Kilo 69

by Sgt Dale Terrell ,
 35th SPS , K-9
Phan Rang Vietnam 1970-1971

"I want to bite your ass" look. I slid over behind him and looked down his nose like sighting a strike-point and then I noticed this BUSH that wasn't there before. Then I realized that it was two bushes. Hum, was that there and I hadn't noticed it?  Now my hair was on end!  As I reached for my radio to call in an alert, the BUSH made a move toward the strip gate and the post that it swung off of.
          As I had been programmed to do, I yelled "HALT!  DUNG LIA!" which only made things worse. One dude runs to the fence post and draws his pistol and the other dude runs up his back and grabs the top of the post and is about to be on my side if I don't do something quick!  I decided to shoot first and make the radio call later, as soon as I could so I could get some support. Things went so fast, as I stood with my CAR-15 I pushed it all the way to rockin' roll (automatic) and came up with a complete 45 round burst that broke the silence of the night. Then everybody was on the radio wanting to know what was going on and where it was coming from. As I stood in my complete disbelief that this was not one of my dreams, I yelled into my radio that I had two people coming over the fence at the strip gate. Next thing I heard was the Track from the Bravo Road bunker come crashing to a stop through the bushes to my left. Then my buddies in the middle of their dinner came running down the fence to back me up. I had always liked to use tracers in my clips, I guess so that I could see where I was hitting at night. It worked real well that night. As I had stood up and let go with that big burst, I saw one on the many rounds that first came out there into the road below me and had ricocheted up and into the forearm of the guy on top of the fence. It was a strange feeling to shoot another person, then to see him fall back over the fence and jump to his feet and along with his partner disappear into the moonless night. So just for good measure I loaded another 45 round clip and scattered it all over the area. My way of saying, "and don't you ever try that on my post again!"
       As we all lay in the grass waiting for those higher ups to take charge of the situation, I thought back to how long I had let that alert go on before I finally agreed with Nook that something was really there. From that night on, I always believed my Partner and I let anybody that wanted to know, know that I had an alert and that this was Chinook Saying something isn't right and let's take a look. Within a couple of hours the Australian ambush team showed up. Aw yes, "Watch Dog 22" went out on Patrol and looked for anybody that might still be in the area. All they found that night was blood and some bushes that had been tied together with shoe laces. Of course they had got them straight from the NCO Club and a lot of them could barely walk, Who knows, maybe they walked right by the same bushes I saw.
       All I really care about is being able to come home, and write about it.