Vietnam ground Zero 12 The Iron Triangle by Eric Helm

Author:Eric Helm
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

BECAUSE THEY WERE MOVING away from Saigon, and be- cause they were staying away from the heavily traveled High- way One, they made better time. Lieutenant Diem had lost interest in his surroundings. Now he was only interested in returning to his men as quickly as possible.

As soon as they had gotten away from the Cu Chi area, they had ducked into the trees and gotten rid of the ox and the cart. Now it would only slow them down and they didn't need the protection it offered. They would stay in the trees, working their way rapidly west.

At Trang Bang, where they came to the highway again, they moved through the village, avoiding the soccer field where the Americans sometimes landed their helicopters. The VC leader took them to a small hut that had wooden shutters, a wooden door and a new tin roof. He disappeared inside and returned a few minutes later. He was followed by an extremely old man who had a long white beard, white hair and skin so wrinkled it was nearly impossible to tell what he looked like. The old man bowed once and disappeared into the village, returning in less than a minute, riding in the back of a Lambretta. As it approached, the old man waved.

"We shall ride now," said the VC leader.

They climbed into the rear of the Lambretta. A young villager jumped in beside the old man and grinned at him with crooked yellow teeth.

They left the village, turned onto Highway One and fell in with the traffic heading north. Their weapons were on the floor, covered with a sheet of canvas. If they were stopped by the Americans or the ARVN, the canvas wouldn't conceal the weapons, but it would allow Diem and the men with him to grab their AKs quickly if they needed them.

They were passed by a number of jeeps before they reached Go Dan Ha and they were buzzed by a low-flying Huey once. The pilot seemed intent on ramming them with the skids. At the last second, he pulled up and went over them, but they were still hit with the blast caused by the rotors. For a moment the surrounding countryside was hidden behind the swirling dust kicked up by the chopper.

And, as the chopper shot over them, something tumbled from its rear. Diem thought it must be a grenade, that the crew had somehow figured out they were VC and NVA. But the object hit the side of the road and didn't explode. Instead, it bounced and rolled, stopping against a rock that stuck up through the soft red soil of the shoulder. Diem saw that it was an OD C-ration can. If it had hit one of them, it could have easily proved fatal.

The old man shrugged and said it happened occasionally. The men in the helicopters didn't always shoot at people. Sometimes they threw cans. He stopped near the can, and the boy retrieved it. It was dented. But since it hadn't broken open, it was unspoiled.

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