Night Fighters 2 Main Force Assault by David Sherman

Author:David Sherman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: David Sherman
Published: 2012-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Later That Same Day, October 23, 1966

"Who is this Captain Phang and what is the problem between the two of you?" Burrison asked when Bell told him of the incident at Anh Dien.

"That's not quite the way it works, sir," Bell said. "It's not a problem between Phang and me, it's a problem Phang has with Tango Niner. Phang is the assistant district chief and he's as corrupt as they come. When we first came here, there was a company of local Vee Cee in Bun Hou. The first time they tried to ambush us at night we killed them and displayed their bodies on the wire by the main gate as a demonstration that we were here to kill Charlie. Phang came and accused us of killing innocent farmers—he said we had to give him money to pay their families. We refused and no one else came forward to claim any indemnity money. He tried several more times to collect when we killed Vee Cee, even when another company came into the area after we knocked out the first one." Bell's hands came together and clenched as though wringing a neck. "But the capper was when the NVA sappers showed up. One night we ambushed two boat loads of them on the river. The next morning he was back accusing us of murdering fishermen. That was the last we saw of him until today."

"But why would he be upset about us running a medcap in Anh Dien?" Burrison asked.

"He's running some sort of scam, ripping off those peasants, and he's afraid we'll stop it."

"How do you know he's stealing from them?" Burrison asked. "Maybe he's doing some good there and is afraid that because of what he did before we'll intervene and mess up what he's doing. Doesn't that make sense?"

"No, it doesn't make sense," Bell snorted. "First off, I know Phang's running a scam because he's who he is. That man is so crooked, he couldn't do something straight without trying to rip someone off at the same time. Second"—he looked the young lieutenant in the eyes—"Mr. Burrison, you have to face this—it's a fact of Vietnamese life that nearly every province and district chief and their assistants in the country is corrupt. How do you think so much stuff we capture from the Vee Cee is labeled 'Made in the USA,' or, 'A Gift From the People of America'? The province and district chiefs get their hands on it and, instead of distributing it to the people like they're supposed to, they sell it on the black market."

"That's true, sir," Randall said.

"A lot of shit intended for the grunts gets stolen right off the docks," Zeitvogel added. "That's why so many grunt units don't have enough of the right kind of supplies or uniforms."

"But the big thing is the condition of that hamlet," Bell continued. "It's poverty-stricken. The people are dressed in rags and their hootches are falling apart. They don't clean the paths in the hamlets.

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