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Message: <blockquote data-quote="scourger" data-source="post: 3893155" data-attributes="member: 12328">[Mission 9 – Train the F****** New Guys]After getting back to base we were finally given a little time to rest up.  Oh yeah, that’s because we were shot. Doc and I were up and around in a few days and the Lt. and Sgt. Apone were back in 10 or 12. Sanchez of course was put right back out on patrol. The Lt. requested a tough assignment so we could get back at the VC who killed his guys. The Major was happy to oblige and sent us out on a long range patrol that he assured us was our toughest mission yet (and it was in everyway except xps awarded). We had a pretty large force but they were mostly FNGs. Apone and Jericho also were with us. Two days we marched with very little of interest passing our way. On the second night I was keeping watch with Jericho and his dog when I spotted a scout with my night vision scope. It was a very strange feeling to see a VC looking right at you from 50 yds. away in the middle of the night in dense jungle, so I put three rounds in his radar like head. Our guys woke up to the sound of my gunfire and their guys started moving in. we were faced with a force of 8- 10 RPGs, 6-8 machine-gunners, a couple of grenadiers and probably 15-20 guys with AKs. As usual we were outnumbered 2 or 3 to one (sounds like a difficult mission to me). The 3 round burst fired from my hilltop was enough to light my position up as if I were a light house in clear weather and calm seas. I have never seen a living RPG, but I would swear that this one not only had eyes but arms as well. It dodged the first few trees with a gymnast’s grace and then grabbed onto the last tree and swung it self around to land at my feet. Right before it exploded, killing Jericho and his dog, I think it flipped me off. I woke up several seconds later in a daze with blood all over me, and went back to using my handy 6lb night scope, thank g** I lugged it out here into the jungle. I was probably the only person for miles that could shoot accurately in the darkness of the jungle, for whatever light the moon put off was made worthless to the naked eye by the shadows of the forbidding jungle. That’s when Sanchez popped a flare to backlight the VC (I think I just heard a foghorn on my hilltop). The firefight started horribly for us. The Lt. was hit several times while being completely hidden from the enemy. Our machine-gunner and his crew were taken out by an RPG as well as another group of FNGs. We were quickly down to the 4 of us, plus Apone and a couple FNGs.  Almost immediately our odds were 4 or 5 to 1 (damn that's a tough mission). 4 or 5 RPG rounds were fired every few seconds at our positions while we were being subjected to suppressive fire as well as ak-47s and grenades. Lt. Dan stood in the middle of the fight giving orders and firing upon the ever closing enemy. I believe it was the 6th RPG attack on his position that finally did him in. As the fighting ended Doc ran to the Lt.'s position, but it was already too late. He had been torn to shreds. He died leading his men, just like his father before him and his father before him. He new he would never leave Viet Nam and he was just fine with that. As the last of the VC retreated through the darkness, I noticed an officer blowing his whistle and calling the retreat. It’s very old testament in the Nam... an eye for an eye. He was about a hundred yds. away, but with my trusty night scope, it was like he was right next to me. I popped him in the head and ran into the darkness to retrieve any valuable intelligence. Sanchez' flare had gone down and the moon went behind a cloud, but as I looked for my dead VC officer in the darkness I saw an RPG guy staring right at me (I bet this rpg had arms too). I took cover behind a tree and continued my search. Finally with the use of my incredible night scope (here on referred to as g***-vision) I was able to find the dead officer. I took his papers and ran back to my comrades. Apone called for medivac and we were able to get all the dog tags off of our fallen comrades. After extraction, lt. Dan’s body was sent home. I guess we'll be getting a new officer pretty soon (great, now it'll be me, Sanchez and 2 new guys)Cpl. Jack JohnsonLetter home with lt. DanHello,I am very sorry for your loss. My name is Corporal Jack Johnson. I apologize for interrupting you in this time of grief, but I just wanted you to know that Lt. Dan, as we called him, was a good man. I have been assigned to his unit ever since I arrived in Viet Nam. He kept us all alive through many harrowing battles. He was the main reason our firebase was not overrun during the Tet offensive. He died standing in the middle of battle giving orders to his troops to overcome a superior Viet Cong force. He will be greatly missed. If there is anything at all that I can do for you please don't hesitate to write.Sincerely,Jack Johnson</blockquote>

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