Standing only a few miles away from the ocean, one could view the seascape as it continued far to the north. Mountains rose behind smaller verdant hills, dwarfed them and jutted out into the blue-green ocean. Far below, the miles of rice paddies formed a multicolored checkerboard, stretching across the plains until touching the ocean’s edge.
The firebase, on the other hand, was in total juxtaposition to the natural beauty of the Vietnamese countryside. Everything was in a state of disrepair and falling apart. Huge piles of garbage lay exposed throughout the area, left to rot in the hot sun. There was nowhere to escape from the awful stench permeating through the firebase.
During this first night, the new inhabitants would find themselves in a very different battle - one that would cause additional nightmares in the days and years to come. Uninterrupted sleep during the night, and waking rested and refreshed, would not be an option while in Firebase Tomahawk. Every person on the hill became a reluctant participant in this battle, from the highest-ranking officer to the lowest grade of enlisted man. The rotting garbage dump was providing plenty of nourishment for the camp’s other tenants during the past several weeks of vacancy. Hundreds of hungry rats scurried about the hilltop after darkness set in, following the scent of this appetizing feast.
Ongoing screams filled the night as rats fell from overhead rafters and onto unsuspecting sleeping soldiers. The grunts were in a stupor, thinking that one of the other men in the bunker must have thrown something onto them while asleep. When the realization hit that a rat as large as an alley cat shared the cot with them, no two reactions were alike. Those soldiers from the city were more apt to scream out in sheer panic and cower in fear. The country boys, however, were not intimidated by the invasion, and immediately fought back with whatever weapon they could lay their hands on. Shots rang out as surprised soldiers instinctively aimed at the extremely furtive creatures before realizing their actions were putting others in danger. Still others used machetes, steel helmets, folding shovels, and even boots to disable or kill the invaders.
In the morning, dozens of carcasses lay on the ground outside of bunkers or hung from clotheslines by their tails. The rats spared no one during the night and everybody had a story to share during breakfast.
“Let me tell you ‘bout my experience last night,” one soldier recounted. “Some screams from the other bunkers woke me up and I sat there for a minute to get a clear head. I thought I was seeing things when I looked over at Cecil. At first, I thought a cat had wandered into the bunker and found a place to rest on Cecil’s chest. It looked like the cat had a deformation or some kind of disease because his tail did not have any fur on it. About that time, it turned and looked at me straight in the eye. That’s when I noticed it was a big goddamn rat. I froze in place and couldn’t do anything but watch. The rat turned back to face Cecil, its nose and whiskers twitching like crazy. It crept up to Cecil’s mouth and started sniffing around his lips. Then suddenly, the rat’s tongue came out and started licking at the corner of Cecil’s mouth, intent on getting to the dried food or something else from earlier in the day.” Clarence stopped for a minute while those around him shuddered at the thought and made comments.
“Ooooweee, rat tongue lickin’ on the motherfucker. Goddamn!”
“You know I couldn’t just sit there and watch. My ass would have been long gone,” said another at the table.
“I’ve been licked by many things in my life, but never a rat. That’s got to be a weird sensation!”
“I sure never want to find out.”
“Me neither. Go ahead Clarence, what happened next?”
“The nibbling at his lips must have woken Cecil because he opened his eyes and blinked several times to see clearly. When he looked down and saw the rat’s head only inches away, his eyes bugged open in fear and he screamed as if his ass was on fire. It was so shrill and sudden that it scared both the rat and me. Cecil was fast though, and I have to give him credit, he snapped his poncho liner and catapulted that rat onto the floor in the center of the bunker. And, just that fast, he jumped out of his cot with a Bowie knife and proceeded to stab that creature until it was dead. Needless to say, neither of us could sleep anymore for the rest of the night.”
“Damn! That is one bad mother fucker, maybe we all need to move in with Cecil,” one of the men commented. They laughed nervously at the comment.
“Hey dig this,” another soldier at the table began. “Me and Kevin had to go and piss during the night and headed to the latrine with our flashlight beams leading the way. We both thought we were seeing things because everywhere we looked there were glowing red dots. We were stumped and stopped to figure it out. Then, these red dots started moving around randomly in pairs. Something bumped into my leg and startled me. When I shined the light around our feet, several rats ran away. That’s when it dawned on us that the rats had us surrounded. That scene was so bad, man. We booked like hell back to our bunker and barricaded the doorway to keep the bastards out.”
Unfortunately, four men, bitten during the night, awaited evacuation to the nearest hospital. This news heightened the fear in many but also made them aware of how vigilant they now had to be during the night.
In the daylight, only a few rats moved around in the garbage dump. The thousands of others rested and stayed hidden in obscure areas or underground in burrows, waiting for darkness to arrive.
In an attempt to turn things around, Cap came up with an idea. He was sure it would interest the soldiers enough to get involved and help clean the hill of the vile creatures. After breakfast, he called the men together and rolled out his idea.
“We are going to start a contest tomorrow to see who can kill the largest rat on the hill.” The men looked at one another in disbelief. “We’ll start tonight and the competition will continue until the day we leave this hill. The only rule is that you use common sense and good judgment. I do not want to see anyone get hurt during this contest, but you are free to use whatever you have at your disposal to win. The deadline every morning will be 0800 hours; make sure you tag your submissions then lay them out on the ground outside of the Commo Bunker. If you find that there is already one there bigger than yours...”
One of the black soldiers in formation called out, “Ain’t nobody here got one bigger than mine, this is a complete package,” he cupped his hand around his crotch and shook it a few times. “Yep, you can just give me the prize right now.”
This solicited laughter and comments from those around him.
“Like I was saying,” Cap continued when the chatter stopped, “if there is already a rat tagged and it’s bigger than your rat, then don’t bother entering it. Go and dump it in the trash or throw it off the side of the hill. The CP will judge all entries during breakfast and will measure from the tip of its tail to the tip of its nose. I heard that some rodents running through our camp last night were as big as cats, and know that it would make more sense to use weight as a qualifier, however, we don’t have a scale so we will judge the length instead.”
“What does the winner get?” Someone called from the crowd.
“I was getting to that, and I think you’ll really like this. The daily winner will be exempt from all details during the day and will receive twelve, ice-cold beers to do whatever he would like with them. If you want to sell them or give them away, that is up to you. Now this is where I think it will be interesting. The names of all the daily winners will go into a hat, and I will pick one grand prizewinner on our last day here. Odds of winning will depend on how many days we are going to be here. Nobody knows that, and if we leave at the end of the week, the odds of winning would be better than leaving at the end of the month - unless one of you continues to win many of the daily contests. The grand prize winner will get a three-day R&R to China Beach and I’ll even throw in fifty bucks in MPC to spend as you like.”
Loud cheering erupted in the ranks. They were already planning and sharing strategies.
“When does the winner get to
go to China Beach?”
“He can leave on the next day if he wants. It’ll be his call.”
The commotion continued within the formation. The men could not believe this exciting prospect and many were anxious to get started.
“There’s one last thing I forgot to mention, and this is really important. All entries submitted for the contest must be in one piece from tail to nose. Do not alter the bodies and try to make them longer, and do not enter anything pieced together like a puzzle. Are we clear?”
“Airborne!” The group shouted.
“All the way, men! Good hunting!”
Early the next morning, several carcasses were already on display before daylight arrived. They were long, but eventually replaced by larger entries during the last hour of the daily contest. Six entries were found to be so close that each had to be measured several times and the lengths confirmed by others. Only one-eighth of an inch separated the winner from second place and measured exactly twenty-nine inches in length.
The winner quickly dispensed the twelve beers between his squad members and admitted that they were supporting him during this hunt and deserved a cold one. However, he also made it clear that he was going to China Beach alone. When looking over the carcasses on the ground, the thought of creatures that size stalking them at night was mind-blowing and sent shivers down spines.
The men of Alpha Company killed and burned almost one thousand rats during that first week on Tomahawk. The contest was an excellent motivator for reducing the rat population, however, there were still more than enough of the rodents roaming the hill to keep men awake and frightened during the night.
It was here, with three weeks left in country, that John learned he had passed the exam and was now a sergeant. The posted list of 122 names showed John Kowalski’s name as second on the list; only the top twenty-four candidates received promotions to fill the allotted slots within the battalion. It was time to celebrate, and he quickly returned to the Commo Bunker to inform his fellow CP members.
Cap and Top had been watching John’s reaction while he read the newly posted document. They could tell he was excited and energized by the news, and as he read, his movements were somewhat awkward. It looked like he wanted to rush away and let others know of the promotion, but felt compelled to stay there until he finished reading every word. He even touched the list a couple of times and rubbed a finger across his name, wanting to confirm that it was really him. When done, his feet could not move fast enough to carry him back to the bunker.
The two observers allowed John several moments to celebrate the news of his promotion before heading over to the Commo Bunker on the other side of the compound.
“I’m proud of that boy. He did well, considering.”
“Yes, he did, Top. I knew he had it in him to do well; otherwise, I wouldn’t have nominated him for the advance. It’s just going to break his heart when I give him the news.”
“It probably will, but he’ll soon get over it, Cap. There really is no alternative and we have to make decisions for the betterment of this company. Seems the boy has a level head, and at this point, he’s our only option.”
The two men stopped briefly outside of the entrance to the commo bunker. “You ready for this, Top?”
“Let’s do it.”
Cap and Top stepped through the bunker entrance and saw John inside, slapping high fives with everyone. A cigarette dangled from his lips and a wide grin was making it difficult to keep it in place. Fuzzy had drawn a set of yellow sergeant stripes on a piece of paper, and then using a razor blade, trimmed around the border of both designs before attaching them with straight pins to each arm. Cotton Top and Stud came to attention and repeatedly saluted the new sergeant in mock military fashion. They were laughing and having fun. Suddenly, Cotton Top noticed the two men standing just inside of the entrance. He stopped quickly, “Um, guys,” he whispered, and gestured with a nod toward the entrance of the bunker.
“Good morning, Cap, First Sergeant,” Cotton Top was first to acknowledge.
“Good morning, men! I see we are too late for the promotion ceremony. Care to start over?”
“No sir, sorry, sir.”
“We’re just giving you a hard time. Congratulations, John!” Both men held out their right hands. “Glad to see you made it. I cannot think of anybody more deserving. Well done!”
“Thanks, Cap,” John shook his hand warmly. “I couldn’t have done it without your recommendation and Top’s help.” John then reached over to Top and shook his hand.
“Am I supposed to salute you now?” The First Sergeant asked.
This cut the ice and the laughter returned.
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Top, but thanks anyway.”
“We’ll let you get back to your celebration in just a few minutes, but we need to discuss something personal with you first. Would you mind taking a break and stepping outside with us?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Oh no, not at all.” The three men walked through the doorway and moved off to the side for some privacy.
“I’m sorry to put a damper on your celebration, but I’ve got some news that might disturb you.”
“What is it, Cap?” John’s heart skipped a beat and his pulse quickened. He shuffled his feet nervously, waiting for Cap to speak again. His thoughts raced to his family back home.
“First off, let me tell you that I see you as a very level-headed and quick-thinking person. You’ve been a great help to me since joining the CP and have made my job much easier. You’re an excellent radio operator and it’ll be hard to replace you. However, I also feel that you’re a good leader and I desperately need your help right now.”
Hearing the word ‘replace’ bothered John, and he sensed bad news was on the way. “How can I help you, Cap?”
Without wasting a second, Cap responded, “I’m going to reassign you to the First Platoon as their temporary leader.”
John was stunned, knowing that he heard the captain correctly. “Why do something like that? You know I’ve only got two and a half weeks left before going home.”
“I know that, but I’m afraid I have no choice in the matter. First Platoon has been without an NCO since your friend, Sixpack, got hurt.”
“They’ve gotten by since then, so why now?”
“I’ve a lot of faith in you, John. You have more experience in the bush than anyone else in the First Platoon. Their Lieutenant has only been in country for a few weeks and has not been out in the field yet. He is fresh out of ROTC and seems quite cocky and sure of himself. I don’t want him to be the cause of somebody getting hurt.”
“What difference does that make on this hill?”
“If we were staying here, I wouldn’t even bother you with this issue, but we’re going back out into the bush the day after tomorrow.”
“I understand, but the bush has been awfully quiet around these firebases, and not one enemy soldier has been spotted anywhere in the last several weeks.”
“John, we’re going back into the A Shau Valley.”
John reacted to the news as if being slapped across the face.
“I’m too short for this shit!”
“None of us are happy about it, but orders are orders. I really don’t want to have a Cherry Lieutenant leading the First Platoon, especially in the Valley. We’ll be working separately in platoon-sized elements and staying in separate NDP’s. I do not want to lose anybody on this mission because of carelessness and inexperience. This is where I feel you can be a great help to me.”
“Just what are you expecting of me?”
“You’ll be the Lieutenant’s right hand man. I’ll tell him that he is still in command of the platoon, but on this mission, he’s going to have to clear everything through you first, and I’ll make it clear to him that you have the final say-so.”
“What good can I do in only two weeks?”
“I don’t know how many weeks we’ll be in that area, but it would
be suicide to let the First Platoon operate in the Valley without a capable and trustworthy leader. The L-T will need guidance and direction. I don’t know a better way than on-the-job training.”
“Cap, there’s got to be another NCO in the company who knows the valley better than I do and can even stay with the First Platoon for the long term. Why not consider him?”
“We have, and without going into the details, you’ll just have to accept my word that there is nobody else to choose for the short-term.”
“And I’m your best choice?”
“John, we’ve read your record from the 25th and can see that you were involved in just about every facet of operating in the bush. Christ, you even earned the Bronze Star because of what you know and what you did. I think the new L-T can learn a great deal from you during those two weeks. Follow your instincts and help save a few more lives before you go home.”
“How is the new L-T with this scenario?”
“He doesn’t know yet, but won’t have a choice in the matter. In fact, only a select few on this hill even know we’re leaving in a couple of days.”
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel - Revised Edition Page 43