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One day in Vietnam I had my jungle fatigue (BDU's now days) shirt (blouse) run over by a tank.
We had been out building a new fire base and were cutting the trees down by using primer cord and the tanks were there as our trucks and some of them had tracked trailers.
It was hot as hell and dusty as you could not believe. Your foot would sink up to your knee in this red dusty shit that would choke a mole.
So we're heading back to the base for the last day's run of new timber for bunkers and removing any ground cover we can. I had taken my shirt off and hung it on the back of one of the tracked trailers and once we had started moving I started yelling at the TC to stop the tank. Every one was yelling but, of course, he heard us after it was too late.
The following tank ran right over my shirt. The bad part was that both pairs of my glasses were in the pocket and both pairs were broken. Sun glasses and clear. I'm damn near blind with out my glasses. I always have an old pair just to find my new ones:) Once we returned to the fire base I went up to the medic and demanded to be taken out of the field. My CO refused to let me go even though my medical requirements in the Army required that I wear glasses at all times. My eyes almost kept me out of the Army. The medic and CO know this. So I end up stuck, in the middle of no where, building a fire base (that's from ground up and down), stringing barbed wire and I can't see shit!
I missed a rat with a grenade launcher!! That's real:))
Any way, I'm pissed and we have to go on patrol and I'm so pissed I'm waliking point! We're in a hot area. We Know This. So, I'm leading my platoon along a trail when we hear heavy automatic weapons fire. I don't know how I did it but I was down and had my ruck sack unleashed and was ready to fight. Blood is pumping.
We hear the guns, again and realize it's the crew on a Huey testing their guns.
Whew, talk about being intense and all for nothing. And doctors wonder why I have low blood pressure.
So, my best friend, "Sully" from Harlem, I taught him how to swim underwater, realizes:" He's crazy if he thinks he's going to let me walk point any further. 'And I'm crazier if I think I am'". Sully takes over at point and we move out. "My" men put me back to 4th in the file and we move out. Just as we start to crest a trail with a river on one side Sully throws up his hand! "HALT! COVER!" Shit, down, again!
I make my way up to point as quickly, quietly and as close to the ground as possible and ask Sully, "Where are they"?
"There ain"t none. Look over there". He points to a spot along the river bank at some thing, alive.
I stare in disbelief and say, "Jesus Christ, a mutherfuckin alagator".
Sully puts his hand on my shoulder and replies, matter-of-factly,
"No, Sir, just a fucking snake".
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