Abandoned in Hell : The Fight for Vietnam's Firebase Kate (9780698144262) (31 page)

Pilot:   
. . . Gotta take a leak real quick before we start here.

Carbon Outlaw 25:
   This is Carbon Outlaw 25, go ahead.

Spooky 41:
   Roger, Carbon, you gonna have a replacement for us when we start to pull out of target? We'd like to keep something over these boys maybe all night if we can.

Carbon Outlaw 25:
   Roger, we've got you scheduled for a 15-minute overlap.

Spooky 41:
   Sounds good, these guys been taking it, as soon as we pull off target and get home we'll be ready to go again.

Carbon Outlaw 25:
   Roger, roger, thank you very much.

Spooky 41:
   Roger that.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK then we got about an hour and 40 minutes before the time I gave him at 30 so you wanna start now?

Pilot:
   Moon's coming up.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Roger that.

Spooky 41:
   Chicken Hawk, Spooky 41.

Chicken Hawk:
   Spooky 41, this the Hawk.

Spooky 41:
   Roger buddy, old lady up here is ready to clear us to do a little talking for you.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK real fine. Tell you what, let's put it to the Echo, the Echo of our location. . . . Sierra Echo and work it on up to the November Echo. How's that sound?

Spooky 41:
   Roger that sounds good, we're gonna come in right now and drop a flare and, ahh, we'll start working on the Echo, the Sierra Echo and bring it up to the November Echo.

Chicken Hawk:
   Roger, roger on that, OK, ahh, walk it right into the wood line there, right in the wood line if you can.

Spooky 41:
   OK now, all your friendlies are inside your perimeter there, except the ones to the November Whisky, is that Charlie?

Chicken Hawk:
   That is a definite affirmative.

Spooky 41:
   OK and how far to the edge of the wood line, how close to the edge of the wood line do you want us to bring it, over?

Chicken Hawk:
   I tell you what you bring it in as close as your little heart desires right in there because we get probes during the night and they kinda sneak up there when nobody's watching and I'd like to surprise them.

Spooky 41:
   Roger. We've also found out that if we shoot out a couple of hundred meters, it drives them into the perimeter, also, so we'll try to drive them out a little bit.

Chicken Hawk:
   That's fine buddy, that's fine. Use every trick you got.

WORK BEGINS

Spooky 41:
   Roger, stand by.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK, they're ready to go babe.

Gunner:   
. . . ready to drop the flare . . .

Pilot:   
. . . from north to south . . .

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Roger that.

Gunner:
   OK. OK, flare will be lighting just a second, we'll take a look at . . .

Pilot:
   The flare should be . . . position . . . fairly strong wind from the east.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK, there's his position right there, brother, by the pipper . . .

   OK, now see that bald spot to the east side over by that little bitty knob?

Pilot:
   OK, where the, ahh, ground marker is?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah, OK, let's start up close to his perimeter where those tree lines [are] on the southern edge of it and work north.

Pilot:
   Close to his perimeter?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Right, let's start right along the tree lines and work out.

Pilot:
   . . . right in this valley.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK.

Spooky 41:
   Hawk, we're coming in hot.

Pilot:
   OK, guns on the line . . .

Pilot:
   What about this valley, right in here?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Looks good.

Spooky 41:
   Hawk, this is Spooky 41.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK Spooky 41, this the Hawk, go buddy.

Spooky 41:
   OK, we're coming in hot.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK, I'm going out and observe.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Looks good, OK bring it in a little closer.

Gunner:
   Miniguns on line, sir.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   You got his position well marked, that right?

Pilot:
   Roger, got it.

Spooky 41:   
Just keep to the tree line out.

Pilot:
   How's that?

Spooky 41:   
OK, let's . . . shoot over their head.

Pilot:   
OK.

Spooky 41:   
OK, you can shoot right in there.

Pilot:   
OK, bring it up closer to him?

Spooky 41:
   Yeah.

Pilot:
   That OK?

Pilot:
   How's that?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   That looks good.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK . . . You're still looking good . . . OK, you can come a little closer right on to this side here in front of the pipper now . . . OK now bring it up the east side here.

Pilot:
   OK.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   All along that tree line . . . OK, I'll let you bring it a little closer to him next time on that pass . . . We got plenty of time. . . . I'll just fire on the, ahh . . . south thru the north on the east side there firing over their heads. . . . You can put fire on southern perimeter of them.

Pilot:
   Right there where the pipper is?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah right back by the edge. There you go.

Spooky 41:
   Hey Hawk, how we looking baby?

Chicken Hawk:
   Hey, this the Hawk, this the Hawk. Hey buddy you're looking real fine. I was out there watching you and you're putting it dead in on them. I'd like you to put a few rounds in on the other side of the slopes as you, ahh, OK, ahh, I'll explain myself here. As our camp sits here on this hill, all right, then you [go] down to the east side, you go down the hill past the wires and you hit the, ahh, bottom of the hill, then you hit the dense vegetation and then you start going on up the other side up the other slopes. OK, during the daytime they're rocketing us from all points around the camp, so at night time they might just figure its safe to pull back to the other side of the hill, you know, so, ahh, put a few rounds on the other side of the ridge lines here and maybe we can shake them up a little bit.

Spooky 41:
   Ahh, roger that, we'll do it.

Pilot:
   . . . mean this ridge line up to the east?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Roger, you got it good, right in there.

Pilot:
   . . . how's that look?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Looks good. Just kinda work all the way around them, Vin.

Chicken Hawk:
   Hey Spooky 41, this is the Hawk. Are you talking to one of your people? Over.

Spooky 41:
   Ahh, sorry about that, I was talking to him, I'm giving him good clearance here.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK, go ahead buddy, ahh, that's OK, ahh, thought somebody else [was] down here directing you and if somebody else was directing you I was gonna say who.

Spooky 41:
   Ahh, just forgot to switch back, just get too excited sometimes.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK, roger that good buddy, go ahead.

Spooky 41:
   Okeydoke, we're gonna drop another flare.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Oh shoot . . .

Pilot:
   Roger, we'll get another flare out here

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Just on the other side of first little valley is where they been taking it . . . and we can just move on around the southern edge around to the western edge of him there within about 200 meters of the camp.

Pilot:
   Roger.

Pilot:
   That last flare was a little too far out.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Roger that.

Pilot:
   
(Unintelligible.)

Spooky 41 Internal:
   All right, go ahead.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK, now you mark on this side too, see the hill out there above the pipper? Right pretty close to him?

Pilot:
   
(Unintelligible.)

Spooky 41 Internal:
   OK, you mark from there right on around to the south and right up that other ridge line up there.

Pilot:
   OK.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   That little valley of green trees between us and that little patch and the bald spot is, ahh, they were taking some probes in there too. We can work all that area.

Pilot:
   OK.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Go past that other bald spot to the northwest, that little tiny one.

Pilot:
   
(Unintelligible.)
OK, I'll get out here and rolling.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Roger.

Spooky 41:
   Hawk, this is Spooky 41. We're gonna start working all around you, babe.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK buddy that sounds real good, real good. Go ahead.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Looks good . . . Looks good. . . . Should come over to this side, you see this other clump of trees you can hit, ahh . . .

Pilot:
   
(Unintelligible.)

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah on this side and the other side.

Pilot:
   OK.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   You're looking good on both places.

Pilot:
   OK.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   You see above the pipper? There's another ridge line over there.

Pilot:
   Roger that. Look good?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah and work that one too.

Pilot:
   OK . . . Still looking fairly well? . . . OK, I'll work this ridge line up here.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah, why don't you fly right over them to work it then shoot back at it.

Pilot:
   OK, over their heads?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah, if you go right over top of them it's not going to hurt.

Pilot:
   OK, we fire to this side too?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Yeah, fine.

Pilot:
   How's that look?

Spooky 41 Internal:
   Good . . . OK, right up there where this light is, that's the part of the ridge, work north and south . . .

Pilot:
   OK, and, ahh, gunner, let me know when half our ammo is gone.

Gunner:
   Roger, sir.

Spooky 41:
   Carbon Outlaw 25, this is Spooky 41, we're expending at this time.

Carbon Outlaw 25:
   Roger, Spooky 41, this is 25, we copy.

Spooky 41:
   Roger, 25, we'll give you a call when we're half expended.

Carbon Outlaw 25:
   That's a roger, thank you sir.

Spooky 41 Internal:
   
(Unintelligible) 
. . . another flare out. . . . No I don't see it.

WORKPLACE BONDING

Chicken Hawk:
   Hey Spook, this the Hawk.

Spooky 41:
   Go ahead Hawk.

Chicken Hawk:
   Hey, that's real good, that's real good. You're gonna get some long hours in aren't you?

Spooky 41:
   Ahh, we don't mind as long as it's helping you boys out.

Chicken Hawk:
   That's really good. OK, buddy that's real fine.

Spooky 41:
   Roger.

Chicken Hawk:
   
(Unintelligible) . . .
all you boys that fly the big birds up here, your Spookies and your Shadows and everything, what do you guys get together someplace and have a drink together now and again?

Spooky 41:
   Ahh, occasionally we do, occasionally, some of us drink, some of us don't drink but we usually get together and shoot over the bull.

Chicken Hawk:
   OK, listen when you guys get together I want it to be known that Chicken Wolf, as I was known then or the Chicken Hawk or the Hawk or whatever and
everybody here just, ahh, man, without you guys . . . I tell you we would just admire it if you guys came down here for autographs.

Spooky 41:
   I'll tell you something old buddy if you ever get over to Phan Rang area, you better come in to see the Spooks and the Shadows cause we'll, ahh, the drinks are on us.

Chicken Hawk:
   Oh, ahh, understand. Ahh, I, ahh, I think I've worked a bunch of you now. I've worked 61s and of course the 41s and the 21s and a couple of others off and on and, ahh, a lot of other people here have.

Spooky 41:
   Ahh, roger that, ahh most of the Shadow 6 numbers are, ahh, out of Phan Rang and, ahh, all of the Spooky 4 numbers are out of Phan Rang.