Re: Anybody wanna talk about Vietnam?... tell a war story?

Christmas

By Skip Stealey

The best Christmas present I ever received was a ham sandwich. I know
that
sounds a little strange, but at the time I got it, it demonstrated
great caring. We
were on our way back in from a rescue operation that had not gone
exactly the
way we had planned it. A F-4 had taken a little too much damage to be
able to
make it back to base, and we had been sent after it. The pilot and
navigator
had both ejected and apparently made it to the ground safely--safely
being a
relative term when you are in hostile territory! Our Jolly Green had
made it to
the pickup area and we were talking on the emergency radio with the
pilot
when all hell broke loose. The LZ we were heading into suddenly turned
very
hot and David, my team leader, and I made the decision to go ahead and
try
and find the pilot and the navigator because we knew they had been
alive a few
minutes earlier. We had talked to them, separately of course, and had
convinced them to go to ground. We figured we could sniff them out,
literally,
before the Cong could. We needed to find the downed airmen, set a
perimeter,
and facilitate their extraction. Six of us egressed the bird and
headed into the
bush. Six of us being four human soldiers and two canine ones.

If you have never been in the military, specifically in the Vietnam
era, you need
to watch the movie BAT 21 starring Gene Hackman The team we were on
was
a direct result of that particular fiasco. The movie is based on
truth, and the
crux of it is that flying officers, while very good in the air, have
no concept of
ground warfare in the jungle. They also have no more of a concept of
the
viciousness of the VC than Jane Fonda.

We had been in-country long enough to know that the downed airmen had
been used as bait for a rescue attempt but were still young and
foolish enough
to think we could beat the odds.

To make a long story short, we manage to save the F-4 navigator but
lost the
pilot to the VC. Of course, after sending the navigator on his way in
a Jolly
Green two days after our initial insertion, we then began the long
march out of
the area on foot. The operation had begun four days before Christmas
and it
was now December 23. Those of you who were not involved with Vietnam
don't know that the Christmas truce was a joke among grunts. It was
great PR
for Charlie because it did give everyone in the World the idea that
the war was
on hold. It was also BS.

Our team was still 20 klicks from the closest possible extraction
point, and we
were in deep bush. We had "resupplied" ourselves from the only
available
source and, fortunately, had done so without suffering casualties; we
were
extraordinarily lucky. Considering how hot the situation was, we
decided to
simply hide for a day or so before attempting to reach our designated
extraction point. On Christmas day, we came out of our hole and sent a
sitrep
to "higher" authority. By that time however we were in desperate need
of
simple antibiotics and food. We believed a quick trip by a fast
chopper could
get us the material we needed and HQ, for once, agreed with us. We
made our
signals when we heard the bird close by and directed the pilot where
to make
his drop. Keep in mind, we were in hostile territory and the simple
act of
making the drop was an act of extreme courage.

We got our drop and in the small bag with our medical supplies was a
small,
canned, picnic ham and a box of Large Milk-Bone dog biscuits--where
they
got dog biscuits I 'll never know--along with a loaf of French bread.

The attached note said, "Merry Christmas, from grateful birdmen." We
made
sandwiches and had an American Christmas dinner instead of the local
crap we
had been eating up until then. I still think about that ham sandwich
every
Christmas as I look at the huge meal that the family sets on the table
and
remember the kindness of those chopper pilots. That to me will always
be the
real Christmas spirit: Men who risk their lives to remind four,
unfortunate grunts
and two dogs that someone cared.

-----

Skip was an AirForce Search and Rescue NCO in Vietnam and spent a lot
of his time
behind enemy lines.

-=-
This message was posted via two or more anonymous remailing services.

"Anonymous" wrote in message
news:ELLQYV6538040.8213657407@anonymous...
>
> Christmas
>
> By Skip Stealey
>
> The best Christmas present I ever received was a ham sandwich. I know
> that
> sounds a little strange, but at the time I got it, it demonstrated
> great caring. We
> were on our way back in from a rescue operation that had not gone
> exactly the
> way we had planned it. A F-4 had taken a little too much damage to be
> able to
> make it back to base, and we had been sent after it. The pilot and
> navigator
> had both ejected and apparently made it to the ground safely--safely
> being a
> relative term when you are in hostile territory! Our Jolly Green had
> made it to
> the pickup area and we were talking on the emergency radio with the
> pilot
> when all hell broke loose. The LZ we were heading into suddenly turned
> very
> hot and David, my team leader, and I made the decision to go ahead and
> try
> and find the pilot and the navigator because we knew they had been
> alive a few
> minutes earlier. We had talked to them, separately of course, and had
> convinced them to go to ground. We figured we could sniff them out,
> literally,
> before the Cong could. We needed to find the downed airmen, set a
> perimeter,
> and facilitate their extraction. Six of us egressed the bird and
> headed into the
> bush. Six of us being four human soldiers and two canine ones.
>
> If you have never been in the military, specifically in the Vietnam
> era, you need
> to watch the movie BAT 21 starring Gene Hackman The team we were on
> was
> a direct result of that particular fiasco. The movie is based on
> truth, and the
> crux of it is that flying officers, while very good in the air, have
> no concept of
> ground warfare in the jungle. They also have no more of a concept of
> the
> viciousness of the VC than Jane Fonda.
>
> We had been in-country long enough to know that the downed airmen had
> been used as bait for a rescue attempt but were still young and
> foolish enough
> to think we could beat the odds.
>
> To make a long story short, we manage to save the F-4 navigator but
> lost the
> pilot to the VC. Of course, after sending the navigator on his way in
> a Jolly
> Green two days after our initial insertion, we then began the long
> march out of
> the area on foot. The operation had begun four days before Christmas
> and it
> was now December 23. Those of you who were not involved with Vietnam
> don't know that the Christmas truce was a joke among grunts. It was
> great PR
> for Charlie because it did give everyone in the World the idea that
> the war was
> on hold. It was also BS.
>
> Our team was still 20 klicks from the closest possible extraction
> point, and we
> were in deep bush. We had "resupplied" ourselves from the only
> available
> source and, fortunately, had done so without suffering casualties; we
> were
> extraordinarily lucky. Considering how hot the situation was, we
> decided to
> simply hide for a day or so before attempting to reach our designated
> extraction point. On Christmas day, we came out of our hole and sent a
> sitrep
> to "higher" authority. By that time however we were in desperate need
> of
> simple antibiotics and food. We believed a quick trip by a fast
> chopper could
> get us the material we needed and HQ, for once, agreed with us. We
> made our
> signals when we heard the bird close by and directed the pilot where
> to make
> his drop. Keep in mind, we were in hostile territory and the simple
> act of
> making the drop was an act of extreme courage.
>
> We got our drop and in the small bag with our medical supplies was a
> small,
> canned, picnic ham and a box of Large Milk-Bone dog biscuits--where
> they
> got dog biscuits I 'll never know--along with a loaf of French bread.
>
> The attached note said, "Merry Christmas, from grateful birdmen." We
> made
> sandwiches and had an American Christmas dinner instead of the local
> crap we
> had been eating up until then. I still think about that ham sandwich
> every
> Christmas as I look at the huge meal that the family sets on the table
> and
> remember the kindness of those chopper pilots. That to me will always
> be the
> real Christmas spirit: Men who risk their lives to remind four,
> unfortunate grunts
> and two dogs that someone cared.
>
> -----
>
> Skip was an AirForce Search and Rescue NCO in Vietnam and spent a lot
> of his time
> behind enemy lines.
>
> -=-
> This message was posted via two or more anonymous remailing services.
>
>


Damn - I was gonna ask about the ham sandwiches next.

--
Nigel Brooks

Anonymous wrote:
>
>Christmas
>
> By Skip Stealey
>
> The best Christmas present I ever received was a ham sandwich.

>This message was posted via two or more anonymous remailing services.

And for good reason . . . .

Doug

let's talk about ducks

In news:hrM_b.2414$BT1.828@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com ,
HorDog radiated into the WorldWideWait:

> let's talk about ducks

ARRGGGHHHH...
--
From the one-and-only Holy Moses(TM)

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 06:42:49 -0600, "Duke of URL"
wrote this crap:

>In news:hrM_b.2414$BT1.828@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com ,
>HorDog radiated into the WorldWideWait:
>
>> let's talk about ducks
>
>ARRGGGHHHH...

Famous last words: "What duck?"


Horvath@Horvath.net

This signature is now the ultimate power in the universe