singing 'Jingle Bells' bidding their new friends goodbye.
The festive scene was repeated at each isolated firebase and outpost they visited. Face felt completely caught up and never stopped grinning. After the images of Hell he'd had burned into his memory, it was breathtaking to have this new memory being created. Today was the day they made it snow in 'Nam. Today they gave the troops a white Christmas.
SRAO: Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas.
MACV: Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.
Macvee: the flight missions to support the MACV ground teams.
Peter pilot: copilot.