First with Guns by James Edward English

Author:James Edward English
Format: epub

12

LBJ

THE NEXT DAY IN OPERATIONS Dougherty failed to locate his name on the mission board.

“Doc,” Swanson called out, as he approached the Raider crew chief from across the room. “Maintenance can’t figure out what’s wrong with your bird. You and Captain Ruby are taking the Frog to Saigon so the Bell reps can have a look. You might be gone for a few days, so go pack a bag ASAP and get your ass to the flight line. The Captain’s waiting for you.”

What Swanson had described sounded like an in-country R&R. Dougherty raced back to the barracks and quickly stuffed some fatigues and his shaving kit into his duffel bag. He decided to grab his mail on the way to the flight line, since he would have plenty of time to read it in Saigon. After retrieving a single item from his box, Dougherty stopped dead in his tracks, frozen by the sight of another plain white envelope with a postmark from Broken Bow, Nebraska. As much as he wanted to tear open the envelope and discover the latest revelation about his father, Dougherty stuffed the letter inside his duffel bag and hurried to the tarmac. As he approached the revetment, Dougherty spotted Captain Ruby leaning against the Huey like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Doc, since it’s just the two of us, why don’t you ride up here with me,” Captain Ruby said, motioning to the copilot’s seat. Dougherty tossed his rucksack into the cabin and climbed into the cockpit beside him. A few minutes outside of Bien Hoa, Captain Ruby keyed the intercom. “Did I ever tell you about the time I met LBJ?”

“Negative, sir,” Dougherty replied.

“Met him face to face at a little church on the Pedernales River. It’s near LBJ’s ranch, so he and Lady Bird go there, sometimes. I’ll never forget that day. It was in the fall of ’66. A warm Sunday. We were a few pews back of the president. Somehow, without saying a word, the man gave you a sense that he cared deeply about everything but didn’t give a damn about anything. It was his magic,” Ruby said, turning toward Dougherty.

“After the service, my mother approached Lady Bird and told her I was about to go fly helicopters in Vietnam. The First Lady whispered something in her husband’s ear. He nodded, then walked straight over to me. Guess what happened next?”

“No idea, Captain,” Dougherty said.

“LBJ puts his big hand on my shoulder, looks me square in the eye and says, ‘I hear you’re about to deploy to Viet-Nam.’

“‘Yes, sir,’ I said. I’m frozen at that point. I can’t move. And Johnson’s a tall guy. About six foot four. He stretches up to his full height and then says in a real loud voice, ‘You listen to me, son.’ I think everyone in that church turned and looked at us. Then he leans in real close and says quietly, “‘You give Charlie hell, but then you get your ass back here to Hill Country.

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