The Life of an American Warrior Vol. III
Returning to Complete Mission
“Looking at the dark sky, he could tell he still had a couple of hours before dawn. He decided not to wait any longer to set his explosives in the stockpiles of crates. This had to be total destruction of the ammunition because anything left would be fired at the men trying to defend the firebase. He had already taken several satchel packs from a pile that was already there and were just like the one he had taken from the dead man that tried to get into the firebase.
As the men continued to bring in the deadly cargo, Travis began setting the satchel packs all along the storage rows of ammunition. He decided to set off the stockpile just before dawn whether all the crates were there or not. Once the explosives were positioned, he tied a wire to each so he could detonate them from a distance. That distance was determined by the length of the trip wire he found. Combining the trip wire length with the five-second delay might give him enough time to escape the nightmare that was about to occur.
Just as he finished all the preparations and had sat back to wait for the sunrise, a man arrived carrying the last crate in the line of supplies. All the men that had been in the caravan were exhausted from their ordeal of bringing the supplies all the way from Hanoi with very little rest. These men dropped as soon as they reached the area set aside for them. There they would rest a full day before joining the fight with the American Army.
The supply officer was checking the crates to make sure they were stacked correctly while he was inventorying the stockpile. Travis decided to go ahead and blow the satchel packs before the supply officer walked around the back of the stacked crates and chanced upon the explosives. He studied the darkness and determined there wasn’t much danger in the direction he had for an escape route. He took one last look at the men in the area, the stacks of ammunition then pulled the wires attached to the explosive packs. He could feel the release as the detonators activated indicating he had just five seconds before the place turned into hell on earth. Without a sound, he ran with all his might to put as much distance as possible between the ammunition dump and himself.
Lt. Hailey had spent the entire night helping the wounded and taking care of the basic housekeeping duties that seemed to be put aside during times of increased activity. The hospital already had eight men needing to be evacuated and ten more who just needed a couple of days rest before they could be classified fit for duty. She was raised to keep busy and had stepped right in and made herself useful. After many strenuous hours, she took a break and stepped outside to watch the sunrise. She also wanted to talk to Travis about when they were scheduled to leave.
As she stood in the darkness and allowed her eyes to acclimate to the change between the dim light in the hospital bunker and the darkness before dawn, she was startled by a familiar voice.
“Good morning, ma’am,” Sgt. Edison said. He was trying to keep an eye on the lieutenant just as he was asked to do.
“Good morning, Sergeant,” Samantha replied to the voice in the darkness. She still couldn’t see the man but she did recognize his voice.
“How’s the man that was wounded when we arrived?” Sgt. Edison asked trying to make conversation.
“He’s stable right now, but he’ll make a full recovery after we get him evacuated to a proper hospital. I think the doctor will be relieved when the choppers arrive to lighten his burden.” Samantha replied as she peered into the darkness of the moonless morning.
“Ma’am, I guess you haven’t heard. The communications bunker was destroyed along with the two radio operators the day before yesterday. The radio operator we brought in is trying to piece some kind of method together to get us some help. Until then we’re on our own,” Sgt. Edison informed.
Suddenly Samantha had a feeling of helplessness and wanted to find out what was happening from Travis. “Do you know where Lieutenant Colonel Monroe is?”
“Well he left,” Sgt. Edison said as he realized she didn’t know.
“Left? What do you mean left? Where did he go?” she snapped.
“He went to find out what we’re up against. I thought he came to see you before he left.” the sergeant replied wishing he had kept his mouth shut. Then hoping to comfort her he added, “Don’t worry about the lieutenant colonel, he’s a man that can take care of himself.”
Samantha realized he did come to see her, but she was busy at the time and he didn’t want to disturb her. Before she could answer the sergeant, a massive flash came from the northeast. It seemed as if a huge flashbulb had just gone off. “What was that?” she asked as the whole northeast sky suddenly came alive with explosions.
“I’d say your boyfriend just ruined someone’s day,” Sgt. Edison said in amazement. The explosions were so intense he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Boyfriend! What do you mean boyfriend?” Samantha quickly retorted wanting to stop any scuttlebutt before it got started.
Before Sgt. Edison could answer, the first of the sound waves came rolling through the firebase. Men in the trenches began cheering as they realized the enemy had just been hit. Samantha jumped at the loud blast that seemed to flow right through her body, at the same time she screamed with surprise as she didn’t expect it.
As the sound waves continued to rumble through the area, the sky flashed with the unceasing explosions from the munitions cooking off. Sgt. Edison spoke in a loud voice, “Ma’am, I didn’t mean to offend you with my earlier comment. What I meant to say was I think we have just witnessed Lieutenant Colonel Monroe setting off the enemy’s ammunition dump. Now they have to fight us with depleted stores of ammunition or go away. Personally it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they tuck their tails between their legs and fade back into the jungle.”
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