Jocko Podcast 247 w/ John Stryker Meyer W.T.F. What it Takes to Beat The Odds. Wiskey Tango Foxtrot.

2020-09-16T12:08:23Z

Join the conversation on Twitter/Instagram: @jockowillink @echocharles @jstrykermeyer 0:00:00 - Opening 0:05:14 - Lynne Black's "Wiskey Tango Foxtrot" with Tilt. 3:10:55 - Final thoughts and take-aways. 3:22:10 - How to stay on THE PATH. Jocko Fuel: https://originmaine.com/nutrition Origin Jeans and Clothes: https://originmaine.com/durable-goods/ Origin Gis: https://originmaine.com/bjj-mma-fit/ 3:39:24 - Closing Gratitude.

AI summary of episode

That's kind of why I kind of said it because I might have came off like a character and I might come off like a little bit of a character right now. Jungle boots, pistol belt harness, first aid packet, pill kit, heavy and sharp canteens with waterproof purification tablets, smoke grenades, compass survival kit, individual pistol, submachine gun and sought off M79 weapon signal mirror panel, strobe light, pan flare with flares, ammo pouches, rucksack with reinforced straps, rations, weapons cleaning kit, maps, poncho and liner, can opener, p38 or knife with can opener, waterproof matches, insect and leach repellent jungle sweater, RT10 survival radio, pen light, six foot of nylon cord, parachute suspension cord, Swiss seat, two snap links, notebook and pencil, two plastic bags, fragmentation white phosphorus and gas grenades, two crevat bandages, gloves, claymore, serum, the team will need to carry a camera and film binoculars, ANPRC 25 radio, or as you call it a prick 25 with extra battery M14 toe popper mines and booby traps, anti-intrus and device wire taps and equipment for prisoner snatches. Well, even there, it wasn't like direct, it would be like, you know, when you go get to an A camp, learn about the country to people and there's projects, don't volunteer, because of the people are dying. But hopefully this will provide some encouragement, you know, just to do this section of the book and man, it's just like every single time I start reviewing what you guys did in Vietnam. And then things happen like what's going on right now and 9-11, and the wars and Iraq and Afghanistan, and you start realizing, no, no, we're unfortunately going to play. And when you got on to a, when they, when you know when, when the mission is go out and walk down this road, you might think you're being on offense, but if you think about it a little bit deeper, you're on defense, because you're walking down that road, and they can have booby traps and IEDs and snipers and mortgurs, they can have all that stuff If you're, if you feel like maybe you've broken like echo has, you're going to hang one of these things up. You know, the special forces guy just, you know, they like that. You got to get this book because the details that it gives, I don't know how he's got a way better memory than me, right? So when you say your wire taps are part of the list of stuff, they guys have one, do it like a little apparatus or something like that. And I know that when I did Lewis Polar, Jr.'s book on here, fortunate son and he's rotating between three areas and you know like one of them was bridge security. Took care of the other details well then and Cowboy going on and poor Cowboy getting hit the second time like that. And at this point, they're going to look like they're going to get some progress. You know, like the set up, hey, we're going to go in there. That's one of the things that, you know, when I was in Ramadi, I'd always read the book about face, you know, by David Hackworth and one of the things that was so similar was what just happened right there. Like John Stryker, Meyer, and like Doug L'Eternot Lynn Black was an Army soldier, a green beret, and he fought Vietnam as a member of SAUG, the studies and observation group, a highly classified group that conducted missions in Vietnam, Cambodia, and L'AVS. My commanding officer of one time, you know, he's, he was talking me through an operation that the guys were going out on. Because for me, sometimes my experience seems like it was a long time ago and sometimes it seems like it was yesterday. Lock Howa, the zero one Vietnamese team leader, orders the recon team Alabama to fire a full magazine just off the ground level to suppress enemy fire. The reason I ask you that is because when I think about what a young, um, American male mind is like, it's like this. So I don't know if he started to design it that way and then named it the shark fan and then made it look more like a shark fan. The history and then um procedures then like our commoclass you sat down here in that class for eight to ten hours just taking commo and uh land navigational kinds of different things like that. You know, you know, you know what a one up guy is. And they do, you know, I'm skipping forward, you know, and look, as I said before, to get the rest of the details just by the book and read it. First, because the shark fan shorts has like a pocket on it that kind of looks like a shark fan. So you can hide behind, you know, little ridge line or a little nole or something like that. It's not like, and by the way, when you when you leave that body, you're not saying, oh, we're never going to do anything. Yeah, and the fact that, you know, he's he's saying in the beginning when they inserted like they should have left immediately. I took just, you know, well, I don't know if you know this. You get a better, you get a very good feeling of the whole kind of deployment when he's going into town and he's, there's all kinds of shady kind of CIA stuff going on in there that he's wrapped up in. You know, we're like steeping in a bunk beds or whatever to make sure no one attacks seal team one. And that was definitely how I felt on my first deployment, same thing I would ask like young junior officers, I'd say, is this an offensive operation, I talk about a direct action mission and downtown Baghdad, I've shown a profile of a mission. And we could think about metal of honor that had been awarded where nothing like what then was up against getting knocked out all that time on a job, patched up his own people, and then leading them out. And he says something like, hey, chip, it's you know, hey, chip. It sounds like this was an operation that was so significant that it required a like an on-site special debriefing. We've got to break contact, I yell at the team, continuing down the line, emptying magazine to the NVA fall, like targets in a shooting gallery. The seal teams were like, you know, want to be an operator. And we're going to be going to get my 20th-th-th-thew websites going to be upgraded here to the next month or two. And that's very similar to Iraq you know very similar to Iraq where many much of the time guys be out there they just get blown up by an idea or you can hit by mortifier you can hit by sniper fire. They're like, I don't feel like I'm in a breaking point in any capacity. I was going to be the first time when I got out the first time and went home. We also have EF online, which listen, if you're wondering, hey, how can I, I'd really like to know this, my thing from Joccov. So that's his first tour of duty and it's crazy to think he's saying hey I don't even think I ever saw the enemy during that and he's got his brother wounded. This is like every like, Jocco saying, you may have four or five planes and they fly over everything's all bombs are dropped. But that team right there, that moment in time when the team's doing it went out together, that's all that training that they had prior. And you know, when he, when he finally came back to base, like a dare to let it go, they had to go patch him up. I'm talking like a woman or like the shrink. Those guys were doing a freaking doing God's work up there, especially in a case like this, dropping Nae Palm to save these guys. Like, you know, he knows he didn't do a good job. It's like, this is not going to be a good day. I know this is a lot of material but we want you to know what you're volunteering for. We're going to strip their bodies and we're going to leave them because if we try and look, anybody that hasn't ever carried a freaking, another human being through rough terrain, you have no idea. We've been more casualty and the, and the king be like, like, what lint just described. If you want to hear me talk to you, if you want me to come and talk or present to your team, you don't have to go to, you don't have to Google, jockel speaking. Like a new guy, you're going to stand watch.

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Episode transcript

[00:00:00] This is Jockel Podcast number 247 with echo Charles and me, Jockel Willink. Good evening, echo. Good evening.
[00:00:07] Are you old enough to have a draft card? He says, yes, yes, I'm old enough. I'm 18. We have to have one. Well, do you have one?
[00:00:20] Yeah, I say with a full mouth. Sorry about that. Spitting hash browns across the table. Then you're old enough to enlist and get your duty out of the way.
[00:00:31] You sure you're old enough? You don't look 18. Kind of skinny, too. I don't know if you'd make it through the most basic of training. He rightly smiles.
[00:00:40] I'm 18. You can prove it. You want to see the card? Testily reaching for my wallet, spitting a mouthful of eggs on the table. Hey, don't go sideways on me, boy. This is a friendly conversation. Not a food fight. The sergeant laughs.
[00:00:56] The only thing I want you to hand me is your bill for this meal. My treat.
[00:01:03] You're trying real hard to get me to enlist smiling. I hand him the bill. You are a recruiter. Yes, I'm a recruiter. I'm staff sergeant king. What's your name? Lynn. Lynn Black. Well, Lynn Black.
[00:01:18] If you volunteer, you get your choice of assignments and which country you want to serve in. How does that sound?
[00:01:25] And behind door number two, it's got to sound to hell of a lot better than wondering where you're going to spend the night king cracks a smile.
[00:01:35] My office is right down the street. We eat afterwards. I enlist. And then spend the night at the YMCA paid for by the US Army. The next morning, I'm on a Boeing 707 headed for a medical examination.
[00:01:54] And basic training at Fort Ord, California.
[00:01:58] During basic, I'm selected for the advanced leadership school at Fort Knox, Kentucky before going on to the armor school.
[00:02:07] Fort Knox, that's the place they keep all the gold.
[00:02:11] Staff Sergeant King has signed me for three years active duty in the 13th armored career group Europe, Germany, where I'll have access to all the great European art museums and the artwork of the old masters.
[00:02:26] The Army is going to pay me to tour Europe. What a deal.
[00:02:31] My driving passion and greatest ambition has always been to spend my life as a fine art painter. I've been working at the local Seattle Television Station,
[00:02:43] Art Department all the way through high school. The art director Robert C. Dinsmore is a decorated World War II veteran who has encouraged me to get my military duty out of the way.
[00:02:54] The World in 1963 is a peaceful place. Leave it to beaver and I love Lucy, our on television.
[00:03:06] So you might have caught that name. Lynn Black, and it might sound familiar to you if it does. It's probably because you heard it here from John Stryker, Meyer, A.K.A. Tilt on podcast 180, 1801 or 1802,
[00:03:22] or maybe you heard it from Doug the Frenchman, L'Eternot on podcast 186.
[00:03:30] Like John Stryker, Meyer, and like Doug L'Eternot Lynn Black was an Army soldier, a green beret,
[00:03:38] and he fought Vietnam as a member of SAUG, the studies and observation group, a highly classified group that conducted missions in Vietnam, Cambodia, and L'AVS.
[00:03:52] They suffered over 100% casualties, meaning if you are a SAUG operator, you were going to get wounded or killed.
[00:04:06] That is how these men served and sacrificed.
[00:04:12] And before you listen to this podcast, if you haven't listened to 1801, 1802, 1806, and additionally 204, 205, and 206 with Dick Thompson, go listen to them.
[00:04:28] And you'll see that the men of SAUG are true heroes, heroes that conducted completely insane missions,
[00:04:39] missions that very few people ever knew about.
[00:04:44] And Lynn Black, codenamed Blackjack, wrote a book about his experiences.
[00:04:52] And I just read from that book, the book is called Whiskey Tango Fox Trot, WTF, which we are going to dig into today.
[00:05:04] Now, unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, Lynn could not make an appearance on the podcast today,
[00:05:12] but we were able to bring back tilt.
[00:05:16] And this is a striker, one of my heroes who served with Lynn on many operations to talk us through the book and provide some details that only someone who was there would know and understand.
[00:05:32] With that, tilt, thanks for coming back on.
[00:05:34] Good evening, sir. Good to be back.
[00:05:36] Awesome to have you here.
[00:05:38] Indeed.
[00:05:40] You actually sent me this book. Do you remember sending me this book?
[00:05:43] Absolutely.
[00:05:44] Because it's we did a Frenchman.
[00:05:46] And I said, Lynn's book was out.
[00:05:49] And Lynn Maurice Black Jr's, just a man that always held in the highest esteem ever since the first time we ran in,
[00:05:57] each of that would be one at FUBA 1968, just a character.
[00:06:02] Yeah. Well, and it's, I'm hoping that at some point we have the opportunity to get them on here.
[00:06:07] We'll see how that plays out.
[00:06:09] But hopefully this will provide some encouragement, you know, just to do this section of the book and man, it's just like every single time I start reviewing what you guys did in Vietnam.
[00:06:26] I just, I cannot believe what you guys did.
[00:06:29] I can't believe the level of heroism and courage that you guys had on all these operations.
[00:06:37] They're crazy. They're freaking crazy operations.
[00:06:40] I told you last time I said, hey, if I wasn't charged, I wouldn't have improved any of those operations.
[00:06:46] Right.
[00:06:47] I remember that.
[00:06:48] Yeah, unbelievable.
[00:06:49] And, and believe me, I have proved some pretty pretty sketchy operations in my time.
[00:06:55] But you guys took it to a whole new level and the success that you guys had on the battlefield was awesome.
[00:07:01] And yeah, every time I read through these books, it just blows my mind.
[00:07:07] And it's an honor to have you on and to pay some kind of tribute to what you guys did.
[00:07:14] And to have, you know, what you guys did was, you know, that's my heritage.
[00:07:20] Even the arm in the Navy, you're in the army.
[00:07:22] I mean, just the special operations.
[00:07:24] What you guys did over there was just laid the groundwork and set the bar so high for the rest of us forever.
[00:07:30] Oh, well, thank you.
[00:07:33] And, you know, and I'm glad you're reading WTF because Lynch is one of those characters.
[00:07:38] I mean, of all the stories for Saag for eight years.
[00:07:42] If you put down some of the most harrowing stories, the top five for eight years,
[00:07:46] Lynn's got to be right in your top.
[00:07:48] If not the top one.
[00:07:50] That's why I'm never going to dig into it a little bit today.
[00:07:53] Just to pay homage to the man that I've respected from day one.
[00:07:56] And you guys did, and I don't think we're going to go into this part today.
[00:07:59] But you got, but when we covered across the fence and on the ground, you, you and Lynn work together for how long,
[00:08:06] how long were you guys actually working together?
[00:08:08] Oh, he ran if he came on our team for a few matches as a strap hanger.
[00:08:13] Right.
[00:08:14] And then we went down to CCN and in January, 69, then he came on a team.
[00:08:19] Published for a left, Lynn came on and then our little people loved and put a new from October.
[00:08:26] And so when I left, I just turned a team over to him.
[00:08:30] I just knew the team was in good hands.
[00:08:32] I never worried about it.
[00:08:33] I came back.
[00:08:34] Lynn was the one zero.
[00:08:35] I was his one one for a while.
[00:08:37] And then we took turns and then they finally just said,
[00:08:40] Hey, you got too much experience here at Black and a young and put them in some special projects that he went off and did.
[00:08:47] And I took over right home and back to find a simple recon.
[00:08:50] Where Lynn was doing some classified stuff.
[00:08:54] All right.
[00:08:56] Well, let's get a little bit.
[00:08:57] Let's learn a little bit about Lynn Black and where he came from.
[00:09:01] I'm going to go to the book here.
[00:09:03] And it says this in the category of common things that go unnoticed in the world.
[00:09:07] While Ho Chi Minh was working for the OSS saving allied lives.
[00:09:13] Lynn Maurice Black Jr.
[00:09:15] Was born to Lynn Senior and Violet Black of Albany Oregon.
[00:09:21] Lynn Jr.
[00:09:22] That's me.
[00:09:23] This is where I come into the picture.
[00:09:25] I was immediately given the name Bosco when my mother found that by mixing a bit of the chocolate drink into my baby milk, I dosed right off.
[00:09:36] In Burl.
[00:09:37] What does Bosco?
[00:09:38] What is it of some kind of old school chocolate drink?
[00:09:40] Yeah, your son's first.
[00:09:41] Like her she's chocolate.
[00:09:42] Okay.
[00:09:43] I never had Bosco.
[00:09:44] I don't know how that missed me because I'm a chocolate milk kind of fiend.
[00:09:48] He goes on here in Berlin, Germany on the date and hour of my birth at 10 a.m.
[00:09:52] On April 22nd, 8-Alphate,
[00:09:55] or declared to his general staff that Germany had lost the war and that he would commit suicide.
[00:10:01] In 19 and here's the caveat or here's the warning.
[00:10:04] I'm skipping through this book.
[00:10:06] I'm not going to read the whole thing.
[00:10:07] So if it seems a little bit chopped up, that's why you got to get the book.
[00:10:10] He fast forward here.
[00:10:12] In 1946, my mother was pregnant with my brother Hugh.
[00:10:15] We lived in Salem, Oregon, where my father worked for the post-war state employment office.
[00:10:21] The war machine was winding down and unemployment was high.
[00:10:24] I was one year old.
[00:10:26] April 1947, on my second birthday,
[00:10:29] we moved to the corner of 123 bomb and 456 detonator,
[00:10:34] ordinance Oregon, which was a Munitions Depot town for World War Two.
[00:10:40] War supplies.
[00:10:41] My father managed the payroll office for the depot.
[00:10:44] That's just pretty much the coolest place.
[00:10:46] The coolest address.
[00:10:47] That's great.
[00:10:48] That's perfect for Lynn.
[00:10:52] Oh yeah.
[00:10:53] Yeah.
[00:10:53] No doubt about it.
[00:10:55] Blowin' things up.
[00:10:56] Oh yeah.
[00:10:57] In 1950, I was five when the Korean War broke out.
[00:11:03] We had moved down the road to Hermiston, Oregon,
[00:11:07] and our father had taken a job with the guy F.
[00:11:10] Ackinson construction company as the head of their payroll office.
[00:11:13] Our mother had purchased a small roadhouse diner.
[00:11:17] After that, my brothers Hugh, Bruce, and I were on her own.
[00:11:25] I was the little man, Bosco, the babysitter.
[00:11:28] And that same year, the Soviet Union recognized Ho Chi Minh's government.
[00:11:33] Even though Vietnam was recognized internationally as part of French in No China,
[00:11:38] Joseph Stalin convinced Ho that the Soviet Union would bankroll his fight against the French
[00:11:44] if he agreed to allow Chinese advisors to train 60 to 70,000 Vietnam.
[00:11:51] Ho bid his lip and agreed to China support,
[00:11:54] which enabled him to escalate his fight against France.
[00:11:59] In 1953, the Korean War ended.
[00:12:01] I was eight years old.
[00:12:03] In the third grade, and in love with the red, headed freckle face girl next door.
[00:12:09] On March 13, 1954, with the monetary backing of the Soviets and Chinese advisors,
[00:12:20] the Vietnam engaged the French at Denbyn view.
[00:12:25] On March 23, the Vietnam captured the main airstrap resulting in partial isolation of French arm units,
[00:12:32] and the local man was closed in on the air preventing air drops of supplies, evacuation of the wounded, or close combat air support
[00:12:39] as the French ran ever lower on supplies and casualties mounted the Vietnam to control of the countryside.
[00:12:46] When the French could no longer patrol, they were forced into purely defensive positions,
[00:12:51] which were sheld with big guns several times a day.
[00:12:54] On April 7, 1954, Dwight De Eisenhower gave his domino theory speech during a news conference declaring,
[00:13:01] finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the falling domino principle.
[00:13:09] You have a row of domino set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.
[00:13:20] So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.
[00:13:27] Nine days later, Vice President Richard Nixon announced that the United States may be putting our own boys in Indo-China regardless of allied support.
[00:13:40] It's always important to me to roll through kind of the way these things unfold and pay attention to them.
[00:13:49] History. Yeah, and we're living it right now, and I was talking to a friend of mine the other day.
[00:13:58] And it seems like maybe we're not always part of history, maybe the 90s, right?
[00:14:04] What was going on the night?
[00:14:05] The Berlin Wall came down, so that was kind of historical, but then it was down.
[00:14:09] And there was kind of some time where you feel like, how much are we really a part of history that people will be reading about?
[00:14:15] And then things happen like what's going on right now and 9-11, and the wars and Iraq and Afghanistan, and you start realizing, no, no, we're unfortunately going to play.
[00:14:25] We're going to have our own history as well.
[00:14:28] And when you read things like this, it makes a connection for me that you better remember that what's happening, this could always escalate.
[00:14:37] Things could always go in a direction that you didn't anticipate.
[00:14:40] Little USA can lead to mighty big trouble later down the road. Crazy. Oh yeah.
[00:14:47] On May 7th, the epic battle of Denby, Denby and through, ended in a French defeat.
[00:14:54] The Vietnamese shot the wounded and marched the ambulatory French to the coast where they were loaded on ships and sent packing back to France.
[00:15:03] The French government did not want their citizens to know the defeat and refused to allow their brave soldiers to disembark from the ships.
[00:15:12] Many brave French soldiers citizens died in the holes of those ships.
[00:15:19] Gmbn few was the first time a non-European colonial independence movement had evolved through all the stages from guerilla bands to a conventionally organized in equipped army able to defeat a modern Western occupier in pitched battle.
[00:15:40] On April 22nd, 1957, I turned 12, and announced I was no longer to be called Bosco.
[00:15:48] My name is Lynn, and I wanted to be called by my real name. Besides, kids my age were teasing the hell out of me.
[00:15:55] We found out my real name. Things got worse. Lynn, what a scissor name.
[00:16:01] This began a boy named Sue Aero that never ended. Never.
[00:16:06] So he thought I was, look, everyone's making fun of my nickname Bosco.
[00:16:10] That's mean. I'm just going to go with my real name. Lynn.
[00:16:13] Yeah. In June of 1963, I graduated from Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Washington. I was sleeping late on Saturday morning when wake up orders my father shaking my shoulder.
[00:16:29] I'm awake. Barely, what's going on? Are you going back to work at the television station, Mom asks?
[00:16:36] Not today at Saturday. I give them my best 18-year-old smart ass smile. I quit the station six months before graduation to pay attention to a sagging grade average.
[00:16:46] I think I'm going to take the summer and just goof off.
[00:16:51] Do you plan on using either your scholarships? My father needles me? Knowing I have no intention of going to college.
[00:16:57] I went to college, he chides. Maybe art school, but no college. It would be a waste of my time and everybody's money.
[00:17:05] I thought we already had this conversation. I reply, yawning. Don't be a smart ass.
[00:17:11] Promise, Mom. Do you have enough money saved up to pay rent, purchase your own food and transportation?
[00:17:18] I thought I'd live here during the summer and go back to work in the fall. Then I'll get to play some out. How about that?
[00:17:24] If you live here, you'll pay rent. Not the kind of rent you pay now, but the kind of rent as if you had your own place.
[00:17:31] You'll be out of money pretty fast. You'll need a job. Understand? You heard what your mother said, father insists.
[00:17:38] I don't have the savings to pay that kind of rent. I groggly complain. I would really like to take a break after graduation.
[00:17:46] I take it what you really want is to get me out of the house.
[00:17:49] Growing up, both my parents had worked and I was responsible starting at the age of five for taking care of my two brothers.
[00:17:55] The little man they called me better than my other name Bosco. I've been working and saved my money since I was 15.
[00:18:02] All I want to do is take the summer off, go back to work and then get an apartment. Can't this one wait the summer?
[00:18:09] Sounds to me like we aren't looking at the same road map. Mom says firmly.
[00:18:15] Both your brothers are old enough to take care of themselves and your father is retired and at home.
[00:18:20] This evening is your last free meal here. Understand?
[00:18:26] Yep, sure do.
[00:18:29] Start naked. I jump out of bed and bow the head for the shower. Boy, this pisses me off. Why the hell can't they wait until the fall?
[00:18:35] When I come out they're gone. I dress, walk a mile to the bus stop and head forward this Seattle Pike Place Market to get something to eat and wander around the open air art galleries.
[00:18:45] What am I going to do?
[00:18:49] At that point, this is when he goes and he actually meets that recruiter. That's why that recruiter can tell that he's got nowhere to go.
[00:18:57] He starts his journey.
[00:19:02] So I can King get some in.
[00:19:03] The Sergeant King, man.
[00:19:05] The Scored at the diner.
[00:19:06] He made that bill and made his quota.
[00:19:08] Yeah.
[00:19:11] He goes continues on here while at Armour School and Airborne recruiter dangles the possibility of an extra 55 years.
[00:19:18] And a $55 a month in addition to my meager monthly $79 base pay.
[00:19:23] If I am only mad enough to make three parachute jumps.
[00:19:28] Sounds easy as falling out of an airplane.
[00:19:31] I volunteer a second time. This volunteering thing is getting to be a habit.
[00:19:35] 134 monthly for a PFC close along with three huts in a cot.
[00:19:39] That's crazy that you guys got that much money for going to Airborne School.
[00:19:44] Yeah. It's might not seem like a big deal except for that.
[00:19:48] I think I got 110 in like 1990.
[00:19:53] Where my base pay was probably a thousand bucks.
[00:19:56] You know what I'm saying?
[00:19:57] So it was like one tenth of my base pay where you guys were getting almost double your base pay.
[00:20:02] Oh yeah. My case I was getting $50 a week because I'm not sure we're linked at that inflated salary.
[00:20:07] Because I was getting 50 in the jump school was $55.
[00:20:10] Like 100% plus. Oh man.
[00:20:15] So he goes to jump school for Benning, Georgia.
[00:20:18] Yeah.
[00:20:18] Which is what I was lucky enough to go.
[00:20:20] They don't send Navy guys there anymore.
[00:20:22] Where they send them?
[00:20:23] They go to UMA.
[00:20:24] Yeah. They go somewhere else.
[00:20:26] Yeah. UMA are actually my be here in San Diego.
[00:20:28] But you basically go and learn it's more of a gentleman's course.
[00:20:32] Yeah.
[00:20:32] And it's faster.
[00:20:34] And you go.
[00:20:35] You get more experience really quick.
[00:20:37] Yeah.
[00:20:37] Because Jeffy Whiskey can be consolidated.
[00:20:39] Oh, you think.
[00:20:41] But I had a great time at Airports School.
[00:20:43] There was awesome.
[00:20:47] And then he goes to a heavy drop school.
[00:20:50] Learning.
[00:20:51] I guess how to get everything rigged up to throw out of the back of airplanes.
[00:20:55] Oh yeah.
[00:20:56] And then he says this after several weeks of rigour training.
[00:20:58] I received orders for Delta Company.
[00:21:00] 16th armor.
[00:21:02] 173rd airborne brigade in Okinawa.
[00:21:06] Hey, Okinawa is not a city in Germany.
[00:21:10] This is not what I signed up for.
[00:21:11] For an extra 55 bucks a month.
[00:21:13] I've blown away a European tour in art education.
[00:21:16] But I can rig heavy supply loads and vehicles for such snatchouts at high level drops.
[00:21:21] Now there's something I can use in the civilian life.
[00:21:24] Black you dumbass.
[00:21:27] The 173rd had had been activated in June 1963.
[00:21:32] The same month I graduated from Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.
[00:21:36] The 173rd has assumed the assets of the second airborne battle group.
[00:21:41] Then station on Okinawa.
[00:21:43] Just south of Japan.
[00:21:44] But 173rd, the 173rd mission is to quickly close with and destroy the enemy forces using fire, maneuver,
[00:21:51] and shock action in coordination with other armed forces.
[00:21:56] It was because of its many parachute exercises on Taiwan.
[00:22:00] That the members of the 173rd earned the respect and admiration of the nationalist Chinese soldiers.
[00:22:07] So impressed with the pair of troopers of the 173rd, where the Chinese that they nicknamed the men of the brigade, Tim Bing, or Sky soldiers.
[00:22:16] The name stuck.
[00:22:18] The Pentagon's public expectation of us is that we can be deployed within 24 hours to any hot spot in a Pacific theater.
[00:22:25] Engaged with and deter an enemy for 72 hours, this delaying suicidal action would allow time to deploy real forces, such as the Marines.
[00:22:36] Thank God there aren't any hot spots to be deployed to.
[00:22:40] Thank God this is the peace time army and having no enemy.
[00:22:45] Tonight let's go to theville and get drunk.
[00:22:48] We'll watch the strip shows.
[00:22:50] Life's good on the rock.
[00:22:52] That's what the jar heads call Okinawa and I'm fast forward and through some other stuff, but he's there.
[00:22:58] You know he's there. He's kind of doing the peace time.
[00:23:00] Army thing.
[00:23:02] Living the dream.
[00:23:05] March 14th, 1965 is the 19th birthday of Hugh Robert Black, one of my younger brothers.
[00:23:12] That morning he arrives on Okinawa with the future third-platoon leader, first lieutenant Richard H. Goldsmith.
[00:23:19] PFC Hugh is assigned to the 173rd engineering company. I'm happy to see him.
[00:23:24] All the way through school I admired Hugh's scholastic capability and him admittedly
[00:23:30] Envious of his high grade point average and seemingly easy learning style.
[00:23:35] Both of us have enlisted voluntarily to do our duty and then return to pursue life.
[00:23:44] Why the hell didn't I just go to art school?
[00:23:47] Because you're doing your duty, dimwit, shut up, put your head down and just get it done.
[00:23:52] Stop talking to yourself.
[00:23:53] Well, thank you for the long here permanently.
[00:23:55] The ways written as book, he's got all kinds of these italicized sections where he's kind of just given his own thoughts.
[00:24:00] Oh yeah.
[00:24:01] And they're they're awesome to read.
[00:24:04] The rich mind of Lindblig.
[00:24:09] Yeah.
[00:24:10] It's just funny in the mirror.
[00:24:11] What you talk to him about like that stuff there, particular.
[00:24:14] His self-examination.
[00:24:16] And his commentary is just like, yeah.
[00:24:19] And I'm not going to get too much into it.
[00:24:22] But the way this book is written, a lot of it is written.
[00:24:25] And I'll try and explain a lot of his written as conversations that are debriefs.
[00:24:31] Either debriefs official debriefs or unofficial debriefs that you guys have in your team room with beers and plan dice.
[00:24:41] And in between stream of consciousness.
[00:24:43] Right. He gets a hot street going. He can just hear the keys going.
[00:24:47] He'll take a break for a beer.
[00:24:49] He comes back.
[00:24:50] Yeah. The atmosphere that he gives out of the team room of you guys is pretty awesome.
[00:24:55] And you guys plan, plan, freaking liars dice all the time.
[00:24:59] And the little, those little debrief sessions though.
[00:25:04] He mentions it. That's how you were learning.
[00:25:08] Oh yeah.
[00:25:09] That's where you were figuring out what to do and what mistakes this group made and what these guys did right and what they did wrong.
[00:25:15] And those those those sessions where you're giving each other a bunch of shit,
[00:25:20] but you're also passing valuable information on.
[00:25:24] Oh absolutely. Particularly in our early time at FB1.
[00:25:27] That's where we learned was from the senior NCOs and any other team member that had been on a ground.
[00:25:33] We faithfully made a point of talking to them.
[00:25:35] Some wouldn't, some couldn't, too much trauma.
[00:25:39] But the ones who would talk and I mean, Pat Walk and Spiderman parks,
[00:25:44] John McGarber near all men that we just admired.
[00:25:47] And they took time to talk to us who we could ask some questions.
[00:25:50] And then we got the flying cubby. We hear about the mission moment wrong.
[00:25:54] Always trying to improve the tactics to see what we could do and improve when we get in the field.
[00:26:02] When you did you say when you got to flying cubby?
[00:26:05] Well, Spiderman parks became cubby.
[00:26:07] Right. Pat Walk can say after time on a ground.
[00:26:10] Got it. They were our best cubby riders. Got it.
[00:26:12] And so at the end of 68, particularly with the October 5th mission,
[00:26:16] they were both alternating on station.
[00:26:18] That day it was so historic.
[00:26:20] Part of that historic moment in time.
[00:26:23] That mission here.
[00:26:24] And so before that, like Dorians of Timber and August,
[00:26:28] Pat had run several missions out of FB3 in the layoffs.
[00:26:32] And then we'd talk. You always learned stuff.
[00:26:35] We just sat there and just tried to sponge it in and bring it in.
[00:26:38] Yeah, and we'll get to some of Lines Vietnam experience prior to being in
[00:26:44] Sog and prior to being in special forces.
[00:26:46] But for someone like you and we talked about this in across the fence.
[00:26:50] I mean, it is crazy that you were, how old were you on your first mission?
[00:26:57] Twenty two.
[00:26:58] Yeah.
[00:26:59] Well, I was old by some students.
[00:27:02] I spent two years in college trying to fuck out there.
[00:27:05] But by August of 68, that's when they finally after that attack at FB4,
[00:27:12] they came up with the idea of putting together a one zero school.
[00:27:17] So they were trained.
[00:27:19] But there was nothing in place. So when we got the food by May and June,
[00:27:23] and you just talked to the man who would talk to you.
[00:27:27] Anybody had any experience at all?
[00:27:29] Like John Walton came back from two of three really bad targets.
[00:27:32] We talked to him.
[00:27:33] We were both, well, he was a high-powered E4.
[00:27:35] I was just a low private.
[00:27:38] But anybody who would talk, we talked.
[00:27:40] That's where you're right.
[00:27:41] That clubhouse was better than anything we could get.
[00:27:45] In terms of really learning what was going on on the ground,
[00:27:48] the air assets, weather, and the reality of the Kingbees
[00:27:53] would be worked with at the time.
[00:27:55] It's one thing that's talking about training.
[00:27:57] It'll come to come pick you up.
[00:27:58] Well, he got his other conditions there.
[00:28:02] Man.
[00:28:04] You know what that goes.
[00:28:06] Yeah.
[00:28:06] Crazy.
[00:28:08] So now we get to 1965.
[00:28:12] And Lynn says somewhere in the middle of April 1965,
[00:28:18] cryptic rumors begin to spread rampantly from company around the brigade.
[00:28:22] HQ directs all training to cease and practice mountouts be conducted,
[00:28:28] which is then basically gearing up to go.
[00:28:30] Oh yeah.
[00:28:31] Surely the company receives its basic load of live ammunition
[00:28:35] and begins to prepare all vehicles for a combat check.
[00:28:39] Man, these rounds are heavy and plans one of the new loaders.
[00:28:44] April 22nd 1965, he nails these dates in here.
[00:28:49] It's like, I would make me wish I would have kept the journal, which I never did.
[00:28:53] April 22nd 1965, I celebrate my 20th birthday.
[00:28:59] May 2nd, rumors begin to fly as words spread that key personnel
[00:29:03] have received advanced party orders to an unknown destination.
[00:29:08] May 3rd, company commander Joseph C. Jordan Jr.
[00:29:14] at last announces the destination.
[00:29:17] And he says, I have just come from general Williamson's morning briefing.
[00:29:21] What I'm about to tell you is a chronology of events leading to a temporary offshore assignment.
[00:29:27] On April 24th, the general received a top secret message from general West
[00:29:31] Morlin to meet him in Saigon, Saigon, South Vietnam, at McVee headquarters.
[00:29:36] It seems there's a guerrilla war being waged in that Southeast Asian country.
[00:29:41] The 173rd is to be a part of what is called rolling thunder being conducted by the US Air Force out of bases in that country.
[00:29:49] What we heard this morning is that the Army of the Republic of Vietnam,
[00:29:53] known as the Arvins, are having difficulty providing adequate security for the air bases and supporting rolling thunder raids.
[00:30:00] The Arvins are also having difficulty performing offensive operations against the U.S.
[00:30:05] operations against the guerrillas known as the Kong or VC.
[00:30:09] General Williamson also revealed that several US divisions are scheduled to arrive in South Vietnam within months.
[00:30:16] The 173rd's mission is to clear the incoming units proposed base campsites of the VC.
[00:30:23] Our deployment will be a temporary one, probably not lasting more than 60 days.
[00:30:28] The advanced party will leave for Ben Hoa, Republic of South Vietnam, the 173rd's to conduct a security action.
[00:30:36] The CO announces that he thinks we'll be back on Oki, for sure, by Christmas.
[00:30:42] Our first mission is to secure patrol and neutralize any threat to Ben Hoa Air Base,
[00:30:50] which is our base camp area.
[00:30:53] You all now know about as much about this assignment as I do.
[00:30:57] So there you go. These guys go from not even knowing that there was anything going on in Vietnam.
[00:31:02] They get how different that is now, you know, because when there's some kind of action taking place in the world,
[00:31:08] everybody knows about it instantly.
[00:31:10] You know about it instantly, because you look at your phone and there's the news.
[00:31:14] And whether it's Iraq, Afghanistan, or Somalia, or wherever, everybody knows when there's something happening in the world.
[00:31:21] And here these guys, they're not, they have any idea what's happening in Vietnam.
[00:31:26] And they're on the rocks. They're not getting in New York Times or any other newspaper that,
[00:31:31] but at that time, had carried stories for a few years.
[00:31:34] It pissed off pressing the Kennedy, pissed off LBJ, but so they missed that.
[00:31:40] So here's Lynn, like, oh, you're going to go to Ben Hoa.
[00:31:44] Maybe it'll only be at 60 days, not.
[00:31:47] He goes into this thing about how they had to die there under where green.
[00:31:54] Yeah. On May 4th, the company receives word, we are to delete nine spats from our inventory and replace them with the M113 Armored Personnel Carriers or APC.
[00:32:08] So this is 1965.
[00:32:11] Yeah.
[00:32:12] And you know what we use for a cast of AC vehicles in the Battle of Vermont in 2006.
[00:32:17] M113. M113.
[00:32:19] Which almost any bullet could still penetrate.
[00:32:22] Yeah. My commanding officer of one time, you know, he's, he was talking me through an operation that the guys were going out on.
[00:32:29] And he said, what's the cast of AC plan?
[00:32:31] I said, hey, the cast of AC plan is this. We're contact this company. They have one, one, three.
[00:32:35] They'll come out. And he says, what if, what if that, one, one, three, hit to subsurface ID.
[00:32:42] So at the time, subsurface ID had it.
[00:32:46] Everybody knew what that wasn't what it was. Was somebody, the enemy would bury the, the explosives, you know, underneath the ground and you couldn't see them.
[00:32:54] So it wasn't like something sitting on the side of the road. It was under the ground and they would make them big.
[00:32:59] And he says, what, what'll happen if that one, one, three hits a, hits a subsurface ID.
[00:33:06] And I said, surf, the one, one, three hits a subsurface ID.
[00:33:10] Everyone in that one, one, three is going to be dead. And that was the facts.
[00:33:14] It's going to be their cast.
[00:33:16] The really weird thing is, most, at that time, including the one, one, three, the Abrams, all these older vehicles,
[00:33:25] the, when you build those vehicles, you build them as low as the to the ground as you can. It's the lowest possible profile.
[00:33:31] So that you can't be seen. It's like ducking, right? You build the even a home, these built like that, right?
[00:33:36] A home, these wide, but it's low.
[00:33:38] Sure. And an, and an Abrams is, is wide, but it's low. And a one, one, three is low to the ground.
[00:33:43] They're how much clearance. Because, you know, you don't want to get shot at by another tank. So you can hide behind, you know, little ridge line or a little nole or something like that.
[00:33:52] The problem is that's the worst possible vehicle to have when it comes to getting blown up from the ground.
[00:33:58] And so now, when you see the, the mind resistant vehicles now, they're massive, they're tall. You've got to get a lot, you get into them with a ladder.
[00:34:05] You literally, there's a ladder. There's like, four or five runs on a ladder to get up into them because they're built really high.
[00:34:12] You exit with a parachute. Yeah. They have a V-shaped hole that deflects the blast as well. And a one, one, three has a complete flat bottom.
[00:34:22] It's super low to the ground, but they were just, they weren't, this was not the problem that they were coming up against at that time.
[00:34:30] Yeah. May 5th, the company begins feverishly working to prepare our vehicles for shipment the following day. May 6th, we arrived to Okinawa to the Okinawa port of Nathah, where the vehicles are loaded under the direction of Lieutenant Gilmore, the embarkation officer.
[00:34:52] And again, I'm just chomped them through this stuff. You got, it's so great to read this. You got to get this book because the details that it gives, I don't know how he's got a way better memory than me, right?
[00:35:03] Dates or lockdown names it for everyone. I mean, who remembers the name of the damn embarkation officer? He must have written that down.
[00:35:11] But it's great, it makes you feel like you're there. You're right there. Perfect. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the first US Army unit sent to Vietnam.
[00:35:23] Can you imagine? So talking about history. Oh yeah. May 12th, the 12th, 16 hours company D, 16th armor arrives in Saigon Harbor, the Paris of Southeast Asia.
[00:35:37] Company D's first combat assignment comes in the form of ambush patrols, where order to attach 12 in this personnel each day to the first the 503rd for a three day period.
[00:35:48] So much for riding on tracks. So they got all these vehicles, but now they're going out on patrols.
[00:35:54] Needs of the army. Do they say needs of the army? No. Okay, in the Navy, that's like a kind of a joke. Someone will say, well, what do you think your job's gonna be? It's like, well, needs of the Navy.
[00:36:03] Whatever the Navy needs you to do, you're gonna do. And even though they might not say that in the army, that's the way it is.
[00:36:10] Because we don't care if you've been training on these tracks to fight from armor, you're gonna go out. You're gonna be on foot patrol.
[00:36:17] May 18th, our vehicles arrive and the company turns to the task of prepping them.
[00:36:22] Thank God now. Now maybe we can start doing stop doing patrols with the grunts. I'm an armor guy, not a ground pounder.
[00:36:29] One track crew member of complaints, and here's Linda's thoughts. I disagree with that. No one in the right mind wants to be walking this miserable place when you can be riding.
[00:36:37] Oh, sorry. I agree with that. No one in the right mind wants to be walking this miserable place when you can be riding.
[00:36:43] Who the hell wants to sleep on the stinking wet ground with bugs, snakes, and god knows what else? God damn it. I'm supposed to be in Europe.
[00:36:50] Who's the power of Saudi Arabia?
[00:36:55] May 19th, the first platoon is attached to the 333, 319th artillery for security mission.
[00:37:02] The remainder of the month is spent training and seemingly endless improvement of the defensive perimeter.
[00:37:08] Here's, here's Lynn's thoughts. Dig endless trenches, trenches, fill sandbags, build bunkers, string concertino wire, put up tents, wind and rain, flood the trenches, and bunkers and flat in the tents.
[00:37:21] Again, go out and patrol with ground pounders, pull KP, stand guard duty. How in the hell can any of these lifers do this for a living?
[00:37:29] I'm so tired of pots and pans, duty, I could kill somebody. There's a thought.
[00:37:34] So that's how they psychologically prepare us. Potts and pans.
[00:37:40] On the last day of May, General Williamson initiated a four-day operation.
[00:37:44] Three objectives were hit by our sky soldiers. Casualties were few against light resistance. The war guys experienced no heavy fighting.
[00:37:52] The operation, the first U.S. offensive action in Viet South Vietnam greatly contributed to the confidence of the 173rd airborne brigade.
[00:38:04] The first operation of July is searching destroy in conjunction with elements of the first battalion, 513th infantry.
[00:38:12] July 16th the company in conjunction with elements the first the 513th and the engineering company conducted search and destroy operation.
[00:38:21] During that operation, my younger brother Hugh is critically wounded by an unseen enemy during a mortar attack.
[00:38:29] And several of his friends are killed. He's met a back out of the AO and back to Cones.
[00:38:35] So, you know, I kind of drifted through that part where his brother showed up on Ocanawa. Well, his brother, they're both at the same unit.
[00:38:43] They end up deploying to Vietnam, the first Americans in Vietnam, and his brother ends up getting wounded by a mortar pretty bad.
[00:38:50] And here's Lynn's thoughts on that. You fuckers, not my brother, not my brother show yourselves you cowards. Got gamut.
[00:38:58] Here we are driving up and down the roads while those bastards are hiding in the bushes.
[00:39:02] They can see us, but we can't see them. Where the hell are they? Somebody has to know where they are. I'm sorry Hugh. I hope you can forgive me. I should have been there with you. I'll find them. They'll pay. I promise.
[00:39:15] Welcome to the jungle, baby.
[00:39:18] That's one of the things that, you know, when I was in Ramadi, I'd always read the book about face, you know, by David Hackworth and one of the things that was so similar was what just happened right there. This is the beginning of the war.
[00:39:42] And you're fighting against an enemy that you can't see, right? And it's so frustrating, especially for the conventional troops that are out there and, and you know, I was talking about this today with a client.
[00:39:54] The, the mentality and what it does to your mentality of being on offense versus being on defense.
[00:40:03] And when you got on to a, when they, when you know when, when the mission is go out and walk down this road, you might think you're being on offense, but if you think about it a little bit deeper, you're on defense, because you're walking down that road, and they can have booby traps and IEDs and snipers and mortgurs, they can have all that stuff and you are on defense, even though you're moving, you're on defense.
[00:40:24] And that was definitely how I felt on my first deployment, same thing I would ask like young junior officers, I'd say, is this an offensive operation, I talk about a direct action mission and downtown Baghdad, I've shown a profile of a mission.
[00:40:38] And I'd say, is this an offensive operation, they go absolutely, and I go, how long are you on offense for?
[00:40:44] Because the whole mission takes an hour and a half to hours, right? So you drive from Baghdad to some other part of Baghdad, it takes you half an hour to get there.
[00:40:55] And then you hit the target, it takes 15 minutes, and then you drive back to another half an hour. So you were out for an hour and 15 minutes, I would say, how much time were you on offense for?
[00:41:04] And then they'd start thinking about it, sometimes they'd say the whole time we're always on offense.
[00:41:09] And I'd say, well, that sounds good, but it's not true. It's not true. When you're out on patrol, when you're moving through enemy territory, you are on defense.
[00:41:19] You're a target. You're a target. Now, once you get to that target, and you set up, believe me, we go on offense for a good solid three or four minutes.
[00:41:27] But then even once we hit the target, now all the bad guys know where they're. And now we're on defense again.
[00:41:33] So that what that does to your mentality is it can be hard on people. It can be hard to be constantly paranoid and constantly on defense.
[00:41:42] And it's the same thing in life, right? You know, somebody was asking me, what are you doing? What do you do when you've got all these things are happening in the markets changing?
[00:41:50] And I said, look, you can either be on defense, try just keep it together, which doesn't feel good, or you can look at the problem and go on offense and attack the problem.
[00:41:58] And that's exactly the mentality that Lins haven't right here. He wants to go on the attack. Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
[00:42:05] Hmm.
[00:42:09] Continuing on the 173rd along with other American units and Vietnamese troops, work together to break the siege of special forces at camp, do, do, co.
[00:42:20] My saying that right, do, co, do, co. Captain Jordan, the Delta Company commander leads his company on foot patrols to an exploit to exploit a suspected VC stronghold, as well as other armored patrols and security details.
[00:42:37] Sir, Captain Jordan, let me go go with you on the patrols. No black. You aren't in any shape to be going with us. I need soldiers not to revenge squad.
[00:42:47] Yeah. So blacks get in left behind and he wants to go get after it. And his boss is saying, you just need to, you need to slow your roll black.
[00:42:57] August 6th company D, fairies the Royal Australian Regiment infantry to their area of operations. August 17th, the second and third platoons along with command track, lead for extended operation.
[00:43:09] September 9th, 1965, Captain Joseph C. Jordan, the Lankuces is command for a staff position with a great brigade HQ, Captain John E. Dunlop, junior formally HQ company commander is recipient of the guide on.
[00:43:28] On patrol, platoon sergeant Herman Trent, spec five, career PFCs, Henry S. Baker and Robert L. Adams are all wounded when they come under heavy mortar fire by the still unseen enemy.
[00:43:47] The spec four Craig is credited with saving two lives and later receives the soldier's metal combination October 8th, 1965 company D departs are Ben Howa base for the iron triangle on a search and destroy operation.
[00:44:06] The far down the road around the first Ben to command detonated mine is set off by the VC completely destroying the APC killing the driver PFC, Michael Broncato and severely wounding staff sergeant St. Claire, Westernman and Samson Moore.
[00:44:24] Son of bitches blew us up Westernman later slurs through his wired jaws he's trying to explain to me what happened blew the goddamn track off the PC and flipped it upside down killed Broncato.
[00:44:36] Good kid.
[00:44:38] God damn it.
[00:44:40] On an on it went war zone C and D the iron triangle, op plans new life and smash and December search and destroy and convoy security along with blocking force missions that first tour of duty rolled on much the same way as it did the first six months until specialist fourth class Lynn M black junior got promoted.
[00:45:05] Then I went back to the world in July of 1966 later that year I appeared on a television morning show hosted by a guy named Princeton Preston Price at King TV Seattle Washington.
[00:45:19] So here is his out of the army.
[00:45:21] With me was an army helicopter gunner who would become a war protester the door gunners mantra for the 30 minute show was that the United States had no business being in southeast Asia.
[00:45:35] He didn't believe that any young man of draft age had any responsibility to fight and illegal war we needed to question the use of illegal authority.
[00:45:53] He was not the same to any man.
[00:46:05] It certainly did me.
[00:46:09] What I wanted to do was kick the unseen enemies ass for lacking he did make a den in the door gunners resolve and the two of us morning show guests began to talk over the top of one another as the lights were switched off in the studio and the station went into a prolonged set of live beer and appliance dealer commercials in an adjacent studio.
[00:46:22] I held several of my fellow soldiers and had severely wounded many more.
[00:46:26] My brother and my best friend had been crippled for life or growtestly wounded. I can't say for sure I ever saw the face of the enemy during that tour of duty.
[00:46:34] Sitting in my apartment in Hawaii watching the evening news I felt guilty pissed off alone and completely consumed by feelings of revenge.
[00:46:45] The best planes began bombing a noise. We see you now you sons of bitches North Vietnam declared general mobilization the war saw packed promises to support North Vietnam.
[00:46:57] Whiskey tango fox truck. I'm reenlisting.
[00:47:03] If anyone hasn't figured out what WTF Whiskey tango fox truck stands for it stands for what the fuck over.
[00:47:15] So that's his first tour of duty and it's crazy to think he's saying hey I don't even think I ever saw the enemy during that and he's got his brother wounded. He's got other guys wounded and killed never saw the enemy.
[00:47:27] Yeah and they had a couple times I forget how detailed he went in that first part but when they were in the APCs they got into the rubber plantations.
[00:47:41] We had rows and rows of trees. You go in there and hey man we can figure it out what they didn't and they got hammered in here.
[00:47:50] I remember when talking about that both in both tours of duty and some point we got into a reflection thing. We go back once the war but the rubber plantations.
[00:48:00] And they between snipers and their control fire lanes and obviously they set things up for practice before the hundred seventy-three ever got there.
[00:48:09] And then they had to be careful not to damage any rubber trees because they did the plantation owners would come back and suit the United States of pay for the damaged rubber trees.
[00:48:22] And that story and the APCs that thinned armor. Oh yeah some nightmare. I just can't imagine. And that's a traditional unit. Yeah early on and they learned some lessons the hard way. Boy.
[00:48:37] And I know that when I did Lewis Polar, Jr.'s book on here, fortunate son and he's rotating between three areas and you know like one of them was bridge security.
[00:48:52] One of them was camp security and then one of them was called the Riviera I think or the Rivera. But every time they go out there they'd take take casualties and they'd never see the enemy. And they would do a high five with you know their platoon was heading out. There's another platoon rotating back in.
[00:49:08] I figured it was platoon or company. I think it was platoon platoon size. He'd be heading out and he'd high five you know the other platoon commander and you know the guy'd say yeah we took two casualties of three casualties we cast it back them out did you see the enemy nope.
[00:49:21] There's going out there and taking hits and you don't see the enemy. And that's very similar to Iraq you know very similar to Iraq where many much of the time guys be out there they just get blown up by an idea or you can hit by mortifier you can hit by sniper fire.
[00:49:39] And that's that's the way that's the way the guerrillas fight against against America absolutely and then even with the snipers they knew how to get back into building so they fired out.
[00:49:51] There'd be no direct smoke or evidence of them where the rounds came from you really had to have a good ear detection or some kind of sensor.
[00:50:01] Yeah, you can't tell if you're out there coming from. And you see you see in movies you know there's always a sniper in a window and his barrel stick and two feet out of the window.
[00:50:15] But you're right the snipers are actually not even in that room. They're in a room deep one room deep maybe even more down a hallway. So they're field vision is tiny but you there's no possible way that you're seeing them.
[00:50:28] But luckily some people learn to adapt and take the fight to the enemy. Indeed.
[00:50:38] July 1968 and these are some thoughts during my first tour with the 173rd I watched them special forces and other recon man from the herd which is the nickname which is a great nickname for the 173rd the herd.
[00:50:55] From the herd marine force recon the 80 second and the 101st airborne divisions. There's something different special about recon man.
[00:51:03] I can't quite put my finger on it but I sure as hell want to be one.
[00:51:08] Intense yet always joking around it was like they were fighting a different war than the rest of us. Everyone knew they were the best to the best.
[00:51:18] We graduated from company B special forces training group for Bragg North Carolina at the beginning of the class.
[00:51:25] Had been 500 of the finest physically fit soldiers ever produced in the United States Army. That may 1968 graduating class contained less than 70 men.
[00:51:35] Standing at attention proudly waiting to be awarded the coveted green beret. When did you graduate from special forces training?
[00:51:43] December 67.
[00:51:45] So you're already done and he's a new guy.
[00:51:49] Yeah.
[00:51:50] I'm in camp. I'm going to be one waiting for him to get there.
[00:51:55] We had earned the right to work with the best of the best hell we were the best.
[00:52:00] He just runs through some of the special forces training back then. In the beginning phase one we sat in the classroom for eight hours a day listening to lectures and taking notes.
[00:52:10] We were given homework assignments papers to write and participate in a small in class and after class working teams half the group was eliminated in phase one.
[00:52:19] Every day we heard phrase like if I wanted to sit on my ass all day in the classroom I'd join the air force.
[00:52:24] This is college prep school. This is college prep school nonsense a lot nonsense a lot of what it took to get through phase one was attitude of willingness being willing to adore the unexpected.
[00:52:35] I don't think any of us expected the classroom. Did you spend that much time in the classroom?
[00:52:40] Yeah.
[00:52:41] What were you guys learning about?
[00:52:43] Well, they they all the indoctrination stuff.
[00:52:46] The history and then um procedures then like our commoclass you sat down here in that class for eight to ten hours just taking commo and uh land navigational kinds of different things like that.
[00:53:00] I take notes I can remember while packing to move now going through a fine of some of my old notes back there's like oh my god I figure all about that that's like I got it out of my mind.
[00:53:10] When you find those notes just take a picture of them and send them to me so we can talk about them at some point that sounds freaking awesome.
[00:53:17] I got this book that I wrote when I was a e5 in the seal teams and I was teaching college teaching communications and I found it.
[00:53:27] It just says seal team one communications and it's basically on how to work with different radios, but then in the back I have a section called lessons learned.
[00:53:36] I'm going to cover it on the podcast because it's legit.
[00:53:39] Is that right?
[00:53:40] Yeah.
[00:53:41] Maybe we have to go back and compare notes.
[00:53:43] I did got a little more scoat training.
[00:53:45] Oh, I was one of the last guys that had to learn more scoat.
[00:53:48] Yeah, did he done dumb, did he?
[00:53:50] Yeah.
[00:53:51] My the guy that was teaching us to it because there's people that were pushing back like we don't need to learn more scoat and we have satellites now.
[00:53:58] And this guy says in the event of what was his phrase he said in the event of a nuclear war.
[00:54:05] The only thing that's going to be punching through the ionosphere is HF coms.
[00:54:10] Yeah.
[00:54:11] And Morris code.
[00:54:12] So we got to learn it.
[00:54:13] Of course I'm 19 years old.
[00:54:15] I'm totally down.
[00:54:16] I'm like cool.
[00:54:17] If there's a nuclear war, I'm ready to make coms.
[00:54:20] Yeah.
[00:54:21] They don't teach you.
[00:54:24] It in basic civil training.
[00:54:27] There is no meddle of challenge whatsoever.
[00:54:31] I mean, there's no you don't sit in a classroom.
[00:54:33] You don't sit in a classroom probably ever for more than like an hour when they're trying to teach you dive physics or
[00:54:41] hydrographic reconnaissance.
[00:54:43] It's just totally.
[00:54:45] They don't do that with us.
[00:54:46] That's why you get some knuckle draggers and teams.
[00:54:49] Yeah.
[00:54:50] You know, the special forces guy just, you know, they like that.
[00:54:56] They like that kind of thing.
[00:54:58] They like that kind of thing.
[00:54:59] Be a little bit smarter.
[00:55:04] During phase two, we were divided amongst our various specialty groups such as operations
[00:55:07] intelligence, medical weapons.
[00:55:08] And so on.
[00:55:09] I was the hands-on portion training.
[00:55:10] In my case, I was being trained as a weapons specialist, which I imagine everybody wants to be.
[00:55:17] Oh yeah.
[00:55:18] Boy toys to the max.
[00:55:21] Yeah.
[00:55:22] And how do they pick what you're going to do?
[00:55:24] They gave you tests and then just pose an indicate what you're good at.
[00:55:29] And then there's needs, what the army needs.
[00:55:31] Needs in the army.
[00:55:32] And you ended up comms.
[00:55:34] Yeah.
[00:55:35] I ended up comms too.
[00:55:37] Because I had this, I stood watch at the seal team one quarter deck.
[00:55:43] Like a new guy, you're going to stand watch.
[00:55:45] And so I'm standing watch.
[00:55:49] I'm standing with this officer.
[00:55:51] He's a like a platoon commander.
[00:55:53] But he's more experienced than me.
[00:55:56] And he's talking to me.
[00:55:57] We have to stay there the whole night.
[00:55:59] You know, we're like steeping in a bunk beds or whatever to make sure no one attacks seal team one.
[00:56:02] That's like 1991.
[00:56:03] And the guy after talking to me, he says, you know what?
[00:56:05] You know what?
[00:56:06] He's asking me, what's what he would do?
[00:56:07] What are you doing?
[00:56:08] The seal teams were like, you know, want to be an operator.
[00:56:10] Want to go on missions, right?
[00:56:11] And he's the morning.
[00:56:12] He says, hey, you know what?
[00:56:14] You should do is you should go to the radio room tomorrow or when you when we get off and go tell
[00:56:22] you want to be a radio man because the radio man always goes on operations.
[00:56:26] Is the only guy that's going on every operation.
[00:56:29] Mean, the medic kind of, but the radio man for sure.
[00:56:33] Have to.
[00:56:34] And so I went up, got off a watch went right up, banged on the radio.
[00:56:37] I want to be a radio man.
[00:56:38] Why?
[00:56:39] I want to go on every operation.
[00:56:40] Cool.
[00:56:41] And I don't sign up here.
[00:56:42] Only person in the history of sealed team wanted to do that because what does everyone else want to do?
[00:56:46] They want to be a machine gunner and a sniper.
[00:56:48] Oh, yeah.
[00:56:49] One of the weapons guy.
[00:56:51] Uh.
[00:56:54] So fast forward a little bit.
[00:56:56] He's home in Seattle on leave.
[00:56:59] He's got some of this SF buddies with him.
[00:57:02] Uh, named Bob and Steve.
[00:57:04] And here they are kind of hanging out with Hugh.
[00:57:07] And here we go.
[00:57:08] Hugh, one of my two younger brothers has joined us during our left.
[00:57:11] Last afternoon out on our sister Carlos back deck.
[00:57:15] This is our last day in the civilian world.
[00:57:17] This is before they go on deployment.
[00:57:19] He's wearing a tank top and t-shirt and a pair of shorts,
[00:57:23] which shows off the scar running from one knee up the length of his leg to his hip.
[00:57:28] After a couple beers, he tells the story about the mortar attack.
[00:57:32] His leg wound broken ribs, arm and trappin' old, filled face and torso.
[00:57:37] He recounts the month spent recovering at the last night.
[00:57:40] He's recovering at Madagin Army Hospital.
[00:57:44] Bob and Steve are visibly shaken by the sight of wounds.
[00:57:48] And more so by the story of inadequate medical treatment and
[00:57:52] disdain from the hospital staff or anyone dumb enough to get
[00:57:55] suckered into volunteering for nomb.
[00:57:58] The mood of the afternoon, darkens and alcohol consumption increases.
[00:58:05] Last day, go let softly drones.
[00:58:07] How do you say this and get in Gelke?
[00:58:11] How do you say his name?
[00:58:12] Angleke.
[00:58:13] Angleke.
[00:58:14] Steve Angleke and Bob.
[00:58:16] Those are his two bodies.
[00:58:18] Oh yeah.
[00:58:19] Oh, it's Gelke.
[00:58:20] Angleke.
[00:58:22] Angleke.
[00:58:24] Angleke.
[00:58:25] Man, I'm gonna keep messing that one.
[00:58:26] Angleke.
[00:58:27] Stick with Steve.
[00:58:32] Carlos serves up in early dinner.
[00:58:34] The last supper and Hugh bluntly asks, what the hell are you going to do?
[00:58:38] Back in that shit hole.
[00:58:40] For a moment I sit there surprised staring at him, dumbfounded.
[00:58:44] It's payback time.
[00:58:46] I quietly reply, payback for what?
[00:58:49] He looks surprised then it dawns on him.
[00:58:51] You dumbass, you aren't my babysitter, my big brother anymore.
[00:58:55] I don't need you to fight any battles on my behalf.
[00:58:57] I did my duty took my hits and now I'm going to college.
[00:59:00] It's time for me to build my life.
[00:59:02] The government got there three years and you can bet your bipy that there's no one in this country who gives a shit except those who went there and did it.
[00:59:10] Sometimes I'm not sure most of them care either.
[00:59:13] Time to move on, brother.
[00:59:15] Time to move on.
[00:59:16] Grab me one of those beers out of the cooler.
[00:59:18] Will you stupid idiot?
[00:59:22] Here's Lund's thoughts on that.
[00:59:24] Now that announcement certainly shoots the shit out of my public reason for going back.
[00:59:28] I've been telling everyone who asked that I'm going to extract a little hide from the Charlie's who nailed my little brother.
[00:59:33] Now he's telling me he's not my little brother and to grow up.
[00:59:38] Well, crap, why the hell did he make that speech before I re-enlisted?
[00:59:42] Laughing to myself, I'm a green beret.
[00:59:46] I'm going to be a recon man.
[00:59:48] That's why I'm going back.
[00:59:49] I want to find out what it's like to be the best at something.
[00:59:53] Fast forward, denying safe house 22.
[00:59:58] The three of us anxiously await a top secret briefing in a small secured out building that once was a carriage house.
[01:00:07] A sergeant first class, E7 is standing behind a long wide thick plank table behind him, a captain wearing the green beret in a starched uniform sits quietly watching.
[01:00:17] With an off-handed Rolex gesture so typical of SF men.
[01:00:21] The E7 motions to us to sit.
[01:00:24] Rising from his chair, the captain says, during your training at Bragg, you men were selected as potential candidates for military assistance command,
[01:00:33] Vietnam studies and observations group.
[01:00:36] Studies and observations.
[01:00:38] What the hell is that?
[01:00:39] God damn it, I came back to be a recon man.
[01:00:41] Sounds like they're going to make us into a bunch of clerks.
[01:00:44] I will give you a series of briefings.
[01:00:47] The first of which requires you to make a decision as to whether you want to go on with the second.
[01:00:51] Before we continue what you are about to hear is classified top secret.
[01:00:56] Requiring you to sign the nondisclosure form in front of you.
[01:00:59] Read the form if you choose not to sign, get up and leave the room.
[01:01:02] No questions asked.
[01:01:04] Read the form.
[01:01:05] Okay, sign the form and give it to the E7.
[01:01:08] This better not be a clerks job.
[01:01:10] Top secret clerk.
[01:01:12] I read the form and scribble my signature at the bottom, handing it to the E7.
[01:01:16] As he circulates among us.
[01:01:20] I know this is a lot of it.
[01:01:21] And he goes through some history.
[01:01:23] That's what's part of the briefing is.
[01:01:27] He says this four years ago, April 1964,
[01:01:31] the government of South Vietnam created the special exploitation service or SES to replace the VN special forces command.
[01:01:41] Concurrently, the CIA transferred its advisory role to the newly formed military assistance command Vietnam studies an observations group or Mac Vesog,
[01:01:51] which is run by the US military joint services.
[01:01:55] Last year the South Vietnamese renamed the SES the strategic technical directorate.
[01:02:02] Clearing his throat, the captain picks up a glass of water taking along drink.
[01:02:07] And why do I need to know all this? Questions? No? Okay, to the point.
[01:02:11] Human will be assigned to an FOB.
[01:02:13] Forward operations base or FOBs have been in existence since 1964.
[01:02:18] They are located in FUBai, K-Son, Com, Duke, and Denang.
[01:02:24] FOBs conduct classified operations outside South Vietnam.
[01:02:29] Classified operations doesn't sound like a clerks job to me.
[01:02:32] This is getting interesting.
[01:02:35] But operations in the Louss commenced September 1965 as part of Operation Shining Brass and recently have been renamed Prairie Fire.
[01:02:47] Out of country operations are conducted by recon teams called Spike Teams, Hatchett Forces and Slam companies.
[01:02:56] Break those downforce real quick. Spike Teams, Hatchett Forces and...
[01:03:01] And there's also RT which is recon team. Well in the early days, up until the end of 1968, it was Spike Team because it was top secret code for recon team.
[01:03:11] Got it. And then you had to hatch a force which could be anything for a patoon up to a company-sized operation like Operation Tailwind.
[01:03:20] And then the Slam operations that would be one or two hatched force components depending on the size.
[01:03:27] They would go in and block the Ho Chi-Mintrial. Back it up and then the Air Force would have air power.
[01:03:33] So anything that backed up on the trail, they would hit it hard.
[01:03:37] And of course the NVA responded very quickly and the LMS that were on the ground got hammered.
[01:03:43] So Slam got Slam but those operations. That's why by the time you get the tailwind in 70, they changed the M-O.
[01:03:49] A little bit but that's the breakdown.
[01:03:52] Got it.
[01:03:53] This Captain continues on Mac Vsau.
[01:03:58] Mac Vsaug is a joint service high command unconventional warfare task force whose charters to conduct top secret sabotage, psychological and special operations.
[01:04:09] In North and South Vietnam, Lousy Cambodia and Southern China.
[01:04:14] It has been given the title studies and observation group as a cover.
[01:04:18] The joint staff is allegedly performing an analysis of the lessons learned up to this point in the war.
[01:04:23] It's obviously a special operations group.
[01:04:26] Mac Vsaug is organized into two field commands.
[01:04:30] Command and control south and north also called CCS and CCN.
[01:04:39] I know this is a lot of material and I'm jumping ahead.
[01:04:41] I know this is a lot of material but we want you to know what you're volunteering for.
[01:04:46] To continue and he keeps the throughout this in wind doesn't actually limit says this.
[01:04:51] I volunteered to be here. I volunteered for recon.
[01:04:54] Sounds like I'm getting exactly what I asked for.
[01:04:59] How old is this limit at this point?
[01:05:01] It's 1975.
[01:05:02] No, at this point.
[01:05:03] Oh there.
[01:05:05] He must be young because he didn't do, oh no, he did it a point in with the R.
[01:05:10] He's older actually.
[01:05:12] He's actually probably older than you.
[01:05:14] Probably. I was 22. I think Lim would have been.
[01:05:16] He's a year ahead of me.
[01:05:17] Okay.
[01:05:18] Yeah.
[01:05:18] He's 75 now on four.
[01:05:20] There you go.
[01:05:22] Um, but still damn that's young.
[01:05:25] But you know why?
[01:05:27] The reason I ask you that is because when I think about what a young,
[01:05:31] um,
[01:05:33] American male mind is like,
[01:05:39] it's like this.
[01:05:40] You're sitting here and you,
[01:05:42] there's nothing more than anyone wants to hear than,
[01:05:45] uh,
[01:05:47] joint service high command,
[01:05:49] unconventional warfare task force
[01:05:51] whose chargers to conduct top secret sabotage
[01:05:54] psychological and special operations.
[01:05:56] Sign me up.
[01:05:57] There we go.
[01:05:58] Airborne.
[01:06:00] Uh,
[01:06:02] continuing on MacVee's mission is twofold.
[01:06:05] Support South Vietnam against communist aggression,
[01:06:08] assistant and development of the Southern Republic.
[01:06:10] The United States and our allies will succeed by winning the people,
[01:06:13] depriving the enemy of safe havens,
[01:06:15] rests and supplies depriving the enemy.
[01:06:18] Um,
[01:06:20] and this is where MacVee's saw comes into the picture.
[01:06:24] Saug has five primary responsibilities and the capability to undertake
[01:06:29] additional special missions as required.
[01:06:31] Listen up,
[01:06:32] Saug's primary responsibilities include first.
[01:06:35] Cross-border operations conducted to disrupt
[01:06:38] flare-rush,
[01:06:40] path that.
[01:06:41] Path that?
[01:06:42] Path out loud and NVA in their own territories.
[01:06:47] So that's Cambodia,
[01:06:49] laus,
[01:06:50] and NVN north Vietnam
[01:06:53] Secondly,
[01:06:54] keep track of all the imprisoned and missing Americans
[01:06:58] and conducting raids to assist and free them as part of the escape of an
[01:07:02] invasion mission for all captured US ground personnel and down to airmen.
[01:07:05] Mission three is training and dispatching agents in the North Vietnam to
[01:07:07] in the North Vietnam to run resistance operations called black psychological operations
[01:07:13] such as establishing false national NVA broadcasting stations inside North Vietnam and yellow
[01:07:18] psychological operations as typified by the hue, the way Citadel propaganda transmitter
[01:07:25] mentioned earlier.
[01:07:27] Four, the captain holds up four fingers waving them at us.
[01:07:31] Mac Vsaga is also entrusted with specific tasks such as kidnapping, assassination, and
[01:07:36] insertion of rigged mortar rounds into enemy ammunition supply system which are set to
[01:07:41] explode and destroy their crews upon use.
[01:07:45] He pauses to study our faces.
[01:07:47] Again clearing his throat.
[01:07:49] Five, he coughs again is the retrieval of sensitive documents and equipment if lost or captured
[01:07:54] through enemy action.
[01:07:55] He pauses.
[01:07:56] Any questions?
[01:07:58] Silence in the room.
[01:08:03] And thanks to himself, this is a hell of a lot more than just recon.
[01:08:06] Wow.
[01:08:10] The next level of information reveals daily operational details.
[01:08:13] I will show you out of the country areas of operations, talk and detail about the team
[01:08:19] make up and the commitment we hope you will volunteer to make.
[01:08:23] Any of you who want to bail out now is the time.
[01:08:25] He pauses looking around the room.
[01:08:27] Looks like we're all in.
[01:08:28] This is going to be a hell of a lot of fun.
[01:08:31] Switching to his left, the captain rolls back a black cloth covering a map of southeast
[01:08:36] Asia.
[01:08:37] Mac V saw is a top secret organization operating the width and breadth of the DMZ, west
[01:08:42] and the loss and south down through Cambodia.
[01:08:45] The shaded areas you see delineate the AO, air area of operations.
[01:08:50] You will enter the AO with no personal identification.
[01:08:53] Your weapons will not contain serial numbers.
[01:08:55] You and your gear will be what we call sterile.
[01:08:59] You will carry nothing that identifies you as an American.
[01:09:01] You will not carry pictures of your loved ones or anything else that doesn't directly
[01:09:05] pertain to your mission.
[01:09:06] Occasionally, you will use enemy weapons as well and dress like them.
[01:09:11] He pauses.
[01:09:12] Are there any questions?
[01:09:13] He picks up a glass of water.
[01:09:15] Are there any questions?
[01:09:17] The captain asks a second times.
[01:09:19] The second time, receiving no response other than stunned faces.
[01:09:22] He continues.
[01:09:24] Accepting this assignments.
[01:09:26] Accepting this assignment means you will be expected to run a minimum of three
[01:09:31] cross border missions to complete your tour of duty with Saga.
[01:09:36] After those missions, you can request a change of assignment to finish out your year in
[01:09:40] country.
[01:09:41] If you wish to leave Saga, we will honor that request.
[01:09:45] If you wish to leave special forces, we will send you to another unit or you can stand
[01:09:49] continue running missions.
[01:09:51] Now, are there any questions?
[01:09:54] Yes, sir.
[01:09:56] Are we spies asked one of our party without hesitation?
[01:10:01] By international law, yes, this is a covert operation as I said, top secret.
[01:10:07] Our job is to trail watch POW snatch wire tap ambush and just plain old enemy interdiction.
[01:10:14] You will be assigned to recon teams, RTs.
[01:10:17] Those teams are led by three Americans who are supported by nine mercenary commandos,
[01:10:22] which make up a full 12-man team.
[01:10:25] The American leader is designated a one zero.
[01:10:28] The assistant team leader is a one one and finally the radio operator has the designation
[01:10:33] of one two.
[01:10:35] The mercenaries are paid by us to work in the A.O. you see on this map.
[01:10:39] Additionally, there might be an arv in special forces team member who's job it is to
[01:10:43] handle the mercenary's well you do your intelligence work.
[01:10:49] E7.
[01:10:50] Next form, please.
[01:10:51] Please read this carefully before accepting a rejecting it.
[01:10:55] If you sign, you will become members of the most elite fighting force the United States
[01:10:59] has ever put in the field against an enemy.
[01:11:03] We are fighting a secret war.
[01:11:05] As I said earlier, you can never divulge your participation, recognize or give Koreans
[01:11:10] to any second or third party knowledge of our existence.
[01:11:15] The captain and E7 move into a shadowed corner quietly talking.
[01:11:20] I read carefully through the non-disclosure statements, threats of imprisonment, disgrace,
[01:11:25] loss of rights and freedoms.
[01:11:28] I sign.
[01:11:30] Talk about getting what you ask for.
[01:11:35] The E7 distributes another set of papers to each of us.
[01:11:38] Gentlemen, welcome to Mac Vesog, smiles the captain.
[01:11:42] We now need to address this last little consideration.
[01:11:46] If you're unlucky enough to be captured and wind up as a POW, we have a cover story along
[01:11:51] with an individual recognition procedure.
[01:11:54] Don't share what you are about to write with anyone.
[01:11:57] There are questions on this form.
[01:11:59] They are the same questions for each of you.
[01:12:01] However your response will be individual and will become the key to recognizing you and
[01:12:05] obtaining your release as a POW.
[01:12:08] Please fill in the answers, make them simple and conversational.
[01:12:11] Put the form into the attachment, no, a envelope and seal it.
[01:12:15] Then the envelope to me and no one else in this room.
[01:12:18] Do not look at each other's answers.
[01:12:20] Collecting the envelopes and stuffing them into a canvas at Tashay.
[01:12:25] The captain says, men, thank you for volunteering.
[01:12:29] Good luck and goodbye.
[01:12:31] Yeah, I forgot that part about the last second document.
[01:12:40] You put your individual information down.
[01:12:42] I forgot about that limb being sharper as he is.
[01:12:47] He must have taken notes.
[01:12:48] He's got some incredible information.
[01:12:51] Man, welcome to the secret war.
[01:12:53] Welcome to Saga.
[01:12:55] Yes, indeed.
[01:12:56] Did you, did you, when you were going through that moment, did you have any like hesitation?
[01:13:07] Oh, you just so all in.
[01:13:09] It was ridiculous.
[01:13:10] Yeah, absolutely.
[01:13:13] It's like Lin and my case, we have been going through all our training for all those
[01:13:16] months.
[01:13:17] It's like this is the war and the green beret movie had been out.
[01:13:23] What would they do?
[01:13:25] What's crazy is you are told, you were told don't volunteer for Saga.
[01:13:30] Oh, yeah, we went through training group.
[01:13:31] They're like, hey, listen.
[01:13:33] Don't volunteer for Saga, whatever you do, don't volunteer for Saga.
[01:13:37] Well, even there, it wasn't like direct, it would be like, you know, when you go get to
[01:13:41] an A camp, learn about the country to people and there's projects, don't volunteer,
[01:13:46] because of the people are dying.
[01:13:48] This is 68.
[01:13:49] We had so many teams who've been wiped out by that point.
[01:13:52] The briefer didn't tell Lin anything about that.
[01:13:56] The Cassie race by that point.
[01:13:58] Oh, yeah.
[01:14:00] Gearing up each individual aware or carry sterile fatigues or tiger suit, flop brim hat with
[01:14:12] a portion of panel sewn inside the top.
[01:14:16] Jungle boots, pistol belt harness, first aid packet, pill kit, heavy and sharp canteens
[01:14:22] with waterproof purification tablets, smoke grenades, compass survival kit, individual
[01:14:27] pistol, submachine gun and sought off M79 weapon signal mirror panel, strobe light, pan
[01:14:33] flare with flares, ammo pouches, rucksack with reinforced straps, rations, weapons cleaning
[01:14:39] kit, maps, poncho and liner, can opener, p38 or knife with can opener, waterproof matches,
[01:14:46] insect and leach repellent jungle sweater, RT10 survival radio, pen light, six foot of nylon
[01:14:51] cord, parachute suspension cord, Swiss seat, two snap links, notebook and pencil, two plastic
[01:14:57] bags, fragmentation white phosphorus and gas grenades, two crevat bandages, gloves, claymore,
[01:15:03] serum, the team will need to carry a camera and film binoculars, ANPRC 25 radio, or as
[01:15:15] you call it a prick 25 with extra battery M14 toe popper mines and booby traps, anti-intrus
[01:15:22] and device wire taps and equipment for prisoner snatches.
[01:15:26] That's all.
[01:15:29] What exactly is a wire tap?
[01:15:32] It's like go ahead, tilt.
[01:15:34] You have the telephone lines.
[01:15:36] Right.
[01:15:37] So that's the wire and you tap into it.
[01:15:39] And then in our case, you go to the telephone pole, put the wires, our wires, onto the
[01:15:44] wire, tape it, then condone a pole cover with mud so that nobody would see it and we
[01:15:49] have it tied into it.
[01:15:51] At that time, state of your cassette.
[01:15:56] We record even if there was nobody talking to the CIA, how does do the actual recordings
[01:16:01] so that they could hear it and they would amplify the tapes.
[01:16:06] They said they amplify it a hundred times.
[01:16:08] They could hear things on the background because the NVA phones were near in the cradle,
[01:16:12] their lives, like our phones, they shut off.
[01:16:15] Those were still alive to CIA, we give them all our tapes and they would amplify it.
[01:16:19] They said they got into all of those things.
[01:16:21] So they hear people talking in the background about stuff.
[01:16:25] And of course, CIA, we give, they take and they're done.
[01:16:30] You never hear anything back at all.
[01:16:32] So when you say your wire taps are part of the list of stuff, they guys have one, do
[01:16:36] it like a little apparatus or something like that.
[01:16:38] Because the actual cassette recorder, then the wire and then at the end of wire to be
[01:16:42] two little things that you tape onto it or go through.
[01:16:47] Sometimes the wire would have a double area.
[01:16:49] Yeah, plug it in between.
[01:16:51] Then you tape it.
[01:16:53] How big was the cassette recorder?
[01:16:56] Shoe box?
[01:16:57] I'm picture and shoe box.
[01:16:59] Was this big?
[01:17:00] Is this shoe box?
[01:17:01] No, no, no.
[01:17:02] I'm just making it.
[01:17:03] I'm like a walk-man.
[01:17:04] Like a book.
[01:17:05] Like a book.
[01:17:06] Like a cell book.
[01:17:07] Like the old school.
[01:17:08] Very old.
[01:17:09] Like the handle.
[01:17:10] Was it a tape cassette in there?
[01:17:13] Or was it like some kind of reel to reel?
[01:17:15] No, no.
[01:17:16] No kidding.
[01:17:17] You guys were high speed.
[01:17:18] All tires.
[01:17:19] It's a stadium.
[01:17:20] This is a 1960.
[01:17:21] None of the reel to reel stuff in the field.
[01:17:24] And the cassette, I think we had it by then.
[01:17:27] They had the two hour cassette so you could do an hour on each one side.
[01:17:32] As opposed to a 60 with 30 on each side.
[01:17:35] Someone's sitting down there, freaking flipping those damn cassettes over, while you're
[01:17:39] out in Laos and Cambodia.
[01:17:41] Hey, keep she's something to divert your attention.
[01:17:44] Watching the trail.
[01:17:45] Yeah.
[01:17:46] Swat and the skis.
[01:17:49] So I mentioned that the way he sets this book up is you're reading and it makes it
[01:17:53] very conversational in a way.
[01:17:55] But he sets a lot of it up as debriefing.
[01:17:58] Yeah.
[01:17:59] And he also wrote this.
[01:18:00] And this is one of his thoughts.
[01:18:02] Have you ever seen yourself through the eyes or someone you've become?
[01:18:05] No, this isn't an existential question.
[01:18:08] Really have you.
[01:18:09] And what that made me think about is when you're debriefing, you're kind of forcing yourself
[01:18:17] to detach and explain what you did.
[01:18:20] And it's almost like you're seeing yourself in a third person situation.
[01:18:28] So in this particular cassette to set this up, they're in there.
[01:18:31] And this isn't, we talked a little bit about you guys playing Liars Dice and sitting
[01:18:35] around the bar and having some drinks and debriefing amongst yourselves.
[01:18:39] Right.
[01:18:40] Well, this one is set up not like that.
[01:18:43] This is an official debriefing.
[01:18:45] Oh, yeah.
[01:18:46] And did you guys always do official debriefing?
[01:18:48] Because it doesn't sound like it.
[01:18:49] It sounds like this was an operation that was so significant that it required a like an
[01:18:55] on-site special debriefing.
[01:18:57] Oh, yeah.
[01:18:58] We wouldn't write to S2.
[01:18:59] Okay.
[01:19:00] So you guys always did this.
[01:19:01] They are, that's an S2P.
[01:19:03] Got it.
[01:19:04] Absolutely.
[01:19:05] And there's really hot.
[01:19:06] They would get the initial word down by radio transmission on RTT and then come back
[01:19:12] with a four at their action report.
[01:19:14] Yeah.
[01:19:15] It sounds like this one is pretty significant.
[01:19:22] So, and I'm going to fast forward just a little bit.
[01:19:26] And here we go.
[01:19:28] Socialist black, please begin, which again, this is crazy.
[01:19:32] Isn't E4.
[01:19:33] Yeah.
[01:19:34] Pretty crazy.
[01:19:36] Specialist black, please begin.
[01:19:40] Apprehensively, I mentally move back in time.
[01:19:43] The monthly side-gone target list arrived and as usual, the team leaders gathered in the
[01:19:48] Taxal Operations Center to pick or be assigned their missions.
[01:19:53] Some have to be assigned because no one wants to run those targets.
[01:19:56] Why is that?
[01:19:57] They're known to be one way trips.
[01:20:01] I see response the sergeant.
[01:20:04] Oscar eight, which is known to be one of those one way trips, is always assigned on a
[01:20:08] lottery system.
[01:20:10] My understanding is that the last 12 teams attempting to run that mission have never been
[01:20:16] heard from again.
[01:20:19] Or were so shot up that they've been disbanded.
[01:20:25] So this one particular mission set was called Oscar eight.
[01:20:30] And this Oscar eight, there's been 12 teams that have gone to execute this operation.
[01:20:34] And maybe even totally disappeared or they've been so messed up that they disbanded the
[01:20:40] teams.
[01:20:41] Yeah, it's just the nasty targets where the major roads came together.
[01:20:44] I forget these act highways.
[01:20:46] Like 92, there's a couple other.
[01:20:48] It all came in to Northern part of South Vietnam.
[01:20:51] And we later learned that they had a major headquarters area there.
[01:20:54] That's what like on the ground.
[01:20:57] The first book with Pat, with first chapter of Pat Walkins, they were in Oscar eight.
[01:21:00] And when the NBA came up, it says, you're turning for guard duty.
[01:21:04] That's what Lin's talking about.
[01:21:09] He says one of them, one of them, one of the analysts, specialist block, we're interested
[01:21:15] in the intel gathered during the VR.
[01:21:17] We know the history of the target.
[01:21:20] Chives the lieutenant out, analyst.
[01:21:21] So the guy's basically going, look, we know it's a bad target.
[01:21:24] You want to know about your visual reconnaissance.
[01:21:28] Sir, that's, and he's showing a lot of restraint right now.
[01:21:31] Sir, that's precisely the point I'm getting at.
[01:21:34] Please bear with me as I step through this process so I don't forget any of the details.
[01:21:38] Keep calm man.
[01:21:39] He does now have a clue of the edge I'm takering on, calm down.
[01:21:43] Got to get calm down, how long to take to get over the after mission jitters.
[01:21:48] Be quick about it, specialist replies the lieutenant impatiently.
[01:21:52] Oh, yeah, I'll rev that that.
[01:21:55] Yes, sir, Alabama won the lottery.
[01:22:04] R-1-1, I point to Angelkey.
[01:22:08] Angelkey.
[01:22:09] Angelkey.
[01:22:10] I put it to Angelkey.
[01:22:13] Volunteered to lead us through a map study, picking primary, secondary, and alternate
[01:22:17] landing zones, landing and extraction zones.
[01:22:20] We studied every bit of intelligence we could layer hands on about the weather patterns in the
[01:22:25] AO area of operation, the known enemy, and how they maneuver.
[01:22:30] Sometimes you can pick up more information in the club than in the reports, not in this
[01:22:34] case.
[01:22:36] There are no surviving old hands to talk about the lottery.
[01:22:39] There was no intel in the target folder.
[01:22:42] That's the point, sir.
[01:22:44] They're going in blind, no turnover.
[01:22:51] And then he fast forward a little bit.
[01:22:54] The analyst says you were provided no target intelligence.
[01:22:58] We were told none was available armed with maps and a camera bulldog scheduled a VR two
[01:23:04] days before mission launch offers one one.
[01:23:07] Bulldog whose code name is that?
[01:23:09] He was the code name of Sergeant Stride, the Alabama team leader, R10.
[01:23:14] As you know, he was greased, killed in action.
[01:23:20] Like one one said, the same person sitting next to you, the same one one, are you referring
[01:23:24] to specialist Angelkey?
[01:23:27] Yes, sir.
[01:23:28] Recon, team, Alabama's one one, the assistant team leader.
[01:23:32] Like he said, he was sick.
[01:23:34] So I ran the VR with Bulldog.
[01:23:36] We needed the intel to be as fresh as possible for the mission.
[01:23:39] It takes one day to develop film and study the pictures.
[01:23:42] So it was never, it was then or never if we were going to launch on October 5th.
[01:23:46] One one wasn't feeling well.
[01:23:48] That made me the photographer.
[01:23:50] Bulldog and I squeezed side by side into the narrow rear seat of a Vietnamese Air Force
[01:23:55] U17.
[01:23:56] The weather was clear.
[01:23:57] We took off from food by airfield circling out over the China Sea.
[01:24:02] We came in high, taking pictures of the entire A.O. yelling at each other over the engine
[01:24:07] noise in order to discuss what we could see.
[01:24:09] And attempting to orient what we saw to the maps with those windows.
[01:24:13] And this is a thought with those windows open and the maps were blowing all over the dam
[01:24:18] place until Bulldog got them under control.
[01:24:20] We flew under clouds and over rivers of mist filled ridges, platoes and valleys picking
[01:24:26] a primary and two alternate LZs.
[01:24:31] Bulldog ordered the pilot to make a photo pass over the primary LZ at 100 feet.
[01:24:35] The pilot objected and told us he wanted to stay high and leave the area soon.
[01:24:40] Good thinking replies the sergeant.
[01:24:43] Bulldog slapped the pilot on the back of his head.
[01:24:46] So this is him.
[01:24:47] I'm not doing this very well, but this is this is Lynn Black kind of explaining, hey,
[01:24:52] Bulldog ordered the pilots make another two to make another pass and the pilot said, no,
[01:24:57] I'm not going to do it.
[01:24:58] And then the sergeant says, good thinking.
[01:25:00] And he says, well, Bulldog slapped the pilot on the back of his helmet, barking the order again.
[01:25:04] We dropped down to a tree top level and I managed one picture before the nose the ship
[01:25:10] rose and we began banking for another pass.
[01:25:13] As we climbed, our plane was stitched with machine gun fire rounds rip through the floor,
[01:25:18] extended the ceiling.
[01:25:19] The cabin was sprayed and flexed with blood as the copilot was struck under the
[01:25:22] chin as helmet slammed against the ceiling, ricocheting into my lap.
[01:25:27] Still containing part of his head.
[01:25:29] That picture will be imprinted in my mind forever forever.
[01:25:37] And he says he thinks it's a pain.
[01:25:40] I guess I'm sad sadness that grips the soul of my very being.
[01:25:43] I like that cold pilot before we took off from food by he was trying to tell me a joke
[01:25:48] in really bad English.
[01:25:49] I didn't get it, but laughed anyways.
[01:25:53] You're okay, specialist block.
[01:25:58] Sorry, you okay, specialist, black asked chief saw glancing at his medical team.
[01:26:03] Yes, sir, I was telling you about the incident, the image of the helmet and partial head
[01:26:08] popped into my mind.
[01:26:10] I'd never seen anything like that before.
[01:26:13] I was fighting a thousand emotions all at once, all flooding through me, forcing my eyes
[01:26:17] to glist in those kind of images have a way of staying with us for the reminder of our
[01:26:21] lives.
[01:26:22] Each of us has to find a way to deal with them in order to go on.
[01:26:26] I can't even ignore your story orders the chief, yes, sir.
[01:26:30] I collect my thoughts.
[01:26:32] The pilot dropped the sess nut back down to tree top level.
[01:26:35] We got the hell out of dodge in the wild west.
[01:26:40] Yeah, you mentioned the ramps.
[01:26:43] You said that this lieutenant analyst is a ramp for those people that don't know ramp
[01:26:47] his stance for rear echelon mother fucker.
[01:26:51] That's the person that's these are the people that are not on the front lines, not
[01:26:55] doing the fight in ants.
[01:26:56] Actually, the genesis of the name of my consulting company, echelon front, which is not
[01:27:01] rear echelon.
[01:27:02] Hey, I'm in the rear with a gear, but hey, front line leadership.
[01:27:07] This whole scene, for whatever Hollywood director is listening to this right now or whatever
[01:27:15] producer, who makes movies, echo-trolls?
[01:27:18] Who ever is going to make this into a movie?
[01:27:21] This is the iconic scene.
[01:27:25] Of the rear echelon mother fuckers trying to debrief this guy and we're going to get
[01:27:31] into the mission.
[01:27:32] And once you realize what he just went through, you can see why this is such an intense
[01:27:37] scene.
[01:27:38] Because he's sitting there just having barely survived.
[01:27:42] Lost guys and they're asking him these questions and it's just your classic iconic
[01:27:47] scene of a disconnect between the people in the front lines and the rear echelon mother
[01:27:53] fuckers.
[01:27:54] And I talked to her third, two days, he fully actual mission doing a VR.
[01:27:59] Oh, yeah, that's right.
[01:28:00] So, the debrief is after the mission, but the part that he's talking about, they haven't
[01:28:04] even done the mission yet.
[01:28:06] This is they're getting shot at as they're doing a visual reconnaissance.
[01:28:09] They lose a pilot while they're doing the visual reconnaissance.
[01:28:13] Can you imagine this is why this is till, if you did this VR and you came back to me
[01:28:18] and said, hey, Jocca, we did the visual reconnaissance.
[01:28:20] Either way, we had a pilot shot, the plane got shot up.
[01:28:24] I've got to use Helmys.
[01:28:25] You want to use it?
[01:28:26] Yeah, I'd say, hey, guess what?
[01:28:27] We're not going into there.
[01:28:29] I'd say, it's not happening.
[01:28:32] Okay, it's not, we're not, it's a no-go.
[01:28:35] Yeah.
[01:28:36] You guys had freaking balls.
[01:28:41] We didn't have you.
[01:28:42] Yeah.
[01:28:44] Crazy.
[01:28:47] The insertion, Kavie, was Captain Greg Hartniss.
[01:28:51] Kavie 265 was his call sign.
[01:28:53] His rider was Sergeant 1st Class Patrick Watkins, code name, Mandolin.
[01:29:00] The second Kavie pilot was Colonel Don Born Castle and his rider was Staff Sergeant Bob
[01:29:05] Park's, his code name is Spiderman.
[01:29:09] Lieutenant George Miller, Scarface 56, was the lead gunship pilot who escorted the
[01:29:14] King Beast into the insertion.
[01:29:15] So now we're actually getting into the operation.
[01:29:18] And they do, you know, I'm skipping forward, you know, and look, as I said before, to
[01:29:26] get the rest of the details just by the book and read it.
[01:29:28] And it's incredible.
[01:29:29] The details that he captures are awesome.
[01:29:35] So, but I'm going to fast forward a little bit.
[01:29:38] So the, he covers the insertions and then the lieutenant says that the analyst lieutenant
[01:29:48] says, we expect you to take as long as you need on this portion of the debrief.
[01:29:52] When you're finished, I'm sure you're one one will fill in the missing details.
[01:29:55] Gather your thoughts and begin when ready.
[01:29:59] One one fill in the details.
[01:30:01] Never mind that.
[01:30:02] Back across the fence, we're moving through dense foliage, a ridge rising to a right.
[01:30:07] Okay, here goes.
[01:30:11] RT Alabama was ambushed approximately 0,800 hours on October 5, 1968.
[01:30:18] At coordinates Yankee Charlie 561, 6, 9 or 2.
[01:30:23] Our point man, Howa was hit multiple times in his chest and lower body in that same
[01:30:29] instant, three rounds penetrated our 10 team leaders head.
[01:30:33] Cowboy, the interpreter was behind stride and took an RPD round below his left shoulder.
[01:30:40] I was behind Cowboy when he went down.
[01:30:43] The assistant team leader, the one one went down at the same time.
[01:30:48] I thought he was hit as well.
[01:30:51] Are you hit?
[01:30:52] I yell at the one one, receiving no response.
[01:30:54] Damn, he's dead too.
[01:30:57] Only six of us left standing.
[01:30:59] Bring out the bodies.
[01:31:02] Engage the enemy.
[01:31:04] Lock Howa, the zero one Vietnamese team leader, orders the recon team Alabama to fire
[01:31:11] a full magazine just off the ground level to suppress enemy fire.
[01:31:14] At our right on a slight rise, there's a line of NVA firing down into our position.
[01:31:20] There are above us to the right over there, a yell over the den of the ambush, thumbing
[01:31:23] the selector of my car 15 to single shot, I began picking them off one at a time.
[01:31:28] Many rounds expanded, I pushed the magazine extraction button on the receiver, shredding vegetation
[01:31:33] royals in the air punctuated by green and V8 tracers, searching out their targets.
[01:31:38] Fumbling for another magazine in a canteen pouch on my web gear, I peer through the raging
[01:31:42] floor a storm in the direction of the tracer source.
[01:31:45] An NVA shot a moment ago is getting up and pointing in my direction.
[01:31:49] OK, second magazine snaps into place, slapping the left side of the receiver, the car
[01:31:54] 15 bolt slams home as I raise the weapon firing twice, stay down, dammit.
[01:32:00] We've got to break contact, I yell at the team, continuing down the line, emptying magazine
[01:32:04] to the NVA fall, like targets in a shooting gallery.
[01:32:08] Another line moves in behind them, taking their place, wearing a low spot.
[01:32:12] We have to get out of this hole, I yell.
[01:32:15] Cowboy interprets to the team, whose cowboy is he an American interpreter, queries the
[01:32:19] puzzle lieutenant analyst as he searches through his notes, huh?
[01:32:24] What did you ask sir?
[01:32:25] Cowboy, whose cowboy?
[01:32:27] Cowboys are Vietnamese interpreter, uh, Don Van Con, one one inserts quick, quickly,
[01:32:34] continue ordered orders lieutenant.
[01:32:38] Crouching, I reload, surveying our situation, then grab the radio handset off my web
[01:32:42] harness.
[01:32:43] We have three killed and two wounded over, whose down, cuvie rider Patrick Watkins,
[01:32:50] calmly demands, point bulldog and one one over, blackjack, you're not a doctor, nor for
[01:32:57] that fact, a medic.
[01:32:58] You can't determine who's dead or alive.
[01:33:00] You must attempt to bring out all the bodies for verification of death, a fresh swarm of
[01:33:04] automatic weapon fire, up another foliage hurricane, drowning out cuvie communication, finally
[01:33:11] it settles down.
[01:33:12] Bullin, blackjack, we're taking heavy automatic fire.
[01:33:16] We'll be lucky to get the living out.
[01:33:19] They have us surrounded on three sides and are firing down into our position, I'm moving
[01:33:23] the team out of this hole over.
[01:33:26] Chuhoy translated means surrender.
[01:33:29] Yels, one of the NVA in a short, low of the ambush.
[01:33:32] I don't think so.
[01:33:33] I yell back, firing in his general direction.
[01:33:36] Alabama's weapons on full auto drown out further.
[01:33:40] Chuhoy requests.
[01:33:42] One one is alive and praying.
[01:33:46] In the middle of a gunfight, this is no time to pray.
[01:33:50] Get up off your sarias and return fire.
[01:33:52] I yell.
[01:33:53] One one looks at me with dough eyes shifting his body and attempt to make him make his
[01:33:58] form smaller.
[01:33:59] I kneeled down next to him and find he has a Catholic rosary press to his lips and is quietly
[01:34:04] chanting a prayer.
[01:34:05] I need you to take contact with command while I do my job directing air strikes and get us
[01:34:09] a ride home.
[01:34:11] I don't know what to do.
[01:34:13] I can't think.
[01:34:14] I can't angle key slips into himself.
[01:34:19] Well whiskey, tango, fox, trot over.
[01:34:22] Leaves and twigs rain down on Alabama as the ground erupts around us from automatic
[01:34:27] weapons fire.
[01:34:30] So his one one is locked up mentally.
[01:34:31] Yes, point gone.
[01:34:33] Body there but no mind no courage.
[01:34:35] And he actually thought he was dead.
[01:34:38] And everyone got shot in that opening ambush, Lynn, which by the way, his nickname, his
[01:34:43] code name is Blackjack.
[01:34:44] So that's who it is.
[01:34:46] Blackjack thinks he's dead but then he finally gets to him and looks at him and he's
[01:34:51] not even shot but he's having, he's having a meltdown.
[01:34:56] He's on his rosaries.
[01:35:02] Back on the radio, mandolin.
[01:35:03] So mandolin is the call sign of the cuvie.
[01:35:07] Mandolin, Blackjack, you're right.
[01:35:08] We don't have three dead.
[01:35:09] We only have two.
[01:35:11] One one is alive.
[01:35:12] The NVR now on all sides with snipers climbing into trees.
[01:35:15] I have to take action quickly or die.
[01:35:18] Blackjack put your one one on the horn over.
[01:35:22] So here's the cuvie rider saying, hey, put your put the guy in charge on the radio.
[01:35:27] I attempt to push the radio handset into one one's hands but he wraps both hands around
[01:35:31] his rosary chanting.
[01:35:34] He drops his head drawing his form further inward.
[01:35:39] Cowboy, tell the team, I'm the one zero and locks and locks in charge of B team.
[01:35:45] As if I had to tell them, loaks already doing the job.
[01:35:47] Mandolin, Blackjack.
[01:35:48] One one is unable to talk right at the moment.
[01:35:51] I'm the one zero of Alabama stand by.
[01:35:54] He's just freaking taken over, Blackjack's ready.
[01:35:56] Oh yeah.
[01:35:59] No hesitation whatsoever.
[01:36:01] None.
[01:36:02] Roger replies Mandolin.
[01:36:04] Cowboy, I have two, have two men strip the bodies.
[01:36:08] Get all weapons ammunition, maps, anything the NVA can use.
[01:36:11] Distribute their gear to the team quickly.
[01:36:13] Now, Cowboy interprets as the two immediately go to work on the bodies while the rest
[01:36:17] of the rest continue returning fire.
[01:36:19] Cowboy, come with me.
[01:36:21] Tell loaks in command until we get back.
[01:36:23] I give loka thumbs up as the two of us slowly crawl, advancing on hands and needs towards
[01:36:29] a cluster of bushes, flicking aside a large black beetle as to not crush it.
[01:36:34] That funny.
[01:36:37] We're able to move close enough to the NVA that Cowboy hears their commander yelled as troops
[01:36:42] prepared to charge their position.
[01:36:45] At the periphery of my vision sits a small bird staring, sitting below the normal human
[01:36:50] level of observation in an instant in a flicker of wings, advantages into the undergrowth.
[01:36:55] I wish I could do that.
[01:36:57] Just to be an after the beetle, everybody seems to be after somebody.
[01:37:00] A kindhearted reverence for life pushes its way into my thoughts, get the Claymore out of
[01:37:04] Cowboy's rock blasting cap from the survival vest.
[01:37:07] That's it.
[01:37:08] Cowboy finishes out a hand grenade and wire spool.
[01:37:12] Hacily, we rigged the Claymore in the direction of those willing men from the north.
[01:37:16] The loving husband and the son-in-law who likes to grow his own vegetables.
[01:37:20] Fuck them all.
[01:37:22] A cloud of shredded foliage rains down on Cowboy and me as we work our way back towards
[01:37:26] Alabama, laying the detonation wires.
[01:37:30] Get out of the line of fire, my little friend, I whisper after the bird.
[01:37:33] The insistent husbands, brothers, and son-in-law's stampy towards our indefensible position
[01:37:39] with weapons blazing, with their bulging veins frothing at the mouth, the lights are
[01:37:44] their eyes wide.
[01:37:46] Cowboy detonates the Claymore.
[01:37:48] The air is filled with animal-like howls, gunfire, the smell of cordite, rotting vegetation,
[01:37:54] and death.
[01:37:56] We have blown a bloody path right down through the middle of them.
[01:38:00] Claymore smokes clearing a yellow Alabama up.
[01:38:03] Follow me.
[01:38:05] The team moves through the path of carnage with our weapons on full auto as we assist the wounded.
[01:38:10] Online, this is what you get for screen one of the black brothers.
[01:38:15] What's left of their ragged lines sporadically fires into our small band, Cowboy stumbles
[01:38:20] and falls having taken another round on his left side.
[01:38:23] It comes ultimately to his feet, giving the okay signal, one seemingly through the past
[01:38:28] NVA battle line, one seemingly through and past the NVA battle line, Luke Collap.
[01:38:35] Collapses are online formation to inline and orders the team to go in on single shot.
[01:38:41] The left of Cowboy sure to soak with blood, blocked by impossible terrain on one side
[01:38:46] and NVA forces on the other.
[01:38:47] We work our way through the dense undergrowth, back toward our point of insertion.
[01:38:52] We are rear and in parallel on both flanks we can hear the NVA regrouping, gathering their
[01:38:58] strength.
[01:38:59] Random enemy shooting subsides as they begin firing signal shots to indicate the path
[01:39:03] of our travel.
[01:39:05] Flanking teams of two trackers for each enemy squad intermittently push us along.
[01:39:09] As they reveal themselves, we cut them down with single shots.
[01:39:13] Fire discipline is good.
[01:39:14] Gotta find a place where we can stop to patch up our wounded.
[01:39:18] Don't fire randomly.
[01:39:20] Kill the enemy.
[01:39:21] We continue maneuvering on our way through the high thick underbrush toward the primary
[01:39:27] LZ leaving behind the striped the striped bodies of our point man, Howa and our 10-Jim
[01:39:34] stride.
[01:39:36] Oh, I know.
[01:39:39] Can you imagine?
[01:39:41] I mean, just how any of them lived.
[01:39:45] Yeah.
[01:39:45] It's amazing to see too.
[01:39:52] Just to see someone step up both Blackjack and Cowboy.
[01:39:59] Cowboys getting shot.
[01:40:00] He's wounded and he's just leading and blins stepping up and leading when all this may
[01:40:06] have him is taking.
[01:40:07] And you know, I always say leadership is the most important thing on the battlefield.
[01:40:12] If these guys didn't step up and lead, everyone's dead.
[01:40:15] 100%.
[01:40:16] It's a guarantee.
[01:40:17] These guys step up.
[01:40:18] They take action.
[01:40:19] They lead.
[01:40:21] And at this point, they're going to look like they're going to get some progress.
[01:40:25] Yeah.
[01:40:26] His zero one was sharp and fearless because he rallied them.
[01:40:29] Took care of the other details well then and Cowboy going on and poor Cowboy getting
[01:40:34] hit the second time like that.
[01:40:36] Oh my God.
[01:40:37] He was a big Vietnamese.
[01:40:39] He was taller than me.
[01:40:40] Who is the zero one?
[01:40:41] Cowboy.
[01:40:42] He's the interpreter.
[01:40:43] The zero one.
[01:40:44] I forget his name.
[01:40:45] You mentioned it there.
[01:40:46] I was just a zero one.
[01:40:47] That's our Vietnamese counterpart.
[01:40:49] The one's the American is the zero one.
[01:40:51] He's had the experience because Alabama for months earlier.
[01:40:57] The entire team was wiped out.
[01:40:59] The Sephora to one zero.
[01:41:01] And he escaped and did a personal E and E back to the Ashwa Valley and picked them up.
[01:41:07] So 68 was a bad year for Alabama.
[01:41:10] But the zero one did not go on that faithful mission.
[01:41:14] So he had his experience right over to fifth that between him and Cowboy.
[01:41:19] Oh yeah, low.
[01:41:20] Yeah.
[01:41:21] That's who we're talking about.
[01:41:22] Low is the zero one.
[01:41:24] And then the other guy on there is Dote Quang who later became the idol.
[01:41:29] I stole him from Alabama a couple years later.
[01:41:32] He was great.
[01:41:33] But just a fearless absolute warrior.
[01:41:36] Bad asses.
[01:41:37] Oh yeah.
[01:41:38] I mean, it's crazy.
[01:41:41] You know, the bombers in Europe, the bombers in Europe, the American bombers that
[01:41:49] bombed Europe in World War II.
[01:41:51] I think they had to do 25 missions if they did 25 missions they were done.
[01:41:55] And sometimes they'd push a little further.
[01:41:57] Yeah.
[01:41:58] But yeah, that was what the rule in place was.
[01:42:00] And the rule that they gave you guys was three.
[01:42:03] And then those bombers, those guys were taking massive
[01:42:08] casualties.
[01:42:09] You know, mass casualties.
[01:42:10] Oh, absolutely profound casualties.
[01:42:13] And yet they said, hey, you guys are going to do 25 missions.
[01:42:16] And you guys, they're saying, hey, listen, can we get three out of you?
[01:42:20] Yeah.
[01:42:21] See, now, we never, I don't remember that part of the brief.
[01:42:24] If we ever had it, see, then remember those details.
[01:42:27] That's why his stuff was just so great.
[01:42:29] It's vivid.
[01:42:30] Yeah, I don't forget they told the bombers.
[01:42:33] Remember the Frenchman.
[01:42:34] His dad was the lead.
[01:42:35] Right.
[01:42:36] On that one squadron.
[01:42:37] 23, only one comes back out of 1,000 airplanes.
[01:42:41] So yeah, same catastrophic effects by the enemy.
[01:42:52] Continuing on October 5, Blackjack, Mandolin, were returning with the King Bees
[01:42:57] to food buy for fuel.
[01:42:59] No extraction is possible for at least two, maybe three hours over.
[01:43:05] The Kobe is on station.
[01:43:07] You'll be talking to Spiderman.
[01:43:10] This fast is possible.
[01:43:13] Mandolin, we're about to find out how much longer we can hold out.
[01:43:17] Don't panic Blackjack, find the path.
[01:43:19] Don't let them pin you down.
[01:43:21] Spiderman or Bob Parks, X10 of RT Idaho, just like Mandolin.
[01:43:26] Spiderman, Blackjack over.
[01:43:29] Blackjack, Spiderman.
[01:43:30] Keeping your cool buddy.
[01:43:32] Keeping your cool buddy.
[01:43:33] He's there. We're not alone.
[01:43:35] Man, having you guys with that direct relationship with your cubbies and they sat in the briefs
[01:43:41] and they knew what you were going to do.
[01:43:43] That's a powerful thing.
[01:43:45] That was a key.
[01:43:46] Having that rider.
[01:43:48] And that's the epitome of it.
[01:43:50] That moment in time right there.
[01:43:51] Because lens like, oh, walk this is gone.
[01:43:53] The King Bees are gone.
[01:43:54] Nobody's going to come back for two or three hours.
[01:43:57] You be cool.
[01:43:58] There's spider talking to him.
[01:44:00] Then I'd be for his feet and his ass and liars dice at the club.
[01:44:03] I don't know if you ever heard this story, but Dave Burke.
[01:44:07] Good deal.
[01:44:08] Yeah.
[01:44:08] He was in Ramadi and he's Anglico, supported.
[01:44:12] I think he's supporting an army unit.
[01:44:14] And it's the first real closer support that he's actually calling.
[01:44:18] And he's a former F or he's an F 18 pilot.
[01:44:21] And it just so happens by coincidence and miracle and other coincidence that he
[01:44:27] keys up the mic and says this is lightning six.
[01:44:30] And the guy that answers the guy that's in the air about to give
[01:44:34] Organs form is like one of his buddies.
[01:44:36] No.
[01:44:37] And he says something like, hey, chip, it's you know, hey, chip.
[01:44:40] It's Maverick.
[01:44:41] I'm ready to rock and roll.
[01:44:42] He goes, oh, it's like this.
[01:44:44] So having that relationship that you guys had with these
[01:44:47] Cubbies, man.
[01:44:48] Cool.
[01:44:49] Absolutely.
[01:44:50] So he says keeping your cool buddy.
[01:44:54] Stand by spider. They're pushing us from all sides. We're moving
[01:44:57] Back towards the LZ perimeter and we'll be ready for extraction over
[01:45:01] Grabbing a claymore from one of the Rucksacks.
[01:45:03] I set up a 10 second fuse pointing to it to our rear while low covers
[01:45:06] Me. We can hear them screaming in agony as we move through the
[01:45:09] Brut Bush back towards our insertion.
[01:45:12] And you know what, before we go on, I just want to go back to this
[01:45:17] because it's a, it's a little bit of a point of contention in the book.
[01:45:22] If you remember, I read this part where he says we continue maneuvering our way
[01:45:26] through the high thick underbrush toward the primary LZ,
[01:45:29] leaving behind the stripped bodies of our point man,
[01:45:33] Howa and our one zero Jim Stride.
[01:45:36] So he had to make a decision.
[01:45:39] The hardest possible decision that a person could have to make,
[01:45:42] which is, hey, these guys are dead.
[01:45:44] We're going to strip their bodies and we're going to leave them
[01:45:47] because if we try and look, anybody that hasn't ever carried a
[01:45:51] freaking, another human being through rough terrain, you have no idea.
[01:45:55] You have no idea look and you can say, I'll pick up my bow pick up
[01:45:58] echo right now and I'll run, you know, across the parking lot or
[01:46:01] whatever, run 100 yards.
[01:46:03] Yeah, it might not seem like that big of a deal.
[01:46:05] If you make echo actual dead weight, where he's not helping
[01:46:09] in any way, not adjusting his weight on you, not holding on to your
[01:46:13] neck or holding onto your shoulders.
[01:46:15] None of that. If it's just true dead weight,
[01:46:17] 200 and five pounds or 210 pounds or whatever,
[01:46:21] way too, 220, but 220. Okay, 220 pounds of dead weight.
[01:46:26] You're 185.
[01:46:29] It's not that big of a deal to do it.
[01:46:31] It's not when you pick up a body and you carry him across the
[01:46:34] field, the football field or the parking lot, it's not that big of a deal.
[01:46:38] When they're dead weight, it's totally different when you're
[01:46:42] in terrain, it's even more different.
[01:46:44] And then when you're getting freaking shot at and assaulted by a
[01:46:48] massive number of NVA, you got to make a decision.
[01:46:51] What are we going to do? Are we going to survive?
[01:46:54] Or are we going to perish to save our friends body?
[01:46:57] What would I want? What would, what would, if I was shot,
[01:47:00] if I was dead, what would I want you to do?
[01:47:02] All die to bring my body out, hell no, you get your ass out of there.
[01:47:06] And so Lynn had to make this decision and he made it quick and
[01:47:11] you know, that's how you survive.
[01:47:13] Oh yeah.
[01:47:14] It wasn't easy, but he did the right thing.
[01:47:18] Yeah.
[01:47:19] That's what you got to do.
[01:47:21] It's not like, and by the way, when you when you leave that body,
[01:47:25] you're not saying, oh, we're never going to do anything.
[01:47:27] No, you go do a bright light. You could do what you got to do to
[01:47:30] once you get your forces assembled and you can get more guys and
[01:47:33] you can get the right air covering all that stuff.
[01:47:36] You're not abandoning them, but at that moment in time,
[01:47:39] you got to make a decision for the survivability of the team.
[01:47:42] It just, that's what you have to do.
[01:47:45] Here's his thoughts, wait a minute.
[01:47:48] We just marked our location.
[01:47:49] How stupid was that?
[01:47:51] This is after they blow after they blow up a claymore.
[01:47:53] They're like, oh, that was a bad move.
[01:47:55] We just marked our location.
[01:47:57] Evade stay out of contact as long as possible.
[01:47:59] Yeah, right.
[01:48:00] The NVA, no, we're heading toward the LZ and are trying to push us onto it to
[01:48:05] where we'll be easier targets.
[01:48:07] They intend to use us as bait so they can shoot down more helicopters.
[01:48:10] Once we're dead and the helicopters are down, the line weight for the
[01:48:14] bright light rescue choppers.
[01:48:17] Screw that.
[01:48:18] Today it's not going to, today it's going to end with us.
[01:48:21] Dead or alive, these bastards aren't going to use me as bait.
[01:48:25] Maybe we can bait them out on the LZ where our gunships can get it.
[01:48:29] Them hunt the hunters.
[01:48:31] They're going to be a good idea.
[01:48:33] They're going to be a good idea.
[01:48:38] These are the LZ thoughts.
[01:48:41] Quickly working through cowboy, loken I decide to turn back against the NVA.
[01:48:48] We employ fire and maneuver.
[01:48:50] 18 firing wall, beat team is maneuvering, searching, destroying and clearing a path.
[01:48:54] Old school cover move.
[01:48:57] We turn moving back through the claymore swath until we encounter the
[01:49:01] larger enemy force all lines searching us out.
[01:49:06] Down, weight, ready, fire, red and green creep.
[01:49:10] Red and green traitors fill the air moving like rush hour traffic lights.
[01:49:15] We are able to grease a couple of platoon size forces.
[01:49:18] Up on me, Alabama forms up as I point south west towards the LZ.
[01:49:23] A new NVA line is flooding in this behind searching us out.
[01:49:27] They are using grenades to clear the jungle as they move.
[01:49:31] Whistles are sounding on two sides indicating we are moving into a possible ambush.
[01:49:36] They're attempting to hurt us together on the edge of the LZ where there's a
[01:49:41] 2,000 foot shear drop on the southern edge.
[01:49:46] Alabama online yells low, pointing our direction of travel.
[01:49:51] Boldly, we charge pushing them back, mowing them down like weeds, bold move.
[01:49:57] We close to the perimeter to the LZ perimeter.
[01:50:01] Don't let them force us out into the open.
[01:50:03] A fast moving object enters my peripheral vision.
[01:50:06] Wack, my head is snapped back by a wooden handlebed grenade.
[01:50:10] Instantly I'm looking into the jungle canopy.
[01:50:13] Seeing a muddled green light stream through a haze of cordite.
[01:50:17] It's over.
[01:50:18] You saw it coming and couldn't get out of the way.
[01:50:20] Lower below me, the concussion lifts me from the ground pushing me through the air.
[01:50:25] My feet are over my head, green tracers track, crack around me like lady finger firecrackers.
[01:50:30] That tree is upside down and moving fast.
[01:50:33] This is all wrong.
[01:50:34] Focus your your missed the moment of your death.
[01:50:36] I hear myself say I can't breathe.
[01:50:39] I feel like I'm drowning.
[01:50:41] The team, they are frantically beating me back to consciousness, pouring water over my head.
[01:50:45] Okay, okay, I'm back.
[01:50:46] I try to get up.
[01:50:47] My legs don't work.
[01:50:49] From the knees down my fatigue pants are shredded and I'm bleeding.
[01:50:53] One of the men, quang, start smearing.
[01:50:57] Jell it's an eyes to rise on my legs, arms, face and chest.
[01:51:01] Web gear and what is left of my survival vest,
[01:51:03] relying on the ground and bloody tatters along with the car 15.
[01:51:07] It's bent where the barrel meets the receiver and the bolt can't be pulled back.
[01:51:11] Locer orders a scout to bury the car.
[01:51:14] Cowboy hands me strides weapon.
[01:51:16] Cowboy, what's wrong with your hand?
[01:51:18] Grnage, trapple.
[01:51:19] He wins his handing me the weapon.
[01:51:24] You have now officially pissed me off.
[01:51:27] I scream at the end of the day.
[01:51:30] So at this point, they're doing fire maneuver.
[01:51:34] They're getting to the edge of the LZ.
[01:51:36] He gets hit in the head with a freaking grenade.
[01:51:39] And then it detonates, blows him up in the air.
[01:51:42] Destroyed his car 15.
[01:51:44] Destroyed his car 15.
[01:51:46] Yeah, this is after they charge through the NBA rank.
[01:51:52] They go through them.
[01:51:54] It's like, even in my best day, I don't think I would have thought of that.
[01:51:58] It had to be somebody like them.
[01:52:00] It's just such a distinct courageous move.
[01:52:02] It is and it's one of those things where that's the last thing that the enemies could think she're going to do.
[01:52:06] And they probably just, it was the last thing they would think.
[01:52:09] Yeah.
[01:52:10] And then when it happens, they're not ready for it.
[01:52:11] They're like, what's happening?
[01:52:12] Is it brilliant? Just a brilliant move.
[01:52:16] So he says you have now officially pissed me off.
[01:52:20] I scream at the NBA.
[01:52:22] God damn, I hit her to do that.
[01:52:24] Scrabbling around my position.
[01:52:26] I finally find the radio handset.
[01:52:28] Spider-Blackjack.
[01:52:29] I'm declaring a Prairie Fire Emergency.
[01:52:33] A Prairie Fire Emergency should drop enough maypom on you.
[01:52:36] Sockers to ruin your day.
[01:52:38] Laughing.
[01:52:38] The reply comes, blackjack, no kidding brother.
[01:52:42] Keep your cool.
[01:52:44] Above all else.
[01:52:46] Keep your cool.
[01:52:48] So that's awesome.
[01:52:50] I mean, Spider-Head already said, hey, this, we've already moved an assets into place.
[01:52:54] He can tell that this is a shit sandwich down here.
[01:52:58] And then he gives this advice.
[01:53:00] You know, this is advice we can all use.
[01:53:02] Keep your cool.
[01:53:03] Above all else.
[01:53:04] Keep your cool.
[01:53:05] Oh yeah.
[01:53:06] And that means so much because it's coming from Spider,
[01:53:09] who's a who's a one zero himself.
[01:53:11] It's been on the ground.
[01:53:13] But knows what's happening.
[01:53:14] And he's saying above all else.
[01:53:16] Keep your cool.
[01:53:18] And so then he says to himself,
[01:53:20] calm the hell down, blackjack.
[01:53:22] Be cool.
[01:53:23] So that actually worked.
[01:53:24] He actually listened.
[01:53:25] Spider, blackjack.
[01:53:27] So what's our asset status over?
[01:53:30] All assets have been diverted to your location.
[01:53:32] Covey will coordinate them as they arrive and let you know what armament is available.
[01:53:35] You make the decision what you want,
[01:53:37] when and where you want it.
[01:53:39] Any questions?
[01:53:40] Who's up first?
[01:53:41] I attempt to rise but fall flat on my face.
[01:53:43] God damn it.
[01:53:44] Six gunships will prep the LZ with gun and rocket runs.
[01:53:47] Amongst them will one will attempt to land.
[01:53:50] If that's not possible,
[01:53:52] it will trail a ladder.
[01:53:54] Improvise brother, Roger Spider.
[01:53:56] I roll over hugging the radio receiver to my ear.
[01:54:00] Trying to get to my feet.
[01:54:02] The gunships fire rockets and then make gun runs near our position.
[01:54:06] The rescue ship attempts to land twice.
[01:54:09] Twice we make our move.
[01:54:11] Too much lead in the air.
[01:54:13] Ground fires much too intense.
[01:54:15] They're hammering our pickup to pieces.
[01:54:17] Get it out of here.
[01:54:18] Spider, do you copy?
[01:54:19] Over.
[01:54:20] The rescue ship limps off while the Wal-Marine scar face ships expand their ordinance and covering fire.
[01:54:26] Blackjack.
[01:54:27] Spider.
[01:54:28] Spider.
[01:54:33] A crime scene.
[01:54:36] ша.
[01:54:37] A president, a man, on the right.
[01:54:41] India authority.
[01:54:43] Another anger, there's no�� agreement between the six friends and you.
[01:54:43] Later, a fan of government.
[01:54:46] They need to spend timeying time of retirement.
[01:54:51] When there was a massive bomb fight,
[01:54:55] a field break at the bag and a building.
[01:54:57] It's like, this is not going to be a good day.
[01:55:02] And you just don't know.
[01:55:04] Can you hear what the aircraft are?
[01:55:07] I know you can't hear what the guy's on the ground are saying because they're on the ground
[01:55:10] and they're not lying to sites so you wouldn't be able.
[01:55:12] Could you guys hear what the aircraft are saying back to the guy's on the ground?
[01:55:15] When you get to work up some of spiders transmission in the petwalk because you can hear some of it.
[01:55:20] Could depend on where they were, how low they were and up.
[01:55:23] So we picked up some.
[01:55:24] We just knew it was a shit show because the whole camp, this is a siren.
[01:55:29] Everybody just came to a pause and started praying for them.
[01:55:33] And so what are you guys, so are you the one zero?
[01:55:36] No, Don Walk was the one zero back then.
[01:55:38] I was the one one for Idaho and they talked about the bright light.
[01:55:42] Don had gone for the brief and they said, we might be the bright light.
[01:55:46] What's your, what are you doing when you're, when you might be the bright light?
[01:55:49] Do you already have all your mags or all loaded?
[01:55:51] Yeah, we already have.
[01:55:52] I'll present nice the next day you just, we'll just take anything out.
[01:55:55] Then it's just all bolts and grenades and extra bandages.
[01:55:58] Maybe a couple body bags.
[01:56:00] And then we never even got to the launch site.
[01:56:04] They cancel it because they, they'd be between the enemy, the anti aircraft and then the weather.
[01:56:12] Because it started clouded over and then all the guns smoke, the cordi.
[01:56:17] And then the clouds.
[01:56:19] They figured one more team went in.
[01:56:22] We've been more casualty and the, and the king be like, like, what lint just described.
[01:56:27] Yeah.
[01:56:27] The first attempt to get him out just like get out of here.
[01:56:30] You just want to live themselves.
[01:56:32] Yeah, which you think about the mindset of Lynn Black.
[01:56:37] Yeah.
[01:56:37] Your savior is coming down to rescue you.
[01:56:42] And you say, nope, get out of here.
[01:56:44] Yeah.
[01:56:45] What an honorable move beyond.
[01:56:48] Yeah.
[01:56:49] Yeah.
[01:56:50] He says, so he says, so, so spider says, hey, we're getting a bright light ready for you.
[01:56:57] And then Blackjack, spider Blackjack, how would they get in here?
[01:57:01] We don't need more people on the ground or helicopter shot down.
[01:57:04] Don't let the NVA use us as bait.
[01:57:06] We need to get off the ground and out of line of fire.
[01:57:09] In the meantime, what I really need is a resupply of ammo over.
[01:57:14] Blackjack, you okay?
[01:57:16] Got nailed with her grenade, nothing serious over.
[01:57:18] Just can't walk.
[01:57:20] Ammo's on the way and I agree with your assessment of the bright light over.
[01:57:24] Spider, tell food by Alabama is not a sacrificial lamb.
[01:57:28] No bright light over.
[01:57:30] So not only do you call off his helicopter from coming in, he's calling off the rescue
[01:57:34] mission himself.
[01:57:35] He's saying, hey, don't send a bright light.
[01:57:38] I'm glad he said that.
[01:57:40] He says, Roger Blackjack, bye.
[01:57:44] The way the assets are beginning to have difficulty with the weather and smoke hanging
[01:57:49] over the LZ, you're difficult to spot, which makes accurate air strikes increasingly
[01:57:54] difficult over.
[01:57:56] Cowboy is working on my legs while he's telling the Boku NVA on LZ.
[01:58:02] We can hear gunships overhead in witness NVA Tracer's riddling the lead ship.
[01:58:07] The NVA move across the grassy plane of the LZ, like a work-party of ants,
[01:58:12] trampling down the two-foot razor grass, which is the only concealment we have.
[01:58:17] Sun the one-one panics, shouting skyward, God save us.
[01:58:22] The NVA swore migrates in our direction.
[01:58:26] So the one-one who's been freaked out this whole time and hasn't done his job.
[01:58:34] Now yells out, God save us and the NVA hear it.
[01:58:40] Vietanemies team members speaking through Cowboy say,
[01:58:44] we're going to kill one one if he doesn't shut up.
[01:58:47] I'll pull the trigger on him myself.
[01:58:49] I agree.
[01:58:50] Too early one-one whispers, whimper's God forgive you.
[01:58:54] Sounds of an approaching King B, King B, and our diversion as the carrots of survival are
[01:59:00] dangled in front of us again.
[01:59:01] Each King B, King B, can hold four.
[01:59:03] So we got to get everyone out on two.
[01:59:05] Sure hope they brought a dozen to this party.
[01:59:08] We've met, we've got to get to the center of the LV, help the wounded move.
[01:59:12] I scream in one-one's face.
[01:59:14] Fearfully confused one-one takes hold of Locke, who is in the who brushes him off with
[01:59:19] the stain.
[01:59:20] Blackjack, spider, first King B, inbound.
[01:59:24] Gunships begin prepping the LZ with Rock, Rockets, 40-Might-Might-Might-Might-Might-M-M-60s.
[01:59:29] Blackjack, spider.
[01:59:30] I've got a fast move around track, key your handsets, so he can get a lock.
[01:59:34] Put your heads in the dirt over.
[01:59:36] Roger, hand-set, keyed heads down.
[01:59:41] We look into the Hayes Street Sun as a full-flaped fan of his glide path ratio critical.
[01:59:49] Ignites the tree line across the LZ into sheets of white yellow and orange flames.
[01:59:54] The ship banks sharply after burners crank on and he powers into the valley below.
[01:59:59] NVA, small arms open up on three sides, lazy, wagging tongues of green, tracer, fire,
[02:00:07] sweep of sky for miles.
[02:00:10] Heavy AAA, fire, chase the NF4.
[02:00:14] Jesus, some of those guns aren't far from our location.
[02:00:17] How many of these bastards are there?
[02:00:19] What the hell are we in the middle of?
[02:00:21] King my handset, spider, blackjack.
[02:00:23] Did you see that anti-aircraft fire on the fast mover?
[02:00:25] Over.
[02:00:26] Roger, blackjack.
[02:00:27] Marking map coordinates now.
[02:00:29] This is mandolin back on station over.
[02:00:32] So they've gone from spider as the cubby.
[02:00:36] Well, from mandolin to spider, now we're back to mandolin.
[02:00:40] And by the way, props to that F4 fan.
[02:00:43] We've had a couple of F4 fanom Vietnam pilots on here.
[02:00:47] Those guys were doing a freaking doing God's work up there,
[02:00:52] especially in a case like this, dropping Nae Palm to save these guys.
[02:00:56] Among those shooting are several NVA about 20 feet from our perimeter.
[02:01:02] Nae Palm torches the jungle, forcing dozens of the enemy to scurry onto the LZ,
[02:01:06] escaping the inferno and gulfing their comrades just as another F4 rolls in for a gun run.
[02:01:12] The NVA move it, move in close to us, making every possible attempt to avoid the firestorm.
[02:01:17] Firing on single shot, we begin to pick them off as they stream out of the fire,
[02:01:22] drenched jungle.
[02:01:24] Those close to us endeavor to suppress our fire attempting to protect their comrades.
[02:01:29] Their friends, fathers, brothers, uncles that onion-eating sun and law.
[02:01:34] As they pop up, we put them down.
[02:01:37] Phanoms return with two cannon and gun runs along our perimeter.
[02:01:42] And I haven't really gone into this, but you can hear a couple of times that Lynn has referred to the enemy
[02:01:49] as fathers and sons and brothers and uncles. He just does that to kind of let you know what he's thinking about.
[02:01:58] And he's thinking like, yeah, these are other men and we're about to kill him.
[02:02:02] That's the way it goes.
[02:02:04] Oh yeah.
[02:02:07] He yells out ammo check.
[02:02:11] And then two nine cylinder radial engine king bees come chugging up the valley tortoise.
[02:02:17] We ignite green smoke marking our position. The NVA ignite identical smoke markers at several locations, confusing the pilots.
[02:02:25] God.
[02:02:27] Oh yeah.
[02:02:28] Bastards.
[02:02:29] And guess what?
[02:02:31] We rise moving toward the approaching ships killing everyone in our path.
[02:02:36] Amos getting critical.
[02:02:37] Each of the team has less than a full magazine.
[02:02:40] And those are 20 round mags.
[02:02:43] Whoever invented the 20 round mag.
[02:02:47] Then set up a 30 round mag.
[02:02:50] The M79 men are down to their last band allures.
[02:02:54] I'm stumbling along working with my browning.
[02:02:58] It's cord peeling the skin off the back of my burn neck.
[02:03:03] We watch and disbelief as this first king be touches down right over an NVA smoke marker,
[02:03:08] taking multiple RPG rocket round hits on the flight deck.
[02:03:12] So just to clarify that so everyone can understand when you're marking for location to get.
[02:03:18] First of all, you got to understand that when you're in a.
[02:03:21] When you're in the sky when you're in a helicopter and you're looking down at the ground,
[02:03:25] it's freaking huge.
[02:03:27] It's massive.
[02:03:28] And I had a time where I was in a training operation.
[02:03:32] And there was a helicopter coming to pick us up and standing there.
[02:03:36] And this was in the desert with your panel.
[02:03:39] And I was standing there with my panel and I'm waving it and I'm like, oh yeah, I'm going right here.
[02:03:43] And he goes where are you?
[02:03:44] And I said I'm right here.
[02:03:45] And he says where are you?
[02:03:46] And I said I'm right freaking here.
[02:03:48] And I'm on the hilltop or whatever stupid thing I said because I was a younger guy.
[02:03:52] Yeah.
[02:03:53] I'm on the hilltop.
[02:03:54] Well, I learned a lesson.
[02:03:56] You know how many hill tops he can see from his helicopter.
[02:03:59] You can see 500 of them.
[02:04:01] So I don't narrow it down at all.
[02:04:03] So what we do is we mark our position with something that's very obvious.
[02:04:07] Like green smoke.
[02:04:09] So in this situation, blackjack gets the green smoke out.
[02:04:12] Hey, come land on this green smoke.
[02:04:14] The the NVAC that.
[02:04:17] And they go, oh, yep, we know what that is.
[02:04:19] Their marked green smoke.
[02:04:20] K-Pull off the green smoke boom.
[02:04:21] So they start throwing green smoke.
[02:04:23] So now what does it look like?
[02:04:24] There's green smoke everywhere.
[02:04:25] Additionally, they were monitoring the radio.
[02:04:28] Oh, yeah.
[02:04:29] So they had RDF as well as the monitoring capabilities.
[02:04:33] And so when they heard, I don't think Lynn would have said green.
[02:04:36] I mean, he probably was going to pop a smoke.
[02:04:38] The NVAC.
[02:04:39] The guest was a good guest.
[02:04:41] And you got to be Zoltz come.
[02:04:46] So here we go.
[02:04:47] We watch in disbelief as the first king be touches down right over an NVAC smoke marker.
[02:04:52] Taking multiple RPG rocket rounds.
[02:04:55] Round hits on its flight deck.
[02:04:57] The force of the blast is so great.
[02:04:59] The ship, teaters and finally topples to its side.
[02:05:02] Each subsequent rotor blade smashing into the ground.
[02:05:05] Wooping in our direction.
[02:05:07] Nerallead missing Alabama as we approach.
[02:05:10] We grab up NVAC weapons.
[02:05:12] Turning them on the enemy.
[02:05:14] They're everywhere.
[02:05:15] Why didn't we see them until now?
[02:05:17] Without hesitation, we charge the rocket position.
[02:05:20] Killing several NVAC before a hail of fire drives us back to our starting point.
[02:05:25] These AKs have a slower rate of cyclic fire.
[02:05:28] cyclic fire.
[02:05:29] The ammunition will last longer.
[02:05:31] We don't need to resupply.
[02:05:32] We can keep doing this till hell freezes over.
[02:05:34] The second.
[02:05:36] So there they ran out of ammo basically.
[02:05:38] Now they're picking up the enemy AK47s.
[02:05:40] And they're shooting.
[02:05:41] And the AK is definitely slower.
[02:05:43] Shooting than a.
[02:05:45] Then a car 15.
[02:05:46] The second ship hits an outcropping of rock on the western side of the no.
[02:05:50] After taking heavy gunfire and falls onto the valley floor below.
[02:05:54] Blackjack.
[02:05:55] Mandolin.
[02:05:56] Nice try over.
[02:05:58] Screw you mandolin.
[02:05:59] I no longer want to be extracted.
[02:06:02] I'm going to kill every one of these sons of mothers before this day ends.
[02:06:07] So there you go.
[02:06:12] I'm going to read that again.
[02:06:13] I no longer want to be extracted.
[02:06:16] I'm going to kill every one of these sons of mothers before this day ends.
[02:06:20] Oh yeah.
[02:06:24] Limbac.
[02:06:26] You don't want to piss off Limbac.
[02:06:28] No.
[02:06:29] No.
[02:06:30] Even on a good day.
[02:06:35] Then cowboy says to the in response to that cowboy who's again.
[02:06:40] This is the interpreter.
[02:06:41] Right.
[02:06:42] He's the interpreter.
[02:06:43] Yes.
[02:06:44] He says one one.
[02:06:45] This is the one one of the guys that's been praying the whole time.
[02:06:47] He says one one.
[02:06:48] Please pray for the team.
[02:06:50] Except Blackjack.
[02:06:51] He's on the devil side now.
[02:06:53] Blackjack.
[02:06:57] Mandolin fast movers have expanded their ordinance and our returning for resupply.
[02:07:02] Your ammo is on that second king be assets in 20 minutes.
[02:07:06] Good luck, brother.
[02:07:07] Mandolin.
[02:07:08] Blackjack.
[02:07:09] We don't need.
[02:07:11] Forget it over.
[02:07:12] Blackjack.
[02:07:13] Mandolin.
[02:07:14] What's your status over?
[02:07:15] Dammit.
[02:07:16] Blackjack.
[02:07:17] Bugles are sounding wave upon wave of NBA troops carrying rifles with fixed bayonets
[02:07:23] is advancing online.
[02:07:26] When they are feet away we open fire using weapons we have taken from their dead.
[02:07:30] After the first burst of full automatic the team fumbles with AK 47 selector switches to single shot,
[02:07:36] pushing them back.
[02:07:37] We move from body to body using their weapons and their cadavers as shields.
[02:07:42] Crawling kneeling, knee walking, standing, scrambling online, inline.
[02:07:46] We defend each other and ourselves without a word, a look, a plan, acting on training, peer survival instinct.
[02:07:53] All of us, except one one are scampering around, dragging, lugging bodies placing them in a circle around Alabama.
[02:08:01] Stacking them high, we construct a cadaver garrison, cowboy is bleeding from a grazing wound to the back of his neck.
[02:08:08] Tiny army-green leeches in inch out of the trampled razor grass, following the blood trails we've created dragging the dead.
[02:08:17] Focusing on details directly in front of me I noticed the vampire mosquitoes and ravenous cannibalistic horse flies competing with the leeches to feed on the dead and wounded and on the living.
[02:08:28] One of the Vietnamese flips me a plastic mosquito repellent bottle.
[02:08:34] Hey, that's stings. What the hell are we doing worrying about mosquitoes when people are trying to kill us?
[02:08:38] Snaggis is much animal, ammo is possible, I order.
[02:08:43] Back and forth and again, it's important to remember that this is Lynn telling the story. He's debriefing.
[02:08:51] In the way it's laid out, you can tell that he's debriefing in the book. I'm probably not doing a great job, but this is during the debrief.
[02:08:56] And what's interesting, all these things that he's saying about the one one, the one one is in the debrief with him.
[02:09:03] He's saying like, oh, he's not doing anything and one one's in there.
[02:09:08] And he just kind of goes into it a little bit, but he's kind of a verdict his eye and he's keeping his head down. Like, you know, he knows he didn't do a good job.
[02:09:17] Back and forth between the NVA and recon team Alabama continues the back and forth between the NVA and the recon team Alabama continues on and on and on.
[02:09:27] They just keep coming. I don't know how much longer we can keep them keep this up. Keep them off us.
[02:09:32] The matted grass is saturated with slimy slippery blood and human innards smoke, cordite and the stench of death, choke us as foul weather closes in.
[02:09:42] Mosquitoes, horse flies and the enemy are all conspiring to nibble us to death to swallow us whole. Soon air support will be possible.
[02:09:50] Slowly, I come to the realization that I have no physical strength left and I can barely move. I can't let my team down.
[02:09:56] One of the team slips and slides on the stomachs over the cadaver garrison to retrieve ammo while other members of the team provide covering fire.
[02:10:06] So these guys are in a freaking small little fort that they've constructed with enemy bodies.
[02:10:16] And when someone goes outside of that perimeter, they've constructed a perimeter.
[02:10:20] When someone goes outside that perimeter from the team to go gather ammo, the other guys are laying down fire to protect that guy.
[02:10:28] Yeah, he has another thing too with that team.
[02:10:32] They had another one zero on the team prior to stride being assigned to it and they worked really hard on their team.
[02:10:40] Birds the reaction drills. And what they're doing there, I think someone that goes back to the training, that one zero is Tim Shaw. He really worked the team hard as a good one zero, but stride for reasons known only to the command.
[02:10:56] They pulled Tim off and put stride in charge because he had more rank.
[02:11:00] But that team right there, that moment in time when the team's doing it went out together, that's all that training that they had prior.
[02:11:08] An experience, Calboy, his year's lock, of course Lynn from the herd.
[02:11:14] Blackjack, Mandolin, Jolly Greens 10 minutes out. Get ready to go home over.
[02:11:24] That announcement lifts a thousand pounds sandbag off my shoulders. We're going home. Mandolin, Blackjack, do you have any idea what size of the force is over?
[02:11:36] Blackjack Mandolin, what you're up against is the regiment you are sent to track over.
[02:11:42] Is that all? Only 3,000 of the bastards? Well, I think we made an indent. I think we made a dent in them.
[02:11:48] Don't you just barely brother, Bugle sound. The sky is filled with grenades. We're hugging the ground as if as they explode around us.
[02:11:56] And it's, till tell us a little bit about the fact that the enemy, they don't have radios. So what they use is whistles and bugles to coordinate their attacks.
[02:12:08] Yeah, the command levels have some radios. And the command gets to their command. Like if you break it down for a patoon to squaw leaders.
[02:12:16] And then with the bugles and the commands, they're trained how they are attacked with withdrawal. And that's what then came up against over and over again.
[02:12:28] Yeah, they, in the Korean War, all those times when that's like the most horrifying thing is all those times when they were to get these human assaults, human wave assaults towards their positions.
[02:12:42] It was all whistles. They'd hear the whistles and they'd hear the bugles. And they would know what was about to happen.
[02:12:47] Sometimes it's for siph, just to make the noise every time you heard you know they're coming.
[02:12:51] Bugle sound. The sky is filled with grenades. We're hugging the ground as they explode around us. Hey, these aren't fragmentation. They're concussion. Just a bunch of noise.
[02:13:02] Not sending out much trappin'o. Conclusion stuff, stuff like the ones they used on me earlier. You're mine now, you bastards. You stand back up, catching some, and begin throwing them immediately back.
[02:13:15] You should have seen the look on their faces. Oh crap, here they come.
[02:13:19] Wouldn't grenade trappin'o sever the prick 25 radio antenna.
[02:13:24] I begin to rig an impromptu long wire aerial with the intention of laying it over the cliff behind us out of harm's way. Relentless, the NVA continued their advance alongside the leeches mosquitoes and horse flies inch by bloody inch.
[02:13:38] Too hoi, surrender, I yell at no one in particular. Mandolin blackjack, a large force is now yards away from our perimeter. We need help.
[02:13:47] Too hoi, hog, attack helicopters, rotor chop their way into the LZ. First with the M60 chatter followed up by the wash of rockets placed into the NVA ranks. Blackjack, judge, over, go judge.
[02:14:04] And this judge is one of the call signs for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps.
[02:14:09] But this is the muskets. Oh, judge in the executioner. Okay. Yeah, so these are army units that came out of a Merrick-Cal.
[02:14:17] Oh, yes, scar faces that scar faces are Marine Corps. So what kind of aircraft are there is judge in executioner same thing?
[02:14:24] Oh, so there are also cobras. No, no cobras at this time. All the gunships were old to you, they could barely go off the ground.
[02:14:32] God, in fact, they're so weighted down without them. And they didn't have the power that the leader models had. In fact, a lot of times when they took off the door guns, we get out to try to lift the helicopter, get it moving.
[02:14:43] And once they got a little forward momentum, they jumped back in the helicopter.
[02:14:47] And the muskets even put little wheels in the front of the skids, so that when they're on asphalt, they could be able to move better without having to skid behind. They figured the wheel would roll better, and they'd gun as about to push in these things.
[02:15:01] That's like Fred Flintstone situation trying to get that.
[02:15:04] Right, so here's a sidebar on one of these on the muskets.
[02:15:08] There was a guy, his name was Berg and Berg, this is his very first mission with the muskets on Prairie Fire for a sawed mission.
[02:15:20] Welcome to sawed.
[02:15:22] Welcome to sawed.
[02:15:22] His first mission as a door gunner.
[02:15:24] Yeah, these are two, these are some epic call signs, though, judge and executioner.
[02:15:29] Oh yeah.
[02:15:31] So, judge checks in on the radio, and this is just such a, you know, as a calm guy.
[02:15:37] So when you get that aircraft checking in, it's like the best feeling of the world, and he comes up blackjack judge over.
[02:15:42] And the pilots are always a little bit more, you know, just sort of really smooth on the radio.
[02:15:48] And so he's coming in this totally hot situation, blackjack judge over.
[02:15:52] And he says, go judge, anyone particular or just kill him all?
[02:15:57] He's laughing.
[02:15:58] Grieve some all, I say, with malevolent bloody grimmace, you're just in time for the party.
[02:16:04] Judges, door gunners are working their M60s in long bursts.
[02:16:08] My guns are going on meltdown.
[02:16:10] Executioners right behind me.
[02:16:12] The NVA back off a few moments, briefly licking their wounds far from discouraged new assault lines form.
[02:16:19] Before they can open fire on us, executioner confronts them head on.
[02:16:23] Both door gunners blazing away.
[02:16:25] He is hovering inches off the LZ, skipping rockets off the ground into their ranks.
[02:16:30] Executioner lifts up his rotors chopping loudly at the missed field air.
[02:16:34] They make it over the tree line ducking down to the basin below remaining below anti aircraft capability.
[02:16:40] Regaining air speed as they come up the executioner and is crew returning for another pass to protect our perimeter.
[02:16:46] The NVA charge before we can celebrate fire fire.
[02:16:49] We add more.
[02:16:50] We add more of them to the cadavered dearest and along with the
[02:16:54] weapons and much needed ammo.
[02:16:57] Silence, no birds chirping, no voices, mosquitoes, flies, no sounds none.
[02:17:02] Even the aircraft have flown far enough away that their absence amplifies the quiet after an almost continuous.
[02:17:08] May lay of gunfire grenades and claymore explosions.
[02:17:12] Air ordinance expenditures including cluster bomb units, Nae palm and gun runs in 20 millimeter cannons.
[02:17:18] Silence, have I gone deaf?
[02:17:21] Completely silence.
[02:17:24] You've been here.
[02:17:25] Yeah, that's freaking crazy.
[02:17:27] Yeah.
[02:17:28] In dead rest each of us lays motionless.
[02:17:31] And by the way, when you say I've been there, no, I have not been in a freaking
[02:17:36] cadavered.
[02:17:37] It's not changing mags.
[02:17:39] Yeah, there's a little mag change going on.
[02:17:41] Each of us rests in dead rest each of us lays motionless, barely breathing.
[02:17:47] My mind is focused inward unaware of its physical surrounding.
[02:17:51] Mind and body are not one.
[02:17:53] One one continues to quietly chant his prayer.
[02:17:56] Cowboy has taken another hit during the last skirmish along with two of the others.
[02:18:01] Come back, think, move.
[02:18:03] Summing energy from where I don't know.
[02:18:06] I fumble around in my medical gear.
[02:18:09] I'm giving you a more feeling will apply a compress to that wound.
[02:18:13] We're going to run out of bandages if you keep getting shot.
[02:18:16] Knock it off, okay?
[02:18:18] So Cowboys been hit a couple times.
[02:18:20] Oh, more than that.
[02:18:21] It looks like four or five.
[02:18:22] I lost count.
[02:18:23] And so, Lynn tells me to run out of bandages so, quick and shot.
[02:18:28] And then Cowboys says, we're John Wayne when you need him.
[02:18:32] Alabama laughs as an NVA, boisterously yells,
[02:18:36] Chuhoy, Dumah.
[02:18:38] Another NVA orders us to Chuhoy in English.
[02:18:41] I flip him the bird as a sniper shoots, Kwang, our tail gunner in the crotch.
[02:18:47] I flip my borrowed AK on Fulato and unloaded into a tree about a hundred yards away,
[02:18:52] resulting in the sniper falling through his limbs through its limbs,
[02:18:55] and brush below to the ground with a foot.
[02:18:58] If I could rip your heart out needed, I would.
[02:19:01] Kwang, Kwang, what have we done?
[02:19:04] Last week, you got arrested by National Police in a way,
[02:19:07] in a way, whorehouse for carrying a pistol.
[02:19:10] The entire Alabama team put on their gear and went down and broke you out of jail,
[02:19:14] so you could go on this mission.
[02:19:16] God damn it, I wish we'd left you in that place where you'd be safe right now.
[02:19:19] Hahahaha.
[02:19:23] Look, I was calling him, look, sorry, lock.
[02:19:26] Lock is applying to pressure to Kwang, the tail gunner's wound.
[02:19:30] Seconds later, an AE1, A1E, Skyrader, Lumbers into the AO,
[02:19:35] flown by a pilot codenamed Snoopy.
[02:19:38] It roars in from the west, brushing tree tops, full flaps,
[02:19:42] working the throttle.
[02:19:44] The aircraft is so close to the team we can hear the distinctive
[02:19:47] metallic click-click of the Nae Palm canister being released
[02:19:50] from the second World War A1E.
[02:19:52] The Skyrader appears to be falling,
[02:19:55] but actually it slips down into the valley to escape gunfire
[02:19:58] as helicopters and fast movers have maneuvered earlier.
[02:20:02] His wingman royals through the clouds and core night,
[02:20:05] we can hear nuts, bolts, and god knows what,
[02:20:08] creaking, groaning as he solves his ship's rockets.
[02:20:11] Three NVA mortars open fire,
[02:20:14] Dup, Dup, boom, Dup, boom, boom,
[02:20:17] they're long, the rounds fall into the valley at our rear.
[02:20:20] There's no way in how many of us can catch mortars
[02:20:23] and throw them back.
[02:20:24] Time to go back to work, I order.
[02:20:26] Lock and I slide over the cadaver wall,
[02:20:29] crouching, crawling, knee-walking,
[02:20:31] we move towards the mortars,
[02:20:33] cautiously picking our way through the charred bodies
[02:20:36] from previous airborne assaults.
[02:20:38] Quietly, yeah, right, we travel into the jungle
[02:20:41] within a few yards in the first mortar tube.
[02:20:44] Lock stops me to draw a plan to the dirt.
[02:20:47] He will hit one tube, tube, I will take tube,
[02:20:49] three, and we will combine on tube, tube, tube,
[02:20:51] damn suicide mission, I say under my breath.
[02:20:54] Lock nods at me.
[02:20:56] Keep Roy, he replies, we die.
[02:21:00] After the mortar, after the mortar men launched
[02:21:02] the next set of three-salvos,
[02:21:04] lock opens fire on his target wall,
[02:21:06] attack, tube, three, discovering several nearby infantry.
[02:21:10] God, so he's in the middle of all this freaking crap,
[02:21:12] and then they're going out and assaulting these three
[02:21:14] mortar positions.
[02:21:15] Yeah, which God knows how far they had to be at least
[02:21:18] what 100 yards away.
[02:21:19] At least, they were told a football field.
[02:21:23] And there's a subsperion for tree trying to kill him
[02:21:27] in between.
[02:21:28] And those are some motivational words.
[02:21:33] We die, and that's sort of like, fuck it, let's go.
[02:21:36] Yeah, let's do this.
[02:21:37] He was a tiger.
[02:21:39] Oh crap, there are more of these bastards than I thought.
[02:21:43] I begin moving low and fast as the survivors chase me,
[02:21:47] heading toward two-one where lock is pinned down,
[02:21:49] yelling as loud as possible,
[02:21:51] drawing their attention, allowing lock to move out of the kilzone.
[02:21:53] I roll our last fragmentation grenade into their midst,
[02:21:56] killing several wounding the rest, lock and eye attack the second two,
[02:21:59] before returning to the team, picking ammo from the dead.
[02:22:02] Snipers dog us all the way back to our cadaver garrison.
[02:22:07] The two of us press our bloody bodies against the jungle floor
[02:22:10] as green tracers search the air around us.
[02:22:13] One one, take a look at this, I say, while rolling over.
[02:22:17] The blood and dirt on me are forming a second skin.
[02:22:20] Leaves and grasses have begun to stick to my bare skin,
[02:22:23] and ants and beetle seem to be making a home on my new crust.
[02:22:27] I'm building my own camouflage.
[02:22:29] It looks like I'm becoming part of this place.
[02:22:31] If I lay down, I bet you they won't tell me from the dead.
[02:22:34] Oh God, please don't go crazy.
[02:22:36] You gotta get us out of here.
[02:22:37] I want to go home, please.
[02:22:39] We'll all be dead long before I go crazy.
[02:22:42] Through the clouds and haze the battle weeklamps of Jolly Green.
[02:22:46] JG28, starting its descent into the LZ.
[02:22:51] As it approaches the radio crackles, blackjack.
[02:22:54] This is 28 on short final looking for an orange panel on the southeast side of the LZ.
[02:22:59] Over.
[02:23:02] 28 blackjack panels on the ground.
[02:23:05] We'll attempt to suppress enemy fire for your landing.
[02:23:08] Orange panel insight, adjusting approach, preparing for touchdown blackjack.
[02:23:12] Get your people on board, over.
[02:23:14] Negative, negative, not southeast, we're southwest.
[02:23:17] You're in the wrong place. Get out of there.
[02:23:19] The NVA raise up all around JG28 firing everything they have.
[02:23:24] The pilot keys isn't radio to answer back.
[02:23:27] I hear a crew member in the background, calm yelling.
[02:23:30] We have fuel leak.
[02:23:32] It's everywhere.
[02:23:33] Get us out of here.
[02:23:34] We watch as the glass and the cockpit on the co-pilot side.
[02:23:37] Disappears with successive rocket explosions.
[02:23:40] The pilot struggles to lift wall, lift off while maintaining control of his ship.
[02:23:45] 28 is up.
[02:23:46] 28 is up.
[02:23:47] Our ride home is slipping sideways across the LZ passing within touching distance above us.
[02:23:54] Over the lip of the plateau down into the valley to escape the relentless enemy barrage.
[02:23:59] Alabama goes insane on full auto burning up the majority of our ammo on anything that moves.
[02:24:04] One one praise.
[02:24:06] Snooping is wingman.
[02:24:07] Move into the next move in next to the crippled JG28.
[02:24:12] Through the haze and darkening storm clouds,
[02:24:18] Kavi is attempting to direct gunships across the LZ to pick off targets of opportunity.
[02:24:23] Their rotors are moving smoke and clouds down across our cadaver's tuned landscape.
[02:24:28] Obscuring everyone's view.
[02:24:29] 28 blackjack.
[02:24:30] 28 blackjack.
[02:24:31] Are you guys okay?
[02:24:32] Over.
[02:24:33] Blackjack.
[02:24:34] We have a severed fuel line.
[02:24:36] The stuff sloshing all over the deck.
[02:24:38] Fuel fumes are blinding my crew.
[02:24:40] We can't fire our guns without going up and flames.
[02:24:43] Snooping will escort us out of here.
[02:24:45] Good luck, Blackjack.
[02:24:46] Out.
[02:24:55] Green tracer shift from horizontal grazing fire across the LZ to vertical.
[02:25:00] As Jolly Green giant 10 approaches,
[02:25:03] the green furries playing a deafening tune through its skin.
[02:25:07] JG10, blackjack.
[02:25:10] The enemy is under you right now.
[02:25:12] Over.
[02:25:13] From our position we can see an NVA rocket crew rise up in the grass.
[02:25:18] Take aim and fire directly into the underbelly of JG10.
[02:25:22] We're hit.
[02:25:23] We have a six inch hole through the floor.
[02:25:25] Both engine warning lights just came on.
[02:25:27] We can't make the pickup.
[02:25:29] Oh my god.
[02:25:30] Look at that.
[02:25:31] Both engines are on fire.
[02:25:32] The pilot performs a 180 degree turn.
[02:25:34] Moving the damage to aircraft away from the enemy fire.
[02:25:37] Away from Alabama.
[02:25:39] We can see him struggling to keep his board bird airborne.
[02:25:42] As his crew continues firing, time is run out.
[02:25:46] Traveling several hundred yards the pilot comes up on his survival frequency.
[02:25:51] Brace for crash landing.
[02:25:52] They continue firing while the burning ship settles into the jungle.
[02:25:55] Blackjack.
[02:25:56] Mandolin over.
[02:25:57] Go Mandolin.
[02:25:58] First you won the lottery.
[02:26:00] Then you maneuver your way into a prairie fire.
[02:26:02] And now for the bonus round.
[02:26:04] SIGON has ordered an arc light.
[02:26:06] Over.
[02:26:07] Bonus round.
[02:26:09] What do they think this is?
[02:26:10] The prices right.
[02:26:11] There's no way we can survive an arc light.
[02:26:13] Tell us at the NVA.
[02:26:14] Maybe they'll run like hell and leave us be.
[02:26:16] What altitude will they be bombing from?
[02:26:18] They'll be cruising at 25,000 feet for a standard carpet bombing mission.
[02:26:23] Not exactly accurate from that altitude.
[02:26:25] SIGON is assuming you won't be there or be alive by the time to be 52's.
[02:26:30] Get here over.
[02:26:32] Damn straight.
[02:26:33] I have to get back to camp for recon.
[02:26:35] Comprehensible ballgame this evening.
[02:26:37] How long do we have over?
[02:26:40] One of the indages outside the garrison stealing it.
[02:26:43] Stealing AK47 magazines from the dead.
[02:26:46] He's tossing them into our garrison as the rest of us return fire.
[02:26:49] Blackjack.
[02:26:50] Mandolin.
[02:26:51] The arc light is off the runway and heading your way over.
[02:26:54] So what tells about a.
[02:26:55] Tell us about an arc light.
[02:26:57] B 52.
[02:27:00] And what the their load is like over 20,000 pounds of bombs.
[02:27:05] And they've become more than one.
[02:27:08] And you don't hear them.
[02:27:10] As you know, you don't hear anything until the first round impacts.
[02:27:13] And that was the code for an arc light.
[02:27:16] And the amazing firepower.
[02:27:19] And they're going to basically carpet bomb this area.
[02:27:22] Right.
[02:27:23] That's the plan.
[02:27:24] What is carpet bomb?
[02:27:26] Do bombs every like, yeah, just lay down.
[02:27:29] I mean, I don't know how many aircraft there are in this particular mission, but it's a probably multiple aircraft with all those bombs.
[02:27:38] And they get over the location.
[02:27:40] And they just open their bomb a deer doors and out come the other their bay doors and out come the bombs.
[02:27:46] You know, when you see pictures or videos, where there's just all these airplanes find there's just bomb.
[02:27:51] Yeah, that's leaking out.
[02:27:53] Just leaking out.
[02:27:54] That's supposed to direct support.
[02:27:56] We're coming in one or two bombs around the scene.
[02:27:58] This is like every like,
[02:27:59] Jocco saying, you may have four or five planes and they fly over everything's all bombs are dropped.
[02:28:06] Carp over 100.
[02:28:08] At least, yeah, they'll be in reverse of 250,500,000 dollars.
[02:28:18] Blackjack, mandolin.
[02:28:20] I don't think I want to be here.
[02:28:22] When they arrive over Blackjack, mandolin, well, you have one last option over.
[02:28:26] What is it over unexpectedly?
[02:28:28] Are radio frequencies flooded with fast talking Vietnamese cat?
[02:28:32] Yeah.
[02:28:33] You can't get a break.
[02:28:34] So the Vietnamese figure out what radio frequency they are on they start using that.
[02:28:38] Unexpectedly, are radio frequencies flooded with fast talking Vietnamese cowboy lessons for a few seconds.
[02:28:43] It says, NVA find our frequency.
[02:28:45] I switch to an alternate frequency as it is jammed.
[02:28:48] NVA find our frequency. I switch to an alternate frequency as it is jammed and it is jammed as well.
[02:28:53] I throw the PRC radio over the cliff and switch to the URC 10 survival radio.
[02:28:59] Mandolin, Blackjack over mandolin, Blackjack over Blackjack, JG32 over.
[02:29:05] Go, JG32.
[02:29:07] You're on an Air Force survival guard frequency 243.
[02:29:13] Kovie 265 is busy on other channels. We'll get his attention for you.
[02:29:18] I'm hovering in a draw to your west. We have 20 minutes of fuel left before I leave.
[02:29:23] The first person we see better be an American.
[02:29:26] Hurry.
[02:29:27] We're taking heavy ground fire.
[02:29:29] Our armor is not holding up this close to the source.
[02:29:33] JG32, can you hook me up with Kovie?
[02:29:35] Blackjack, mandolin over.
[02:29:38] Mandolin, can you lay down covering fire between awesome JG32?
[02:29:42] Give me two minutes to line up assets and then move out.
[02:29:45] We're getting empty.
[02:29:46] The next voice you hear will be spiders over.
[02:29:50] Roger Spider, Blackjack over.
[02:29:53] I turn yell at the team.
[02:29:55] Alabama discard everything we don't need over the side.
[02:29:58] Get ready to move out.
[02:30:00] Cowboy and I move to the edge of the cliff.
[02:30:02] While locked demands commands the garrison.
[02:30:05] The two of us cautiously peep over the edge.
[02:30:08] 15 feet below us is a ledge that moves in the direction we want to travel.
[02:30:12] Move the team to this location, I order.
[02:30:15] Cowboy crawls back to the connevered garrison.
[02:30:17] While I make another attempt at contacting Spider.
[02:30:20] One at a time, Alabama comes crawling over to me.
[02:30:23] I begin lowering each of them to the ledge below.
[02:30:25] One one scales the rock face, making his own way out.
[02:30:29] Making his own way.
[02:30:30] Immediately beginning to move along the ledge in the direction of JG32.
[02:30:35] Cowboy, stop him.
[02:30:37] From the ledge we look up the face of the cliff.
[02:30:41] We can see tracer dancing across the lip of the rim.
[02:30:45] Covey's directing Daisy Chain air strikes between Alabama and JG32.
[02:30:50] Blackjack Spider, we're dropping cluster bomb units CBU on the path between you and JG32.
[02:30:56] It will kill some and should temporarily drive the rest out of the zone.
[02:31:01] Man.
[02:31:03] So they want to get to where this helicopter is located flying in this little draw.
[02:31:09] And in order to get there they drop cluster bombs on their path.
[02:31:13] Yeah, for good luck.
[02:31:15] And then that JG32 settled into the jungle, chopping down smaller trees to settle.
[02:31:21] So that way it's bringing a move on.
[02:31:23] Some are protected.
[02:31:24] Yeah, so that way does not visible.
[02:31:28] Not completely exposed.
[02:31:29] They're going to shoot down.
[02:31:30] That's shoot through the jungle to get to him.
[02:31:32] Yeah, it's counterintuitive when you're in the air and a helicopter.
[02:31:36] Yeah, and a helicopter.
[02:31:37] But I guess on fast movers or aircraft as well, you'd think the closer you get to the ground, the more danger you're in.
[02:31:44] But the opposite is actually true because when you get down low enough, people can't shoot it.
[02:31:50] Because they don't have an angle to shoot it to you.
[02:31:51] Whether it's in a city or whether it's in a jungle like this.
[02:31:55] People just, they can't see you anymore because you're low.
[02:31:57] Right.
[02:31:58] The helicopter's in the jungle and then like you said with the A1 Skyraders, the key to their success was how low they made their gun runs.
[02:32:06] They would just come screaming across the path, drop their orders and be on their way.
[02:32:11] Yeah, yeah.
[02:32:12] So anybody else in the jungle, you can hear him coming.
[02:32:15] You can't see him.
[02:32:16] It tells you.
[02:32:17] Yeah.
[02:32:18] You were for a slow move like that, but all we loved him.
[02:32:22] Continuing on thick, choking smoke moves across the LZ, rolling over the ledge above, obscuring our escape from the plane from the plane of death.
[02:32:33] We inch our way toward the last chance.
[02:32:36] Our Clyde's coming.
[02:32:38] Blackjack, the CBU strike has created negative visibility.
[02:32:41] We're unable to provide support until we get a window over.
[02:32:44] You're looking for a window and I'm looking for a door, spider, blackjack.
[02:32:48] The good news is it is also decreased visibility for the NVA gun fires, noticeably subsided.
[02:32:54] Keep up the smoke and we'll move by ear, hugging the face of the cliff, making our way across the rubble of the ledge.
[02:33:01] We come to a dead end.
[02:33:03] Crap.
[02:33:04] We're going to have to climb back up to the plateau.
[02:33:06] Wait here while I take a look.
[02:33:08] If it's okay, I'll signal.
[02:33:09] Easily climbing with the aid of vines trailing over the ledge.
[02:33:12] I crawl over one side and slide under the low vegetation.
[02:33:16] Seconds later, one Woods head appears.
[02:33:18] Spodding me he crawls to my location up under a large broad leaf plant.
[02:33:22] Where's your weapon I ask?
[02:33:24] I don't know.
[02:33:25] He sheepishly replies.
[02:33:26] Take this AK and cover us while I get the rest of the team up here.
[02:33:29] Over.
[02:33:30] Can you do that?
[02:33:31] Uh-huh.
[02:33:31] Lock the zero one is the last person to go over the rim,
[02:33:35] joining the remainder of the team in the undergrowth, giving me two thumbs up.
[02:33:39] As quickly as the underbrush will allow, we move up a small incline under the protection of a normus broad leaf undergrowth.
[02:33:45] Shortly, we come to the periphery of a short ledge where we stop.
[02:33:49] Before us is a conneverace half lit clearing under jungle canopy.
[02:33:54] Look at this.
[02:33:55] Hundreds of large huts built up on still stretch back into the low light.
[02:34:00] Everywhere there are trails, campfires and cooking area.
[02:34:03] Cooking areas.
[02:34:04] Two are left is a latrine in a shower facility.
[02:34:07] Smoke from cooking has fires.
[02:34:09] Spiral upward gently mingling with the battle haze.
[02:34:13] Sealing, drifting just below the canopy.
[02:34:16] Clothes are hung over low plants and ropes strung between towering hardwood trees.
[02:34:21] This must be either main camp.
[02:34:24] This is amazing.
[02:34:25] It's an entire town under the trees.
[02:34:27] No one seems to be home from the sounds of it.
[02:34:29] They must all be over there.
[02:34:30] I say pointing at the direction of JG32.
[02:34:33] Look over there.
[02:34:34] Who's that?
[02:34:35] Looks like an American.
[02:34:37] Hey you.
[02:34:38] He turns pointing a 45-cal over pistol in our direction.
[02:34:41] I stand up motioning him to us.
[02:34:43] He raises a 45-pistol to his lips.
[02:34:45] Saving us to be quiet.
[02:34:46] We cautiously move to his location.
[02:34:49] Who are you?
[02:34:50] I'm the JG10 P.J. Dan Casbier.
[02:34:55] Rotorhead is over there under that hut talking to the 30 talking with 32.
[02:35:00] Who's rotorhead I ask?
[02:35:02] Our pilot Colonel Sam Grineer.
[02:35:04] I think he has a broken back, but he can still walk.
[02:35:08] The other members of your crew did they make it?
[02:35:10] Ten was burning.
[02:35:12] There was only time to get out Grineer before it exploded.
[02:35:15] Our flight engineer Greg Lawrence and co-pilot Dwayne Wester were trapped inside.
[02:35:19] I didn't have time.
[02:35:21] The P.J. Pauzes.
[02:35:22] JG10 exploded before I could get back to them.
[02:35:25] We've been waiting for you guys here hoping we would make it before we had to E&E.
[02:35:29] Grab rotorhead and fall in with a seven of us now.
[02:35:33] So these guys have now just miraculously ran into the pilot.
[02:35:39] The pilot and the pair rescue guy that had that was inside that helicopter that got shot down and then exploded.
[02:35:45] Yeah, and the pilot's got a broken back.
[02:35:47] He's still mobile.
[02:35:53] Yes sir.
[02:35:55] The NVA are focused on JG32 easing pressure on us.
[02:36:00] We need to move there as quickly as possible.
[02:36:02] 32 doesn't have much time left on station.
[02:36:05] We have to go now, order Sam Grineer.
[02:36:08] None of us have much time left, form up, we're going home, my demand.
[02:36:11] Casper, help your kernel.
[02:36:13] We can hear them moving through the jungle all around us.
[02:36:16] They seem to be traveling to the ship paralleling us.
[02:36:19] Blackjack, spider, times against you buddy.
[02:36:22] 32 can't wait much longer and the arc light is closing fast.
[02:36:26] The B-52s have begun their countdown.
[02:36:29] They're on long final.
[02:36:32] Yeah, you can't make this up.
[02:36:34] No.
[02:36:35] They're just coming into drop bombs all over everything in the area.
[02:36:38] The aircraft that they're trying to get to that could possibly get them home.
[02:36:42] That's hidden in the jungle is almost out of fuel.
[02:36:45] And they can hear as they're moving towards the helicopter,
[02:36:48] they can hear they're being paralleled by the NVA.
[02:36:57] On the move, spider, arc lights on the way.
[02:37:00] We intersect a trail running down the middle of the ravine.
[02:37:03] The helicopter gunships and sky raiders are making blind gun runs up and down the narrow ravine
[02:37:09] and around JG32.
[02:37:11] Smoke from air strikes hangs over the plateau, threading its way down the ravines into the depths of the murky chasm.
[02:37:18] Blackjack, spider, air strikes to clear the way as impossible.
[02:37:22] We can no longer see the jungle let alone your ride home.
[02:37:25] Get a move on over.
[02:37:27] I feel as though we are moving past mad dogs guarding the gates of hell itself
[02:37:31] and via our pouring small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades into the hovering chopper
[02:37:36] while door gunners and pilots intermittently fire the gattling gun in M60s.
[02:37:40] Desperate, I move the team and onto the trail toward the hovering ship.
[02:37:44] Don't move on a trail, you dumbass.
[02:37:46] Well, this is one of those times when jungle rules don't apply.
[02:37:50] Amen.
[02:37:52] So they can see the helicopter, they can see that it's taken fire.
[02:37:55] There's a trail.
[02:37:57] And you guys and anyone in Vietnam is constantly avoiding the trails because that's where ambushes and booby traps get set.
[02:38:05] But in this situation there's no choice.
[02:38:07] No choice.
[02:38:10] We progress hastily.
[02:38:12] Tail gunner begins violently shaking and is turned to pasty white.
[02:38:16] To the Vietnamese assistant, hiding him in thick bushes.
[02:38:19] So tail gunner is your rear security guy.
[02:38:22] And he's the one shot in the ground.
[02:38:25] He's losing blood.
[02:38:27] He's pale white.
[02:38:28] To the Vietnamese assistant, hiding him in thick bushes.
[02:38:31] Then they flee to the chopper.
[02:38:33] I stopped them taking lead.
[02:38:34] At the at the crest, we see JG32 taking hits and dealing out death.
[02:38:39] It's M60 is red hot.
[02:38:41] Someone is firing an M16 out of rear port.
[02:38:43] As we move to JG32, the intensive gunfire seems to multiply a hundredfold.
[02:38:48] Jesus, the air is so full of lead.
[02:38:50] I can see it.
[02:38:51] I report to myself loudly.
[02:38:53] Full and bits of metal skin are falling from the aircraft as we approach.
[02:38:57] On one side of the turbine, culling is lying on the jungle floor.
[02:39:02] Blackjack spider, who are you talking to over?
[02:39:05] God Buddha, anyone that'll listen.
[02:39:08] Spider, blackjack star, I didn't realize I held the radio keyed over.
[02:39:13] The jungle penetrator from JG's winch smashes into the ground and then raises a couple feet.
[02:39:18] PJ Dan Casper scrambles to put three team members on the first load.
[02:39:23] When you get in the chopper, man a gun and return fire protect us.
[02:39:27] I yell after them.
[02:39:28] Roter had him and the PJ along with quang, a wounded Alabama Vietnamese are on the second lift.
[02:39:35] Quang becomes entangled in jungle vines while being hoisted.
[02:39:38] The operator has to stop the hoist lower it to give him time to untangle himself.
[02:39:42] When the hoist moves up toward the aircraft, quang is not sitting in the seat.
[02:39:46] But hanging on with assistance from Casper.
[02:39:49] Quang, I return tracing, I return retracing our path back down the trail to the thicket
[02:39:55] where we had left our tail gunner.
[02:39:57] Halfway back, I realize I'm alone with no weapon.
[02:40:02] For the first time paralyzing fear sweeps through me.
[02:40:05] I stop. What am I doing? You couldn't help you when he was hit.
[02:40:09] But you can, quang.
[02:40:10] Face the boogie, man. Do your job asshole move.
[02:40:14] Quang is covered with bloated black leeches, mosquitoes and giant flies feeding off the last of his
[02:40:20] Ebing life.
[02:40:21] Mumbling, he wobbles his cult 45 at advancing NVA.
[02:40:26] Toy ki.
[02:40:27] I die.
[02:40:29] The tail gunner motions to me to return to the jolly green.
[02:40:33] I turn.
[02:40:34] Quang shoots himself.
[02:40:36] He's sons of bitches.
[02:40:38] My cry is lost in the sounds of battle.
[02:40:41] I hear his obscure vision as I scramble like a raving lunateck back in the direction of the
[02:40:46] waiting ship.
[02:40:47] Smat rushing smack into two screaming NVA.
[02:40:51] Their AK's pointed at me.
[02:40:53] Chuhui.
[02:40:56] I surrender.
[02:40:59] Surrendering, stretching out my arms, continuing to move quickly in their direction.
[02:41:04] Within arms reach, I yell in their faces.
[02:41:07] Chuhui yourself, mother fucker.
[02:41:09] The young soldiers are taken by surprise before they can respond by grab a searing hot
[02:41:13] AK-47 barrel jerking the weapon from one of them.
[02:41:16] Blistered skin rolls off my hand.
[02:41:19] I backhand the one on my right and smash the soldier on my left and the face with his own weapon.
[02:41:23] Hot hot hot hot.
[02:41:25] I scramble to the penetrator, finding a praying one on the ground.
[02:41:29] The rest of the team have abandoned him and are on board firing any weapon they can
[02:41:34] get their hands on.
[02:41:36] As the penetrator lifts and what seems like slow motion.
[02:41:39] One one and I look upward wondering what the hell is taking so long.
[02:41:44] We are shoured with hot, spent and 16 other weapon shell casing.
[02:41:48] Hot brass is sticking to my bare skin, creating long water blisters.
[02:41:53] Similar to ones on my hand from the AK I grabbed.
[02:41:56] The air is filled with smoke, jet fuel and green tracers.
[02:41:59] Moving past us in slow motion like mad hornets.
[02:42:02] Never ending shell casing is raining down along with metal debris and a tornado of jungle vegetation.
[02:42:09] The penetrator cable is vibrating violently.
[02:42:12] As JG32 takes hit after hit, it's all coming apart.
[02:42:16] I yell at one one.
[02:42:19] JG32 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Jim Grady begins lifting out of the jungle ravine with the two of us hanging on below like a couple of crippled puppets on a quarter inch steel
[02:42:31] wire.
[02:42:32] There are several great trees on both sides of the ship.
[02:42:35] All of them large enough to severely damage the five 62 foot rotors causing it to crash.
[02:42:41] A sending out of the jungle, we can feel the heat of B40 rocket motors as they pass by on their way to slamming into JG32's.
[02:42:49] Plated underside.
[02:42:51] The ship is being boosted upward with each explosion.
[02:42:54] I slump on the penetrator and begin sliding off as my backside is sprayed with shrapnel.
[02:42:59] Hey, that hurts.
[02:43:01] One one grabs hold, wrapping his arms around me, saving my life.
[02:43:06] Hope what's left of the armor holds.
[02:43:09] I I weakly yell, grasping at the penetrator cable for balance.
[02:43:13] The JG flight mechanic reaches out, pulling me off the penetrator into the ship, dumping me on red hot shell covered deck with one one on my heels.
[02:43:23] Parar rescue specialist Allen Avery leaves his gun position and begins tending to Alabama's wounds.
[02:43:33] Once clear of the jungle hole, the ship begins as a sent out of the valley.
[02:43:37] The flight mechanic, sergeant John Nussbaum, removes his helmet and places it on my head.
[02:43:43] Copilot Major Don Olsen tells me we're on our way out of here, partner.
[02:43:50] I'm cold.
[02:43:55] Lieutenant Ad Analyst breaks the silence.
[02:44:00] One one, do you have anything to add to Jack Blackjack story?
[02:44:04] No sir, he softly mumbles with his head down.
[02:44:08] How many enviades you think we're in the area?
[02:44:11] How many do you think we're killed or wounded?
[02:44:13] Ask sergeant analysis.
[02:44:16] I believe the question was directed to one one, but before he can muster with an answer, I jump in.
[02:44:22] The answer to the both of those questions is more than we had time to count.
[02:44:26] However, I'll estimate somewhere between 3 to 5,000 and VA.
[02:44:32] How many did we kill before we round out of R ammo? We killed hundreds.
[02:44:37] When we started using their weapons, we killed hundreds more between us and the air support, maybe two or three thousand.
[02:44:43] The arc light followed that after we left.
[02:44:46] I hope they finished off the rest of them.
[02:44:54] Crazy.
[02:44:56] Oh yeah.
[02:44:57] And then that Jolly Green Giant couldn't fly too far.
[02:45:02] It only went over two more mountain tops.
[02:45:05] It lands and another one comes in, picks up some of the guys.
[02:45:08] Then Lynn and the one one had to go back on the cober gunship because the cober, the weapon doors come down.
[02:45:16] They have seat belts on them.
[02:45:18] Oh my god.
[02:45:19] So all the way from Layhouse back to Denang, they're with the, yeah, just a top everything off for them.
[02:45:28] And he froze their balls off, of course.
[02:45:30] Could they're dangling out there? 5,000 feet on that.
[02:45:32] On that, they could have 5,000 feet to get away from any enemy fire.
[02:45:39] And the, and of course the model of the Jolly Greens that others may live.
[02:45:45] Yeah.
[02:45:46] That day they put it right on the line.
[02:45:49] Amazing.
[02:45:50] Going in after you see multiple birds shot down.
[02:45:53] Like, oh, one bird goes and get shot out.
[02:45:55] The next bird goes and get shot out.
[02:45:57] The next bird goes and get shot down.
[02:45:59] And you're still coming in.
[02:46:00] We're here.
[02:46:01] And one got shot up so bad, limp back to base.
[02:46:04] Really got back.
[02:46:10] They continue on with this debrief and in one of the analysts says, tell us about the terrain again.
[02:46:16] One one, you were closer to the terrain than I was.
[02:46:19] Why don't you answer that question?
[02:46:21] One one breaks down.
[02:46:24] A medical aid gives him a sedative.
[02:46:27] To quiet his nerves.
[02:46:31] He's been through a lot, I saw.
[02:46:34] Do you also need to sedative?
[02:46:37] Ask the medic.
[02:46:38] No thanks.
[02:46:39] I don't handle any kind of drugs very well.
[02:46:41] If I take that, I'll be asleep in 10 minutes.
[02:46:43] Give me an understanding of where you are physically and psychologically.
[02:46:47] Ask one of the medics.
[02:46:49] Physically today, I'm less than 50%.
[02:46:52] I took some hard hits and I'm still trying to recover.
[02:46:55] Psychologically who the heck knows.
[02:46:57] Anyone doing this kind of work is probably crazy from the get go.
[02:47:01] You know what I mean?
[02:47:02] A combat soldier focuses on what they feel physically, what they see here in smell, feelings
[02:47:07] of fear, sadness, boredom, and joy are suppressed as much as possible so we can focus
[02:47:12] on the mission, our team, and staying alive.
[02:47:16] The psychological stuff has to come later or we won't make it.
[02:47:20] Does that make sense to you?
[02:47:22] There you go. It's a classic thing. We're putting off all this stuff, like not worrying about
[02:47:26] it right now. We got a job to do.
[02:47:29] The medic looks up from taking notes.
[02:47:32] It will do for now. Please continue with your train of thought.
[02:47:36] As soon as my wounds fully close and the stitches come out, I'll begin training again.
[02:47:41] I heal fast and definitely have some ideas on needed training for Alabama to be an effective team.
[02:47:47] Don't you think that's up to the 102 determine what training is needed for his team?
[02:47:51] One one perks up.
[02:47:54] I jump in ahead of him. Yes sir.
[02:47:57] No sir. I mean, it's up to all of us to conduct training as Americans.
[02:48:02] The welfare of a special forces team is the responsibility of every man on that team.
[02:48:09] If the designated leader can't lead, then it's incumbent on any one of us to step forward and provide that leadership.
[02:48:16] That's what I did and that's what I'll do again if needed.
[02:48:20] So there you go.
[02:48:23] Oh yeah.
[02:48:24] Real leadership.
[02:48:26] Pure leadership.
[02:48:28] Feelers.
[02:48:29] Feelers.
[02:48:34] So you're ready to go do it again.
[02:48:38] And you think to himself, I've heard that several guys have hung it up after the first mission.
[02:48:44] I think I know why.
[02:48:47] It's these damn debriefs.
[02:48:49] Yeah.
[02:48:52] They were a pain in the ass. That's for sure.
[02:48:57] The analyst continues our best intelligence indicates there's probably, I think this is,
[02:49:04] yeah, this is the chiefsog.
[02:49:07] Our best intelligence indicates that there's approximately 2,000 miles of trail.
[02:49:12] And between 12 to 15 being tram.
[02:49:15] And those are like, Ben tram is like these organizations.
[02:49:19] What are they like?
[02:49:20] Battalion sized.
[02:49:21] It was a long trail.
[02:49:23] There'd be a command control element as well as a hospital overnight
[02:49:27] Rest facilities.
[02:49:28] And then from near they run people out to keep the trails open.
[02:49:31] Work with the local indigenous people, the conscripts.
[02:49:34] Could they constantly bomb in a trail?
[02:49:37] So these are organizations along the trail.
[02:49:41] They're called Ben trams.
[02:49:42] Then thousands of anti-aircraft guns, 20 to 30,000 support soldiers all defended by 40 to 60,000 security troops.
[02:49:50] That's what we need intel on.
[02:49:52] Are you ready to take another whack at it?
[02:49:54] Chiefsog asks half grinning at the two of us.
[02:49:58] Whiskey Tango Fox shot.
[02:50:01] I'm not sure I really wanted to know that.
[02:50:04] I will be once the wounds have healed.
[02:50:07] When I'm in better physical condition and we get the training that I talked about.
[02:50:11] And after I have a couple more beers, tell me about what you thought about out there.
[02:50:15] Ask the tall slender gray hair medical officer on the other side of the table.
[02:50:19] Behind him sits two obvious assistance taking notes.
[02:50:23] When things didn't I just answer the question a few minutes ago?
[02:50:27] These guys are not going to let up.
[02:50:29] And then he says, do you mean me personally?
[02:50:31] Yes, you personally.
[02:50:33] What went through your mind?
[02:50:35] What emotions did you feel?
[02:50:37] How much detail are you asking for?
[02:50:39] God, I hate it.
[02:50:41] And he thinks himself, God, I hate this.
[02:50:43] How did you feel?
[02:50:45] Shit.
[02:50:45] Did I answer that question a few minutes ago?
[02:50:47] We've heard excellent tour guide level detail from the point of the initial ambush to your team's extraction.
[02:50:55] Tell us about the period of time from the point of insertion to the ambush.
[02:50:59] Take your time.
[02:51:00] Give me a tour of your thoughts.
[02:51:02] What were you thinking?
[02:51:03] I leaned back in my chair, pausing.
[02:51:05] Thinking.
[02:51:06] I'm a guy.
[02:51:09] I'm a guy, not some woman who wants to do nothing but talk about her feelings.
[02:51:13] I don't think about their feelings.
[02:51:15] This is just his thoughts.
[02:51:16] We're either happy, sad, thirsty, horny, or hungry.
[02:51:19] Okay, calm the hell down and give him an answer.
[02:51:22] And then he says, I was on the second king bee.
[02:51:27] We watched Bulldog and the others disembark from the first ship just before our spiral began.
[02:51:33] Our door gunner announced, we go down now.
[02:51:36] Chuckles around the room.
[02:51:38] We assumed the get ready position with me sitting in the door.
[02:51:43] The lottery LZ corkscrewed up to meet us.
[02:51:46] Several feet off touchdown.
[02:51:47] I spotted an NVA flag posted near the edge.
[02:51:50] I remember thinking, oh, crap.
[02:51:53] Several of them laugh or quietly chuckle.
[02:51:56] What?
[02:51:57] You spotted freaking NVA flag on the landing zone?
[02:52:02] Yeah, I think he goes until the moment we're disheveled.
[02:52:05] Yeah, yeah.
[02:52:06] Specialist black.
[02:52:07] I've heard about the mission.
[02:52:08] I want to know about your feelings.
[02:52:10] What you felt emotionally.
[02:52:11] Do you understand?
[02:52:13] Well, sir.
[02:52:14] Oh, crap.
[02:52:15] To me, is it pretty strong feeling?
[02:52:17] How everyone assultors in that situation.
[02:52:19] That causes thoughts like, oh, crap or others.
[02:52:22] We usually don't have time to stop and consider our feelings.
[02:52:25] As soon as our king bee tires bounced down,
[02:52:27] Tracer's punched in the side of our ship.
[02:52:29] We got the hell out of there.
[02:52:31] Remember thinking what a mistake that was.
[02:52:33] Actually, sir, it was more like we are screwed.
[02:52:36] Blackjack.
[02:52:37] The sergeant major objects.
[02:52:39] Yes, sergeant major.
[02:52:40] In mid lift off the green, swarming, gulf the ship like a disturbed nest of hornets.
[02:52:44] The king bee hung in mid air, laboring.
[02:52:46] Slipping to its left, the pilot wrestling with the stick.
[02:52:49] His co-pilot was slumped in a seat down it went in a ball of flames.
[02:52:53] The two scar-faced ships providing covet provided covering fire.
[02:52:56] As I move my portion of the Alabama to link up with the one zero.
[02:53:00] I yelled a bulldog that we needed to get off the LZ.
[02:53:03] He ordered us to form up.
[02:53:04] We quickly moved and a low-crouch through the knee-high razor grass to a log.
[02:53:08] We were bulldog and the others were.
[02:53:10] We were knee-deep and kimchi and I knew it.
[02:53:19] And there's a little bit of a...
[02:53:23] A little bit of a tension between bulldog.
[02:53:27] Yeah, between bulldog.
[02:53:29] And blackjack.
[02:53:32] And when that tension, I'm a fast forward a little bit.
[02:53:36] He said, did it make it the one of the analysts says,
[02:53:39] Did it make you anger?
[02:53:40] Angry?
[02:53:41] How did it make you feel?
[02:53:42] I didn't care.
[02:53:43] I came back here to do a job.
[02:53:44] Why did you come back?
[02:53:46] The medical officer insists.
[02:53:48] Because they nailed my brother and best friend and several of the guys in my 173rd unit.
[02:53:52] I came back here to get even.
[02:53:54] Is that what you want to know?
[02:53:56] Am I mad?
[02:53:57] No.
[02:53:58] I was going to be the first time when I got out the first time and went home.
[02:54:01] It bugged me that so many of us had been killed and wounded.
[02:54:04] And I couldn't really say I had seen the enemy.
[02:54:06] I felt like a failure.
[02:54:07] I'm going to fight... I'm going to war.
[02:54:09] If I'm going to fight in a war, I want to see the enemy.
[02:54:11] I want to look on their face when I pulled the trigger or I have them roasted with Napalm.
[02:54:16] Are you getting what you need with this answer?
[02:54:18] And then you think, stones self.
[02:54:20] Don't ask me this.
[02:54:21] Shit again.
[02:54:22] I'm here doing a job that most of the guys back home don't want to do.
[02:54:25] Just be satisfied.
[02:54:26] You can get people like me who want to be up here and are qualified.
[02:54:29] Yes.
[02:54:30] Thank you.
[02:54:31] The medical officer deadpants.
[02:54:33] Black continue on with the narration.
[02:54:35] Instructs Lieutenant Analyst.
[02:54:37] And with feeling his norths.
[02:54:40] Again, this whole scene is just straight out of a freaking Hollywood movie of, you know, the combat soldier
[02:54:50] fresh off the battlefield getting interrogated by these ramps.
[02:54:55] And even there, like the whole thing with the flag and experience one zero would have gone
[02:54:59] but said no, we're out of here.
[02:55:01] They had a green one zero.
[02:55:04] And then try to, I don't know if I fit Giffy closer to the DJ.
[02:55:07] Yeah, he goes into it a little bit.
[02:55:09] But he wouldn't listen.
[02:55:10] There was just a couple of like that little bit of disagreement.
[02:55:13] You know, why didn't Sergeant Stride make you the radio operator.
[02:55:16] One, two and black the one, one.
[02:55:18] He goes through this, you know.
[02:55:20] Yeah.
[02:55:29] So he continues here.
[02:55:31] Yes, sir.
[02:55:33] Kovie asked for a sit rep at which time I reported that the second king be was shot down.
[02:55:39] And we were waiting for Bulldog to make a go-no-go decision.
[02:55:43] Mandolin asked to talk with Bulldog who said he was going to continue with the mission.
[02:55:49] He then motioned to our point man to move over to a well-traveled trail across the LZ into the jungle.
[02:55:56] Cowboy point, the Vietnamese team leader, lock and I vigorously argued against walking a trail,
[02:56:03] especially when we had already made contact to be honest.
[02:56:06] I thought the order was stupid there.
[02:56:08] I said it.
[02:56:09] And he's thinking to himself there, I said it.
[02:56:10] You want to know how I feel?
[02:56:12] That's it.
[02:56:13] So this is when you're the tension that we were talking about.
[02:56:15] Lieutenant Analyst, his face red eyes narrowed.
[02:56:19] You argued with your one zero in the middle of making contact with the enemy.
[02:56:23] And then Lynn thinks himself your asses in trouble now.
[02:56:26] Keep calm.
[02:56:27] He's never been in a combat situation except maybe fighting with his older sister.
[02:56:30] The first rule of recon is never used trails, especially well-traveled trails.
[02:56:35] That trail I said destroyed definitely fits that category.
[02:56:39] He told me he was in command and that I would follow his orders without questions.
[02:56:43] Did you? Yes, sir.
[02:56:45] Into really deep kimchi.
[02:56:47] Continue the chief orders impatiently.
[02:56:50] Bulldog angrily motion to the team to move up on the trail.
[02:56:54] Point leading the way with Bulldog pushing from behind on his rucksack.
[02:56:58] The trail wound into dense jungle foliage bending to the left.
[02:57:02] Point tried to move cautiously paralleling a small team.
[02:57:05] A small 10 to 20 foot rise to a right.
[02:57:08] Bulldog hurried him along pushing pushing him to his death.
[02:57:12] Is that statement necessary?
[02:57:15] Lieutenant analysts, sarcastically cracks?
[02:57:18] I was instructed to tell you what I was personally thinking.
[02:57:21] I was the only American on the team with Vietnam experience with combat experience.
[02:57:25] I was the fourth person in line right behind cowboy.
[02:57:28] I think Sergeant Strides experience went back to an 18 in Korea.
[02:57:32] And one one had never seen combat.
[02:57:35] Is that statement necessary?
[02:57:37] I think so.
[02:57:38] Yes.
[02:57:38] Rankin combat experience are not necessarily synonymous.
[02:57:41] Don't you agree?
[02:57:42] And he says, sometimes stay calm, stay calm.
[02:57:45] Point taken.
[02:57:48] How did you feel when taking fire on insertion?
[02:57:51] Asked the dog.
[02:57:53] When we took fire going in, I felt anxious.
[02:57:56] He thinks so himself.
[02:57:58] That's an understatement.
[02:57:59] Scared to shit out of me.
[02:58:00] That anxiety turned to disbelief when Bulldog made the decision to continue the mission.
[02:58:05] And then again, when the decision was made to walk a trail.
[02:58:08] I remained on the state of high alert right up to the ambush.
[02:58:12] An interesting thing happened.
[02:58:14] They all laughed.
[02:58:16] We can imagine people were killing your teammates and you were pinned down.
[02:58:19] How much more interesting could it get?
[02:58:22] Observes Sergeant Analyst.
[02:58:24] They all nervously laugh again.
[02:58:26] I sit silent.
[02:58:28] Expressionless.
[02:58:30] Looking into each of their eyes.
[02:58:32] The medical officer is quietly observing me.
[02:58:35] After what seems like a long time, I turn and look at the one one.
[02:58:39] His head is down.
[02:58:41] His hands folded in his lap.
[02:58:43] Whiskey tango fox trot over.
[02:58:46] I think to myself.
[02:58:48] Turning back to the debrief panel.
[02:58:50] You ever been ambushed?
[02:58:52] I asked flatly.
[02:58:54] Chief sawing the command sergeant major both shift uncomfortably in their chair.
[02:58:59] None of them have.
[02:59:01] My impatience with this process is giving away to temper.
[02:59:05] I'm tired.
[02:59:06] Remember what Kovie said.
[02:59:08] Keep your cool.
[02:59:09] All these questions have been covered in our initial debrief and documented in the AAR.
[02:59:13] One of these guys after.
[02:59:14] Give them what they want and then get the hell out of here.
[02:59:18] Then he starts speaking again.
[02:59:20] When the NVA triggered the ambush, all that anxiety disappeared.
[02:59:24] I went to work.
[02:59:26] Previous experience and training kicked in.
[02:59:29] I returned fire with the intent of suppressing the NVA attack and being able to maneuver out of the spot we were in.
[02:59:35] Bulldog was bulldog and one one was down.
[02:59:38] Like I said before, I thought he was hit and took charge.
[02:59:42] I've learned the best defense is an aggressive offense.
[02:59:46] As long as we had ammunition and could move, I took charge of our not so little not no name battle.
[02:59:53] Moving at will causing as much confusion for the enemy as possible.
[02:59:57] Preventing them from forming up a large force to overrun us.
[03:00:01] That tactic worked until we ran out of ammo.
[03:00:05] The anxiety returned.
[03:00:09] No sir, fear.
[03:00:11] One one turns to face me with local disbelief.
[03:00:15] How did you deal with it, prompts the doctor?
[03:00:18] Our situation seemed impossible.
[03:00:21] The fact is I was completely overcome with fear.
[03:00:24] For an instant, I couldn't move.
[03:00:27] Many things to himself.
[03:00:28] I haven't found about this until now.
[03:00:30] I don't know if I can express that feeling.
[03:00:32] He continues.
[03:00:33] Oddly, it seemed to be unconnected to the physical danger.
[03:00:37] The fear?
[03:00:39] Yes.
[03:00:40] There were three things going on all at once.
[03:00:43] It was as if I had stepped outside myself.
[03:00:47] Seeing all things, feeling all emotions, all at the same time.
[03:00:52] In that instant, I became completely demoralized.
[03:00:57] Maybe think of himself.
[03:00:59] Every person in this room is fixed on what I am saying.
[03:01:02] I wish I knew what I was saying or how to say.
[03:01:04] I'm talking like a woman or like the shrink.
[03:01:09] Demoralized the doc gently urges.
[03:01:14] What made the emotion so overpowering was the realization that I had violated every moral precept of my upbringing.
[03:01:21] My childhood focused sharply blending into the present.
[03:01:25] I couldn't wrap my mind around our deeds.
[03:01:28] I was alive.
[03:01:29] We were alive.
[03:01:30] Hundreds of others were dead.
[03:01:32] Fathers, sons, husbands.
[03:01:34] You know, more would die.
[03:01:36] Maybe thousands.
[03:01:38] I raised my hand a hold off for other questions as I stared down at the table to focus my thoughts and emotions.
[03:01:45] Emotions.
[03:01:46] Here they are.
[03:01:47] That he continues.
[03:01:48] That entire thought process lasted a fraction of a second.
[03:01:54] Then the usual.
[03:01:56] If I can call it that the reemergence of our deadly danger, the possibility of a sudden assault and total annihilation was welcome.
[03:02:06] And composing reality pacified me.
[03:02:09] Our reality emerged in my mind like a clapped of thunder.
[03:02:13] My emotions were out prioritized by mortality.
[03:02:17] You might want to talk with this.
[03:02:21] You might want to talk with one of our medical staff.
[03:02:26] Offers the chief's dog.
[03:02:29] And he thinks I just did.
[03:02:31] There's nothing they can do for me.
[03:02:32] Ignoring his comment.
[03:02:34] It's interesting to watch the changes in people who are on the spot.
[03:02:38] For instance, in that fraction of a second, when the concussion grenade hit me, I became interesting to myself.
[03:02:46] What does that mean?
[03:02:48] Interested in yourself, the medical officer is surprised.
[03:02:51] Not interested in myself, but interesting to myself.
[03:02:55] An objective interest outside myself.
[03:02:59] It's difficult to describe.
[03:03:01] However, all that serves no purpose in the moment.
[03:03:03] Distractions of that kind prevent us from witnessing our own death.
[03:03:07] From dealing with the present.
[03:03:10] Someone on the team mentioned surrendering.
[03:03:14] We all knew they would kill us.
[03:03:18] Good thinking offers the command sergeant major.
[03:03:21] Anyway, that led to a conversation about breaking the team into two man groups to escape and evade.
[03:03:26] At that point, in the battle, we felt the terrain and enemy activity prevented us from E&D.
[03:03:31] That's when we decided to fight it out using their weapons during daylight hours and then try to get some of the people out under the cover of darkness.
[03:03:40] We now had options and resolve.
[03:03:43] The fear was diminished and a new purpose and mission had gripped every man on the team.
[03:03:50] Explain, orders the lieutenant analyst.
[03:03:54] I thought I just did.
[03:03:56] Blackjack, chides the sergeant major, okay, okay, I hesitate looking for the words.
[03:04:01] During daylight hours, we decided to fight them as hard as we could using their weapons and tactics.
[03:04:08] I know from experience that when you use the enemy's tactics against them, they quickly become confused.
[03:04:15] Have you ever considered countermeasures against your own tactics?
[03:04:19] Of course not, no one ever does.
[03:04:21] You're not going to fight yourself, right?
[03:04:23] That's why it's so important for us to study their tactics and use those tactics against them in the field.
[03:04:30] The report's side gone send out each month are the basis for that knowledge along with what we learned directly in the field.
[03:04:37] Practical experience.
[03:04:39] You all are here making a major contribution to ush staying alive and being successful.
[03:04:44] What you have told me about being trams today adds to that knowledge.
[03:04:49] They're smiling, shooting approval glances at one another.
[03:04:54] In anything so himself, Blackjack, you're being a kiss ass knock it off.
[03:04:59] Thank you, Specialist Black, for the performance review of my staff,
[03:05:03] for the chief's song with the straight face, please continue.
[03:05:07] Instantly they all get serious.
[03:05:10] All we had to do was hold out until dark.
[03:05:13] What about the B-52 strike that was on the way, Mox, the Lieutenant Analyst,
[03:05:17] Minor consideration.
[03:05:19] If thousands of enemy couldn't kill us 20 feet from 20 feet away,
[03:05:23] we could certainly live through B-52's bombing from 20 or 30,000 feet.
[03:05:28] The LT gives me his narrowed, I'd.
[03:05:31] Narrow-eyed, I don't believe you look as the medical officer and others suppress their laughter.
[03:05:38] We begin to pair up as the curtain of death fell around us,
[03:05:42] even though we were still acting as a team.
[03:05:44] Curtin of death asks the medical officer,
[03:05:47] I remember that when the decision was made,
[03:05:50] I felt as if a black curtain were being lowered around me.
[03:05:55] It was something I could see in my mind.
[03:05:57] We made it every attempt to maneuver ourselves into an E&E launch position,
[03:06:01] which turned out to be the route we took to the last Jolly Green Giant.
[03:06:05] We figured, because we were small and they were so large at night,
[03:06:10] we would have to set up blocking positions and not move on us.
[03:06:14] The reasoning was that if they tried to move,
[03:06:16] they would wind up shooting each other.
[03:06:17] In large blocking groups, they would make noise revealing themselves and their positions.
[03:06:21] This would give us the opportunity to try and move out between those positions and get out.
[03:06:26] It's a good thing we didn't have to E&E at night using that route.
[03:06:30] It would have led us directly into the heart of their camp.
[03:06:32] My job became getting as many of my team off the battlefield and out of the AO2 safety as possible.
[03:06:42] Black your Alabama team is very lucky you didn't have to E&E,
[03:06:45] because the B52 strikes even if you survived them,
[03:06:48] the NVA would have taken to widely dispersing its units.
[03:06:51] For instance, a 2000 man NVA regimen might spread,
[03:06:54] might be spread across a five mile stretch of trail,
[03:06:58] dug in into each bend in the road and hilltop.
[03:07:02] This is by the way of explaining.
[03:07:05] This is by the way of explaining why some sog teams just vanish.
[03:07:11] On wittingly landing a mid, such an overlapping concentration of NVA forces.
[03:07:16] My guess is that no matter which way you would have turned every half mile or so,
[03:07:20] you would have bumped into enemy platoons or companies.
[03:07:23] Even 500 man battalions.
[03:07:28] Looking directly at chief sag.
[03:07:31] Did you know they were all there at that place we chose as an LZ.
[03:07:36] Without hesitation he responds.
[03:07:39] So you got Lynn saying wait a second bro.
[03:07:42] You knew that there was all these people on the freaking ground that we were going to put into NLZ.
[03:07:47] And the chief sag says no not specifically.
[03:07:50] The 12 teams before Alabama were tracking regimen down the trail.
[03:07:54] That tracking mission as you know became known as the lottery.
[03:07:58] We believe you found that regimen and bin tram.
[03:08:02] Those are these organizations that protect the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
[03:08:05] Bin tram 611 at that same location.
[03:08:08] Our intelligence led us to believe that your LZ was approximately five miles from that base.
[03:08:13] And that Alabama might have a chance at gathering very important in the intel along the network of trails.
[03:08:18] And also prevalent in that area.
[03:08:20] The fact is we now know exactly where bin tram.
[03:08:23] Bin tram 611 was located and you have confirmed the type of number of personnel on site.
[03:08:29] Rarely as such a small team engaged such a large force with so few casualties and lived to tell about it.
[03:08:35] The bin tram 611 you all encountered has been destroyed.
[03:08:40] For now along with the regimen that took 12 sag teams.
[03:08:45] We hear our all very proud to work with men like you and your Alabama team.
[03:08:54] Blackjack is there anything else you want to say?
[03:08:57] Ask Sergeant Analyst anything at all.
[03:09:01] Yes.
[03:09:03] The jolly green giants.
[03:09:06] The motto painted on the sides of their ships.
[03:09:10] So that others may live.
[03:09:14] Emotion wells up.
[03:09:17] Give me a minute please.
[03:09:19] The thought of the jajies, the Vietnamese king bees and all the others who have committed their lives to saving Alabama emotionally.
[03:09:27] Indate my senses overpowering my ability to stuff emotions back down.
[03:09:33] My eyes flood with tears.
[03:09:36] We're alive today due to all of you.
[03:09:41] Thank you.
[03:09:46] Amen.
[03:09:49] Man.
[03:09:54] Yeah.
[03:09:56] And by the way, so that right there is page 60.
[03:10:00] That just got us to page 60 of this book of this 300 page book.
[03:10:06] That's one mission.
[03:10:09] One historic sag mission.
[03:10:12] One one mission, one historic mission.
[03:10:15] But a mission that represents another day in sag, which is the same that you guys had.
[03:10:21] Yeah.
[03:10:22] And any like that?
[03:10:23] That was in a special category.
[03:10:25] Yeah.
[03:10:26] Yeah.
[03:10:27] But the, I mean, the set up, that's what you guys did.
[03:10:30] You know, like the set up, hey, we're going to go in there.
[03:10:32] We're going to find out where the bad guys are.
[03:10:34] We're taking the king bees in.
[03:10:35] We'll call for fire support if we get in trouble.
[03:10:38] That was your, that was your model.
[03:10:40] That was your, that was what you guys did.
[03:10:42] Oh, yeah.
[03:10:46] Although if we saw a flag, we would definitely try to get out of here if we could post haste.
[03:10:52] How about when you're taking massive fire on insert?
[03:10:54] What about that one?
[03:10:55] Is that another thing you're going to get shot down?
[03:10:57] It's a good idea.
[03:10:58] Or one of your insert craft gets shot down.
[03:11:00] You say we're going to continue the mission?
[03:11:02] Can you imagine?
[03:11:03] No.
[03:11:04] Hey. Yeah.
[03:11:09] Well, there's a ton of other missions to discuss this book.
[03:11:14] It's called a whiskey tango fox trot written by Lynn Black,
[03:11:18] Jr.
[03:11:20] Just get the book and bunch the other missions there.
[03:11:24] I want to save some of them.
[03:11:26] So hopefully we can get, we can get the man himself on here.
[03:11:29] To talk through some of these, give us his experiences.
[03:11:33] It's also cool because we'll get both of you guys on here because, you know,
[03:11:37] he writes about some of the same missions you guys were on together.
[03:11:40] If you guys both wrote about these missions.
[03:11:42] So to get both you in here to kind of go through those,
[03:11:45] I'll do my job shut up and just let you guys talk, which would be
[03:11:49] freaking awesome, awesome to do.
[03:11:52] But yeah, hopefully we can get them on at some point.
[03:11:56] And if not, then if you can't make it on, then we'll go through some of these other
[03:12:00] stories and share them.
[03:12:02] Most of the honor to pay homage to him.
[03:12:04] He's just a great guy, feelless warrior.
[03:12:06] And some of the things he did in that mission.
[03:12:08] Oh my God.
[03:12:10] When you think about these times, was it seem like a long time ago?
[03:12:15] Or is it seem like yesterday?
[03:12:16] Or, and I'm going to ask you this, does it seem like both?
[03:12:19] Because for me, sometimes my experience seems like it was a long time ago
[03:12:23] and sometimes it seems like it was yesterday.
[03:12:25] What does it seem like to you?
[03:12:26] Oh, it's clearly both.
[03:12:27] Yeah.
[03:12:28] Absolutely.
[03:12:29] I can just remember us standing there at the outside of the
[03:12:33] S3 shop waiting for the go for the bright light.
[03:12:36] Because Don already told us.
[03:12:38] And we were just switching everything out, just nothing but ammo,
[03:12:42] hand grenades and bandages and some body bags.
[03:12:45] And quite glad that they changed the mind.
[03:12:48] And Lynn, again, he had this right tactical decision on the ground.
[03:12:55] And he called it right because if we tried to go in,
[03:12:58] it looked like his.
[03:13:00] The other helicopter shot down and there's more people on the ground more
[03:13:03] casualties possibly.
[03:13:05] And so yeah, so that day comes back every October 5th.
[03:13:10] You know, we have our little email loop, spider, pat walkins.
[03:13:14] And it was go, hey, Lynn, this is your day brother.
[03:13:18] We don't know how you did it, but they were glad you did.
[03:13:23] Yeah, and the fact that, you know, he's he's saying in the beginning when they
[03:13:28] inserted like they should have left immediately.
[03:13:31] Meaning he's kind of looking to save his own ass, right?
[03:13:34] Yeah, sure.
[03:13:35] God bless him.
[03:13:36] But then you fast forward whatever it is a few hours.
[03:13:39] And now he's saying nope, I'm saving everyone else's ass.
[03:13:42] Don't come and get me.
[03:13:43] I mean, that's, hey, don't land your bird.
[03:13:46] He calls off Kingbies.
[03:13:47] Get out of here.
[03:13:48] Don't take off.
[03:13:49] Leave us here.
[03:13:50] Bright light.
[03:13:51] No.
[03:13:52] We're not going to be bait.
[03:13:53] Yeah.
[03:13:54] And you know, when he, when he finally came back to base, like a dare to
[03:13:58] let it go, they had to go patch him up.
[03:13:59] And then they had a little ceremony with the Air Force guys.
[03:14:04] What he swapped for days could the PJs had their brazen.
[03:14:07] I think Lynn and Steve swapped out theirs.
[03:14:12] And we came back to base.
[03:14:15] He never talked about it.
[03:14:17] We, we'd heard about what spider, mandolin, or all sand.
[03:14:21] About the mission, but you know, Lynn wouldn't talk about it.
[03:14:25] So even when I did the book, I had to go back and physically go, come on then.
[03:14:29] I want to get this story into the book.
[03:14:31] I flew up to the 1980, 1990, um, finally interviewed.
[03:14:35] That's where I learned stuff that I never knew about the mission.
[03:14:39] Or just some of the little details about the, um,
[03:14:42] find the PJ cooking, the broken back.
[03:14:46] And oh my god.
[03:14:48] See, it's just an amazing, amazing warrior, great guy, an artist on top of it.
[03:14:53] And, um, when he was talking about the, um,
[03:14:56] Chiefsaw that was Steve Kavenal, who was a highly decorated world where two of that.
[03:15:01] And then when Korea, he was in Germany.
[03:15:04] But then he was Chiefsaw, he came in right after Jack Singlove.
[03:15:08] And his welcome to Saag was August 23rd, 68, and F will be four.
[03:15:13] Yeah.
[03:15:14] So he was a really good Chiefsaw.
[03:15:17] He really cared about the man.
[03:15:19] But, uh, what was his rank as the Chiefsaw?
[03:15:22] Bird, oh six.
[03:15:23] So he was a whole bird colonel.
[03:15:25] Yeah.
[03:15:25] He was in charge of, and he's in charge of all sock.
[03:15:29] C, C, C, C, C, C, C, C, C.
[03:15:49] That's why I loved the book because the link is entities little exchanges back and forth.
[03:15:54] his editorals on my comments with these.
[03:15:57] Oh yes.
[03:15:58] It's so freaking classic.
[03:15:59] It's precious.
[03:16:00] It's crazy because I know you.
[03:16:02] And so I'm reading tilt set this.
[03:16:03] Till it said that.
[03:16:04] Till it's throw this.
[03:16:05] It's so awesome.
[03:16:07] Read.
[03:16:08] Yeah, that's freaking awesome.
[03:16:10] He also, you know, he also breaks into the hole.
[03:16:14] You get a better, you get a very good feeling of the whole kind of deployment when
[03:16:20] he's going into town and he's, there's all kinds of shady kind of CIA stuff going on
[03:16:26] in there that he's wrapped up in.
[03:16:28] Oh yeah.
[03:16:29] That's for, it's like, it's legit.
[03:16:32] Well, and even in the first 60 pages, there are segments there for what he did underfire
[03:16:40] that could be cut out and use any leadership school for the military.
[03:16:44] Anywhere's.
[03:16:45] It's just incredible stuff.
[03:16:47] Yeah, not to mention anything that he did multiple times over could be used to write
[03:16:52] in a word citation or what did he, what did he receive for this?
[03:16:55] Well, he wound up with a silver star.
[03:16:57] Okay.
[03:16:58] Which should have been my opinion, at least a metal of honor.
[03:17:02] And because in the book he goes into a spider and mandolin, or talk a little bit a few days
[03:17:08] later.
[03:17:09] And the S3 officer, a major who will remain nameless, was saying he didn't bring
[03:17:17] back stride.
[03:17:18] So you'd be glad we're putting him in for a silver star.
[03:17:21] And you know, Pat Walk is a spider.
[03:17:22] We're pretty infatient.
[03:17:23] He should have been a lot higher than that.
[03:17:26] And we could think about metal of honor that had been awarded where nothing like what
[03:17:32] then was up against getting knocked out all that time on a job, patched up his own people,
[03:17:38] and then leading them out.
[03:17:39] And then, oh, was this charge right through the NBA ranks?
[03:17:41] Did I use to that?
[03:17:43] Oh my god.
[03:17:46] It's weird because he's definitely a cerebral guy as you could hear from that last
[03:17:52] section.
[03:17:53] Oh yeah.
[03:17:54] But damn, he would get aggressive.
[03:17:56] I mean, he's pissed off.
[03:17:57] That's kind of one of the recent he read in Lysons, because he's pissed off that they wound
[03:18:02] his brother and wounded people from the 173rd and killed people from the 173rd.
[03:18:06] So he's got this pent up aggression.
[03:18:08] But then he's an artist.
[03:18:09] Oh yeah.
[03:18:10] Right.
[03:18:11] Sure.
[03:18:12] He worked at this TV station during high school.
[03:18:14] He's so good.
[03:18:15] But I'm one of, you know, we've just read it.
[03:18:19] So, and then years later, I mean, he just comes back in his own way and it goes, gets
[03:18:25] a job at Boeing, rises through the ranks, this incredible work there that nobody could
[03:18:30] talk about.
[03:18:31] Oh yeah.
[03:18:32] One of our saga legends through the max and humble, the modest.
[03:18:39] He just like pulling teeth and getting to talk about it.
[03:18:42] Yeah.
[03:18:43] That's why I love the book.
[03:18:44] You know, every couple years saw a port out and we read it.
[03:18:47] Did you know what inspired him to write this book?
[03:18:51] That's a good question.
[03:18:52] I don't know.
[03:18:54] These last 15 years, so between the reunions and being so far apart, I was just, everybody
[03:19:02] was talking to a C'mon, they got to the book.
[03:19:05] And at one point, he told him, he threw away four to 500 pages.
[03:19:09] That's a little bit of a little folder.
[03:19:14] So somewhere, given to me, given to somebody, a bit of a nice, a nice, no, it's done.
[03:19:21] He worked on for a while.
[03:19:23] He really did.
[03:19:25] And we had chatted back and forth back when I still had the newspaper back in the day.
[03:19:29] Well, it's a phenomenal book.
[03:19:33] I hope everybody goes to pick it up.
[03:19:35] Hopefully you can come on here and talk through some of these stories.
[03:19:39] And if not that, then hopefully I can just go shake his hand one day because it'd be
[03:19:43] an honor.
[03:19:44] Next time you go up to Seattle, where you're going to use your show.
[03:19:48] Yeah.
[03:19:49] Yeah.
[03:19:51] With that look, we've been going for three and a half hours or something like that.
[03:19:54] Really?
[03:19:55] Yeah.
[03:19:56] I know.
[03:19:57] This must be a jockel podcast.
[03:20:01] Critter asked in me.
[03:20:04] Yeah.
[03:20:05] And we're going to come back, reduce some song chronicles next.
[03:20:11] Yeah.
[03:20:13] Until then, a little bit speechless, but it's the obvious it's an honor to share these
[03:20:19] stories, these socks stories.
[03:20:21] It's an honor always to have you until an honor to know you.
[03:20:25] And it's an honor for me to help get the word out, get the word out about you and your
[03:20:31] brothers in song.
[03:20:33] Your books that you've written that we've covered on the podcast across the fence.
[03:20:38] I've got the first one on the ground.
[03:20:42] And then, sog chronicles volume one, you're also out there just getting after the social
[03:20:49] media.
[03:20:50] A little bit now.
[03:20:51] I get the Tennessee, we're going to be moving here real soon.
[03:20:54] That's going to get really serious.
[03:20:55] I'll be calling up back, though, for some skill sets.
[03:20:59] You're on Twitter, but you don't do much on Twitter.
[03:21:03] Minimal on Twitter.
[03:21:05] On Twitter, you're at Sog John.
[03:21:07] Does that want to end up in there?
[03:21:09] And then there's at sog chronicles.
[03:21:10] Jay Striker, okay.
[03:21:12] Myr.
[03:21:13] That's the other handle.
[03:21:15] But, sit this as Twitter.
[03:21:16] And do you think I should really be on it?
[03:21:17] You have to give me a more advice here.
[03:21:19] I don't want to do it, I guess.
[03:21:22] Instagram has been amazing.
[03:21:24] Yeah, no.
[03:21:25] That's so I was going to say Jay Striker Myr on Instagram.
[03:21:27] That's where you're at.
[03:21:29] You also have Facebook, John Striker Myr, and you have on the internet, on the inner webs,
[03:21:36] on your app, or it's just Sog Chronicles.com.
[03:21:41] Correct.
[03:21:42] And we're going to be going to get my 20th-th-th-thew websites going to be upgraded here
[03:21:46] to the next month or two.
[03:21:47] Look like you designed that one on a tape recorder.
[03:21:50] It wasn't that advanced, y'all.
[03:21:53] My doors are on me and Anazon be too.
[03:21:57] So we're lined up at gentlemen now.
[03:21:59] We're going to review them to come back in the redesign.
[03:22:01] Absolutely.
[03:22:02] Well, like I said, thank you so much for coming.
[03:22:06] I'm on my pleasure.
[03:22:07] And I'll always an honor, appreciate it.
[03:22:10] And it's just, every time you send me a text message that says Airborne, it gives me enough
[03:22:14] motivation to get through like six weeks of mayhem.
[03:22:18] That's pretty good.
[03:22:20] Until next time, Airborne indeed.
[03:22:25] And with that John Striker Myr, till has left the building.
[03:22:32] You know, echo, it's, you know, we're sitting here.
[03:22:38] And sometimes we feel like maybe we're getting after it.
[03:22:41] And then you sit down with someone like Tilt.
[03:22:44] And you hear the story of Lim Black and the guy's from Saga.
[03:22:49] And it makes me realize that we can do more.
[03:22:54] And we actually should do more with our lives.
[03:22:59] To get after it more.
[03:23:02] So what recommendations do you have to keep us in the mode of getting after it as we pursue
[03:23:11] as we pursue.
[03:23:14] Improvement.
[03:23:15] Yeah, improvement.
[03:23:16] I just wanted to say, as we improve as we pursue an unattainable standard.
[03:23:21] Yes.
[03:23:22] It's an unattainable standard.
[03:23:23] I'm not ever.
[03:23:25] I mean, something would have to go completely haywire for me to get after it to the level
[03:23:28] of a John Striker Myr or of a Lynn Black or of a Dick Thompson.
[03:23:35] There'd have to be there's some's got to go majorly wrong.
[03:23:38] So and I don't, you look, we hope that doesn't happen in the world.
[03:23:41] So what we are in the pursuit of that level, we're not going to get there.
[03:23:46] But we're trying.
[03:23:47] Yes.
[03:23:48] Because we're not just going to sit back and say, oh, they got after it more than me.
[03:23:52] I'm just going to sit on the couch.
[03:23:53] No, no.
[03:23:54] We're not doing that.
[03:23:55] No.
[03:23:56] We're going to get after it.
[03:24:00] Appropriate at the appropriate level to our world.
[03:24:05] Anyway.
[03:24:06] Okay.
[03:24:07] We do.
[03:24:08] I like the fact that you finally came to yourself realization of what you just said
[03:24:12] made no sense.
[03:24:13] It doesn't do that.
[03:24:14] You don't get that self realization very often.
[03:24:16] It makes sense.
[03:24:17] You just got to think about it.
[03:24:18] That's just got to think about it more.
[03:24:19] Anyway.
[03:24:20] So yes, we're working out our bodies.
[03:24:22] Degeneration regeneration.
[03:24:23] As you said, why is man, Jocco?
[03:24:26] Why is man?
[03:24:27] I'm saying it.
[03:24:28] There you go, boom.
[03:24:30] The beatings are the darkness.
[03:24:34] The gains are the light.
[03:24:36] So, Jocco fuel.
[03:24:37] This will help you.
[03:24:38] These things will help you.
[03:24:40] Jocco fuel.
[03:24:41] We've got stuff for your joints.
[03:24:42] Stuff for your muscles.
[03:24:43] Stuff for your brain.
[03:24:45] Stuff for your immunity.
[03:24:47] All the stuff.
[03:24:48] Some bases.
[03:24:49] You got some bases covered.
[03:24:50] Yes, sir.
[03:24:51] Yes, we do.
[03:24:52] Anyway, join warfare and cruel oil.
[03:24:54] These are for your joints.
[03:24:55] They're oxidants in there too, by the way.
[03:24:58] Also discipline, multiple forms, deployment methods, powder, mixable in water, recommended.
[03:25:09] Maybe throw some juice in there.
[03:25:11] No.
[03:25:12] All right, well, hey, I was just seeing it.
[03:25:14] You don't need to throw it in there.
[03:25:15] I know that.
[03:25:16] I mixed one up the other day because it was been hot here in the California AO.
[03:25:21] And we have operations.
[03:25:23] And did you see what I posted it?
[03:25:25] I mixed up.
[03:25:27] I took just, you know, well, I don't know if you know this.
[03:25:30] When it's hot out, IST, Arnold Palmer, scenarios are very nice staff.
[03:25:38] So you know this, you ever seen one of those big?
[03:25:40] Basically, this is a big picture.
[03:25:43] You know what a picture is?
[03:25:44] Yes.
[03:25:45] It's a clear plastic picture.
[03:25:47] And there's only one true purpose for that thing.
[03:25:49] And that is to mix up IST or Arnold Palmer on a hot, hot day.
[03:25:55] So I did it empty my IST thing into there, put in the jockel Palmer discipline go.
[03:26:01] What they can?
[03:26:02] No, no, no, the powder.
[03:26:03] That's not discipline go.
[03:26:04] Put in the discipline powder.
[03:26:06] You.
[03:26:07] You was so good.
[03:26:08] It was nice.
[03:26:09] You're so good.
[03:26:10] Yeah, so you got the Arnold Palmer, jockel Palmer.
[03:26:13] You got the Arnold Palmer feel with the jockel Palmer feel.
[03:26:17] You see what I'm saying?
[03:26:18] I think it man.
[03:26:19] I think it's a bad mix.
[03:26:20] You know what?
[03:26:21] It didn't make any sense.
[03:26:22] It didn't make any sense.
[03:26:23] Yeah, it's sense.
[03:26:24] See that's what I'm talking about.
[03:26:26] So why had to do was think about it.
[03:26:28] Hey, look, I'm not this one up guy.
[03:26:30] You know, you know, you know what a one up guy is.
[03:26:32] I'm not that.
[03:26:34] And I'm not a grammar Nazi and I'm not a character.
[03:26:37] Okay.
[03:26:38] I'll correct you if you want me just corrected me.
[03:26:41] I'll just go.
[03:26:42] But okay, whatever.
[03:26:43] Yeah, you weird self image.
[03:26:44] That's kind of why I kind of said it because I might have came off like a character
[03:26:47] and I might come off like a little bit of a character right now.
[03:26:50] But technically you have a picture hot summertime.
[03:26:54] California heat wave weekend.
[03:26:55] That's kind of what it was.
[03:26:57] You want a glass picture?
[03:26:59] No, not a glass.
[03:27:00] Yeah, yeah.
[03:27:01] I do.
[03:27:02] I don't know.
[03:27:03] Yeah, no, I agree with you.
[03:27:05] There you go.
[03:27:06] I don't purchase the pictures in my house.
[03:27:08] There you go.
[03:27:09] Other people run that part of the machine.
[03:27:12] Yeah.
[03:27:13] No worries.
[03:27:14] We'll get some people on the phone.
[03:27:15] We'll sort it out.
[03:27:16] All good.
[03:27:17] Good luck with that.
[03:27:18] Yes, sir.
[03:27:19] Yes, sir.
[03:27:20] Either way, again, things for immunity, vitamin D and cold war.
[03:27:23] But it's two things, different methodologies.
[03:27:25] But immune support.
[03:27:27] Yeah, I get on that for sure.
[03:27:29] Because in these times immunity is always a good thing.
[03:27:32] It's never a bad thing.
[03:27:33] Immunity.
[03:27:34] Yes, for example.
[03:27:35] You know, that's a good thing.
[03:27:36] Does it?
[03:27:37] Yeah.
[03:27:38] Does it being able to drink?
[03:27:39] You eat a nice red eye or a nice piece of elk and you're like, oh, that was so good.
[03:27:44] But there's still a little something in your weird brain that wants dessert.
[03:27:49] Yeah, which is why we make milk.
[03:27:52] Yes.
[03:27:53] You can get dessert for you.
[03:27:54] Yep.
[03:27:55] And you can just have a dessert.
[03:27:57] Shortcake.
[03:27:58] You can have ice cream.
[03:27:59] You can have carrot cake.
[03:28:00] You could have chocolate pudding or you could have milk.
[03:28:05] It all tastes the same genre of food, except for all those things are bad for you,
[03:28:12] except milk, which is literally good for you.
[03:28:14] Literally good for you.
[03:28:15] And I'll supply you with additional protein.
[03:28:17] You think a cake is going to give you more protein or regular cake.
[03:28:20] We will go toe to toe cake versus bowl.
[03:28:22] Here, all taste, taste and protein levels.
[03:28:28] All day.
[03:28:29] So yeah, I get that one.
[03:28:30] Now, your kids are going to like it too, whether it's that one or the where your
[03:28:34] kid mall which there is.
[03:28:35] Yeah.
[03:28:36] Because it's going to like both of those.
[03:28:37] I know from experience kids like this.
[03:28:40] I know from experience kids love this.
[03:28:43] Stop.
[03:28:44] Yes, sir.
[03:28:45] It's true.
[03:28:46] It's all true.
[03:28:47] Also, jocco IT.
[03:28:48] Yes.
[03:28:49] You know the refreshing tea scenario.
[03:28:51] Anyway, you can get all this stuff at the right amount of shop if you want to go out
[03:28:53] and get some.
[03:28:54] Also, if you don't want to go out and get some just online.
[03:28:57] Origin, main.com.
[03:28:59] That's where you get it.
[03:29:00] Also, at origin, main.com, you can get American made products straight up.
[03:29:06] American made hard goods.
[03:29:07] Hard goods durable goods.
[03:29:09] durable goods.
[03:29:10] All that.
[03:29:11] All that.
[03:29:12] And it's made of these for those you jits.
[03:29:14] You can get rash cards also for those you jits or other forms of working out or surfing.
[03:29:20] Although we are moving into the winter months you might need to wet suit, but that's up to
[03:29:25] you.
[03:29:26] We do not make wet suits.
[03:29:27] Yes, yet.
[03:29:30] T-shirts, jeans, boots.
[03:29:33] Basically, you need clothes to wear.
[03:29:35] I mean, look, here's the deal.
[03:29:37] We need clothes to wear.
[03:29:38] If you're going to get clothes to wear, get them from origin, main.
[03:29:41] They're made in America.
[03:29:42] We got a bunch of awesome people up there rebuilding a whole industry in Maine.
[03:29:50] Support America and get the best possible clothing.
[03:29:54] You can.
[03:29:55] That's what we're talking about.
[03:29:56] Yeah.
[03:29:57] It's true.
[03:29:58] And they have some shorts that for whatever reason.
[03:29:59] I don't know why.
[03:30:00] They don't talk about the shorts because it's literally a side from board shirts.
[03:30:04] Like when I swim and work out or whatever.
[03:30:06] These are the only shorts I wear.
[03:30:08] The shark fan.
[03:30:09] You like the shark fan.
[03:30:11] Yeah.
[03:30:12] That's a P.
[03:30:13] Yeah.
[03:30:14] That's naming.
[03:30:15] Thanks.
[03:30:16] It's very creative and gamer.
[03:30:18] And I, to be honest, what do you think came to?
[03:30:20] First, because the shark fan shorts has like a pocket on it that kind of looks like a shark
[03:30:25] fan.
[03:30:26] Yeah.
[03:30:27] Yeah.
[03:30:28] I don't know that.
[03:30:29] So I don't know if he started to design it that way and then named it the shark
[03:30:33] fan and then made it look more like a shark fan.
[03:30:35] It's functional.
[03:30:36] There's a reason for it, but I'm just saying.
[03:30:38] P.
[03:30:38] Yeah.
[03:30:39] You're right.
[03:30:40] You're right.
[03:30:41] Well, either way, should I, to me, shark fan sounds cool straight up.
[03:30:46] So I was like, hell, yeah.
[03:30:47] Shark fan shirts.
[03:30:48] Yeah.
[03:30:49] Anyway, very good stuff.
[03:30:51] Orgermake.com on Made America's.
[03:30:52] Speaking of shorts.
[03:30:53] Speaking of shorts.
[03:30:54] We, it's, we're going to board shorts.
[03:30:55] We have board shorts.
[03:30:57] Defcore to the core.
[03:30:59] Discipline equals freedom.
[03:31:01] Board shorts at joccostore.com.
[03:31:04] And dracostore.com.
[03:31:06] If you didn't know, it is the store.
[03:31:08] It's the store where you can get stuff while you, you know, while you want them.
[03:31:12] If you want to represent on the path is where you can get your shirts.
[03:31:15] You just link with freedom shirts.
[03:31:17] But these board shorts, like I said, but did you, did, what do you call it?
[03:31:22] Did you, did you, camo?
[03:31:23] Did you, camo?
[03:31:24] Did you, camo?
[03:31:25] Did you, camo?
[03:31:26] Did you, camo?
[03:31:27] I don't know.
[03:31:28] I don't know how I've said it.
[03:31:29] Did you do it?
[03:31:30] I think I call it, did you, camo?
[03:31:31] Did you, camo?
[03:31:32] No, did you, camo?
[03:31:33] C'mon.
[03:31:34] Either way, camel flies, did you do it?
[03:31:36] You know that one.
[03:31:37] Anyway, go to dracostore.com.
[03:31:39] Like I said, if you, whatever shirt you want, what?
[03:31:41] The camel flies want or the regular straight up black one.
[03:31:44] Everyone you want.
[03:31:45] Available.
[03:31:46] Also some girl stuff on there, some tank tops.
[03:31:50] Like the hoodies hats, all this stuff.
[03:31:54] If you like something, hey man, get something.
[03:31:56] Yeah, and don't forget about the warrior kid.
[03:32:00] Soap.
[03:32:01] Just while there's warrior kids soap, actually.
[03:32:02] Yes.
[03:32:03] And then there is a bunch of others soap that is made by a warrior kid.
[03:32:08] Yes.
[03:32:09] Young, Eden.
[03:32:10] We sell it in jocostore.
[03:32:11] There's warrior kid soap.
[03:32:12] There's jocos soap.
[03:32:13] There's troopers soap.
[03:32:14] All good legitimate soap.
[03:32:17] But for the month of September, Irish Ops Ranch will be donating $1.
[03:32:24] Per bar of soap to the cure search foundation.
[03:32:30] It's called cure.
[03:32:31] So it's a cancer research center.
[03:32:32] It seems to be saying so.
[03:32:33] Yeah, because cancer awareness month September.
[03:32:37] So we're donating $1.
[03:32:38] Per bar of soap sold.
[03:32:40] That's young, Eden.
[03:32:41] Young, that's young, Eden.
[03:32:42] Young, Eden.
[03:32:43] Making that happen.
[03:32:44] So there's a kid.
[03:32:46] I think he might be 14 now.
[03:32:48] But started this company, started this company, warrior kid out there getting after
[03:32:52] it and he wants to help out kids that have cancer.
[03:32:55] So good for him.
[03:32:57] Appreciate the support for that one.
[03:33:00] Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast.
[03:33:01] Don't forget that we have some other podcast.
[03:33:04] The jockel unraveling podcast, which used to be called the thread.
[03:33:08] We got quite a few episodes coming out of that.
[03:33:12] We have the debrief podcast, which is on this thread, on the jockel podcast, what is
[03:33:18] it called?
[03:33:19] Feed for right now.
[03:33:20] We have the ground in podcast.
[03:33:22] We have the warrior kid podcast.
[03:33:24] We also have a YouTube channel, which echo makes YouTube videos for jockel podcast YouTube
[03:33:33] channel.
[03:33:34] Also psychological warfare.
[03:33:35] It's an album with tracks.
[03:33:38] Jockel tracks helping you through moments of weakness as they may arise.
[03:33:42] Maybe not every day, but they arise sometimes.
[03:33:45] I think you might have just reached your breaking point.
[03:33:49] The first thing that you've said that and you've repeated that thing that you didn't
[03:33:52] have any enthusiasm.
[03:33:53] Yes, when you had it, you had it.
[03:33:54] You had someone who's in, but it was lower.
[03:33:56] Well, you know, so all the times, because just by the way, my enthusiasm for you saying
[03:34:01] that ended after about four times.
[03:34:04] And now we're on, where do we go?
[03:34:09] 200 something to podcast?
[03:34:11] So maybe you'll think of it something else to say.
[03:34:14] The world hopes.
[03:34:16] The world is hopeful.
[03:34:17] I'm searching my brain to connect the dots.
[03:34:20] They're like, I don't feel like I'm in a breaking point in any capacity.
[03:34:24] But it's just broke up right here.
[03:34:26] Apparently I am.
[03:34:28] But so maybe I'm going to assume that you're right.
[03:34:30] Yeah.
[03:34:31] Maybe it's because recently I haven't needed psychological warfare help.
[03:34:40] So it's not like fresh in my mind.
[03:34:42] So maybe it came off like broke or anything.
[03:34:45] Well, why don't you look, go and listen to the track that's about doing things that you
[03:34:48] might not want to do.
[03:34:50] Okay?
[03:34:51] Because apparently you think you can just come in here and kind of slough off on your execution.
[03:34:58] Yeah.
[03:34:59] On the psychological warfare part.
[03:35:01] Okay.
[03:35:02] And that's kind of what you call that ironic.
[03:35:03] It's ironic.
[03:35:04] Very ironic.
[03:35:05] All right.
[03:35:06] So you can get that if you want it.
[03:35:07] There's also a flipside canvas.com.
[03:35:08] My brother Dakota Myers.
[03:35:10] My brother Dakota Myers company where he sells visual representation.
[03:35:15] Did you hear that?
[03:35:16] I've said that a bunch of times.
[03:35:17] But you still hear some spirit in my voice because I'm fired up when I'm talking about
[03:35:21] Dakota Meyer and flipside canvas.com for visual representation that you want to see
[03:35:27] something.
[03:35:28] If you're, if you feel like maybe you've broken like echo has, you're going to hang
[03:35:33] one of these things up.
[03:35:35] Dakotaflipsidecanas.com for that.
[03:35:37] We also got a bunch of books.
[03:35:39] Whiskey Tango Fox Trot by Lynn Black.
[03:35:41] That's what we went over today.
[03:35:43] Also John Strike and Meyer books across the fence on the ground.
[03:35:46] Those are two different books.
[03:35:47] And then saw Chronicles.
[03:35:50] We also have the code, the evaluation and protocols, leadership strategy and tactics field
[03:35:55] manual.
[03:35:56] We're the warrior kid one, two and three.
[03:35:59] Mikey in the dragon's discipline, he goes freedom field manual.
[03:36:03] And then extreme ownership and the dichotomy of leadership.
[03:36:08] So those are a bunch of books.
[03:36:10] If you want to support, you can go on to jockelpodcast.com and any of the books that have
[03:36:14] been on this podcast, you can get them from there.
[03:36:16] And if you're wondering, hey, people always ask, what's the, give me the top seven books
[03:36:21] that you've read?
[03:36:22] Or they always ask these questions, right?
[03:36:24] Yeah, can you, can you have a reading, let's give you published reading this?
[03:36:27] Yes, I can already did.
[03:36:28] It's called jockelpodcast.com books from the podcast.
[03:36:31] You can go on there.
[03:36:33] And if you want to, if you want to, you can click through there and you can go to Amazon
[03:36:37] and you can actually buy that book.
[03:36:39] And then you can read it, make yourself smarter and better.
[03:36:43] We also have a leadership consultancy called echelon front where what we do is solve
[03:36:50] problems through leadership.
[03:36:52] If you want to hear me talk to you, if you want me to come and talk or present to your
[03:36:57] team, you don't have to go to, you don't have to Google, jockel speaking.
[03:37:03] You can just go to echelon front.com.
[03:37:05] If you want to have myself or any of the echelon front instructors, come and help you,
[03:37:12] come and consult with you about your leadership, get you all aligned, get you on the right
[03:37:15] path.
[03:37:17] We can do it.
[03:37:18] Go to echelon front.com.
[03:37:21] We also have EF online, which listen, if you're wondering, hey, how can I, I'd really
[03:37:26] like to know this, my thing from Joccov.
[03:37:29] You want to ask me a question?
[03:37:30] Go to EF online, come on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.
[03:37:36] And chances are I will be there.
[03:37:37] And if I'm not there, someone else from the echelon front team is, but usually I'm there,
[03:37:41] I will be there to answer your questions.
[03:37:45] Whatever you want to ask me.
[03:37:47] There's also a bunch of in-depth granular studies of all the principles from extreme
[03:37:54] ownership, the dichotomy leadership and leadership strategy and tactics.
[03:37:58] So go to EF online.com.
[03:38:01] Also we have the muster.
[03:38:04] We had one in Orlando, cancel.
[03:38:05] We had one in Phoenix, canceled.
[03:38:07] The next one is going to be in Dallas, Texas on December 3rd and 4th.
[03:38:13] Go to extremownership.com.
[03:38:15] If you want to come, and of course we have EF Overwatch.
[03:38:20] If you need executive leadership, you can get experienced military leaders that understand
[03:38:26] the principles that we talk about.
[03:38:29] Go to EF Overwatch.com and then America's mighty warriors.org.
[03:38:36] That is, Mamalee, Mark Lee's mom.
[03:38:40] And what she does is she helps.
[03:38:43] She helps.
[03:38:44] She helps.
[03:38:45] She helps.
[03:38:46] She helps.
[03:38:47] She helps.
[03:38:48] She helps.
[03:38:49] She helps.
[03:38:50] Retired.
[03:38:51] Service members.
[03:38:52] And she helps.
[03:38:53] Gold star families around the world.
[03:38:55] So if you want to help out with that, you can go to americazmightywariers.org to donate or to get
[03:39:03] involved.
[03:39:04] And if you need to contact us or you have any questions or you have any answers, you can
[03:39:09] find us on the in-a-webs.
[03:39:10] Once again, for John Stryker Meyer, he's on Twitter at at-sog.
[03:39:15] John, he's on Instagram at J. Stryker.
[03:39:19] STRI-K-E-R-M-E-Y-E-R.
[03:39:25] And Facebook, John Stryker Meyer, and on the in-a-webs at Sog Chronicles.
[03:39:29] And of course, for us to knuckleheads echo is at echo Charles and I am at jocca willink
[03:39:37] and to all of the military personnel out there that swore the oath to put country above
[03:39:46] self.
[03:39:47] Thank you and to till and to Lynn Black and the rest of the Sog forces in Vietnam.
[03:39:55] We can't say thank you enough for doing what you did.
[03:39:58] So that others may live.
[03:40:03] And to police and law enforcement and firefighters and paramedics and EMTs and dispatchers
[03:40:07] and correctional officers and board of patrol and secret service and all other first responders,
[03:40:12] thanks to you as well for swearing your oath to take care of us here on the home front.
[03:40:19] And everyone else out there think of the incredible odds that these Sog soldiers went up
[03:40:28] against and they did it time and time and time again in those forgotten jungles on those
[03:40:34] forgotten hills in that forgotten world.
[03:40:39] They sacrificed so much and we must never forget.
[03:40:49] Until next time, this is echo and jocco out.