A BRIGHT LIGHT IN DEATH'S DARK REALM
The call comes in, the aircraft scramble, there's a unit in trouble. The blues jump aboard, the turbines scream, the blades whirl, the tail lifts, and the aircraft twirls in place and heads down the runway lifting into the hot muggy air.
They stepped into it this time, LZ hot from the get-go, half the team is KIA, the others wounded, two birds down, crews dead in the flames and ground fire.
Covey Rider calling for support, spads, fast movers, jolly greens from the Green Hornets on the way, still 15 mikes out, radio blaring, Green Hornet down with all aboard, fast movers coming in low with burner on full, clear the hard points and pull up high and fast, time to egress this mess.
Three mikes out, lock and load, out on the skids, get ready to unload. Green tracer arcs up from below, windscreen shatters, pilot is hit, gunner screams as his face is ripped apart. Transmission screams as the rounds find their mark, aircraft shudders, and trembles as it tears itself apart.
Aircraft a ball of fire, men jumping to keep alive, NVA turkey shoot for all who unload. Aircraft is down not a soul left alive, except for one wounded blue, all others gone, the team, and the aircrews all dead.
The blue finds a hole and tries to hide, the NVA are coming to make sure No one survives. 22 klicks to home and no way there, the blue is sure he will not make it there.
Night is falling, the NVA are camped, and the jungle is alive with the sounds of the night. Bodies left for other to see, just bait and no way to warn.
Blue begins to slide quietly away, to try and get back to let others know of the trap. The jungle is alive, he hears the sounds of the huffing of a tiger and the growl of other big cats, and he has no way to fight back.
Loss of blood and shock, fear of the dark, fear of all things evil go thru his Mind. Finally, in deepest despair he hears the huffing tiger as it comes near. He has only his k-bar all other lost; he turns to face the shadow in the dark.
As he turns, he feels something touch his arm, something big and with stripes, he starts to scream for he knows that this is the end, a huge hand covers his mouth, and a striped face looks into his and says quiet if you want to live.
He awakens to find he has been bandaged and fixed; it is still dark and the Jungle is alive, he hears the mighty roar of the tiger and he hears desperate human screams, his striped companion motions for silence and gives him a big grin. He wonders how a man can smile (for a man it is) after all that has happened to him and his friends.
He smiles and says in a voice barely heard, all's not what it seems, for out there among the NVA and VC are shadows who make no sound and who will bring out you and your friends.
For out there is the ferret, iceman and the badger, you're lucky they were Close by and are now your Bright Light for we never leave our own or those that help us, we bring all back even if we are lost.
The blue is quiet, he is tired and hurt and sick, the night becomes quiet, the screams heard no more, dawn comes and the sky begins to turn grey, he Hears the sounds of aircraft and he wants to scream, no go away, leave me, it a trap; his striped companion forces him to stop, he looks him in the eyes and tells him, do not be afraid, the VC and NVA are gone, you and your friends can now go home.
He leads him back to the LZ that was so hot, now so very quiet, he sees his troops all lined up and ready to go, he sees the bodies of the aircrews, all side by side with his own, he sees the bodies of the team that started it all, all brutally savaged by the NVA.
He hears the aircraft as they approach, he sees the fast movers as they circle the LZ, the guns fly low, armed to the teeth, the aircraft come in and flare to land, the blues jump to the ground and take their places ready to defend.
The slicks come in, the bodies are loaded with care, the blues, and the Aircrews all loaded with loving care. Only remaining the recon team off by themselves, so savaged there's almost nothing left.
From out of the jungle comes a huge figure, silent, not a sound does it make, Covered in stripes, there behind the figure come two more, no sounds, no trace of their passing, all pass silently and to the recon troops they go, they move among the dead, they close eyes opened in death, and the blue sees tears, tears of rage on the face of the huge troop, for that is what he is, he is the leader of a recon team who are rescuing their dead.
No sounds, no words, the leader picks up his dead and carries them as he would A child, carries them to the waiting aircraft and lays them inside, once, twice Six times he does this terrible chore until finally all are aboard.
He turns to the blue and says hop aboard, the blue tries to tell him, tries to tell they tried to help, they really tried, the striped soldier looked at him with eyes a thousand years old and said, "Son, I know you tried and they do as well, you get to go home now, you get to get out of this hell."
The blue was helped aboard, his striped companion with him as well, aircraft Got the thumbs up and lifted off, he looked below and the striped soldier was No more, gone, he and his had vanished back into their dark world.
The blue was alive, though his squad was dead, he got to go home, he got out of that hell, he got to live, he got to marry, he's now a middle aged man, the Memories of that terrible day and night haunt him to this day, he never knew the name of his rescuer's, never knew anymore, for all questions were answered With they do not exist. What you describe could not be, for we had no troops there only those with you. All was denied; he only knew the leader was a huge man and was called Ferret and nothing more.
That soldier, the one that my father brought back, told this story to me. These Words told in tears at a memorial service for my father, these words told by a man who only wanted to thank a shadow for his life.
There is more to the story; the tiger was my father as were the other sounds, the screams were those of the enemy as my father worked in the dark night. The team was lost, not a man survived, all bodies were returned home, and none were left behind.
The soldier has only recently learned who had rescued him that night, he had just learned that kind of mission was called BRIGHT LIGHT at last he knew It was not a terrible dream, ,he now new what Bright Light meant.
There were many stories told at the service, all praised a man who never took credit, who gave credit to others and who had touched so very many lives.
Daddy would have been embarrassed and ashamed, for it was not his way to seek the spotlight; he felt other deserved the attention more.
I just thought you might like to know about this one event, there were so many more.