by W. R. Benton
There were a number of loud claps and finally General Faddey, the senior General, stood and walked to the front of the room. He smiled and said, “Finally we have a man in America who knows his job. Pajari, you are, as of this minute, a Full Colonel and the new base Commander at Edwards. I will add this too; if you continue doing the job you are now, you will leave Edwards as a newly promoted General. This meeting is adjourned, and the new Colonel is buying drinks at the officers club. We will not keep this man long, because as a surprise to him, we have brought his wife here to join him at the club, so keep it clean around her. Dismissed, and Master Sergeant, do not call the room to attention.”
At the club, his wife was surprised to see her husband dressed as an officer and with Generals all around him. He is so thin, and lost so much weight in America. Maybe he has come home to retire with me back on the farm. I do not like it here, Moscow is so big and confusing to me. Oh, Albert, you look so bad, my dear husband. Please, bring him to me, she thought from a table up front. A dozen red roses and a bottle of champagne were on the table, which looked out of place with her simple dress of cotton and her headscarf.
A man wearing a military uniform with more medals than she could count led Albert to her and said, “Your husband, ma'am, Full Colonel Albert Pajari.”
The General then walked away.
“Albert, are you in trouble in some way?” she asked as she stood.
“Hug me my dear, please.” As they hugged she began to cry and he asked, “What is the matter? I thought you would be happy to see me again.”
“Have you done something illegal? I went to the bank to withdraw enough rubles to buy some things and you had way too much money in the account. Then it happened again this month, but this time there was even more money. Please, stay an honest man, Albert.”
“I have been made an officer and my pay is larger, is all. Save what you can, so it can be used after I retire. I am now a Colonel.”
“Is that higher than a Senior Sergeant?”
“Yes, it is much higher. Now come, my dear, and let us dance.”
“Dance? In Moscow? I am a peasant woman.”
“You are the wife of a Colonel, the Commander of a base in America. So, hold your head up high, my love, your husband is an officer.” Albert said as he led her onto the dance floor.
Two morning later, Albert stepped off a dispatch jet at Jackson International Airport, and smiled. No one knew he was coming, and he walked into the main building hoping to get a fast ride to Edwards in a two seater Ka-52 “Alligator” which everyone on the ground simply called a Black Shark as well, although it was a two seat model.
He entered Base Operations and said, “I am Colonel Albert Pajari, the new Commander at Edwards, and wondered if I could get a flight in one of your Alligators to the base. I have already been to the base and was assigned there for well over 10 months, but this is a new assignment.”
A Colonel in a flight suit said, “I am to go out in a few minutes and look some countryside over, primarily looking for partisans. I would be happy to drop you off at some point.”
“Good.”
“But, you need a flight suit, so come with me.”
Thirty minutes later, Albert was wearing a flight suit and helmet as he sat in the side-by-side cockpit, and he was overwhelmed by all the gauges and switches. He wondered how one man could remember what the purpose was for each.
The Colonel climbed into his seat and said, “Do not touch anything, okay?”
“Oh, I will touch nothing, because I have no idea what any of this stuff does.”
The engine came on, the communications in the cockpit came alive, and minutes later they were in the air.
“My call sign today is Bulldog and if you want, we can fly around a bit and I will show you how well this aircraft flies. It is capable of loops, rolls, and even funneling, where I can keep a target in sight, no matter my airspeed, altitude or elevation around it. I have full infrared capability and at night, this baby is hard to beat.”
“Your squadron and the Black Sharks have saved my ass many times.” Albert said.
“Let us move south a bit and look for some partisan traffic, unless you need to get to Edwards right now.”
“No, I am in no rush, and as the Commander, this ride will give me a better idea of your capabilities to support my troops on the ground.”
“Tighten your seat-belt and chest harness, because I want to show you an example of a loop and roll. Hang on.” the pilot said, and the aircraft responded instantly to his touch.
After doing one roll and one loop, the pilot looked at Albert and saw him smiling.
“Fun, huh?”
“Oh, yes.” Albert said, fighting the urge to puke.
“Bulldog, this is Sioux 19 and I am under attack by an unknown number of partisans. Do you read me, over?”
“Uh, copy Sioux 19, what is your location?”
“I have no idea. I am only a Corporal, sir, and the team leaders are both dead. You have to hurry or we will all be dead.”
“Wait one.” Bulldog replied, turned a knob and said, “Base, this is Bulldog and I have an emergency request from one of our teams on the ground. Do you know of this?”
“Copy Bulldog, and the last position called in by the team was just before the ambush. They are approximately two miles south from you.” The base gave Bulldog the map coordinates.
“Copy and out, base.” Bulldog turned the knob again and said, “Sioux 19, are you still there?”
“Yes, sir, but I am scared to death. We are down to four of us out of ten and it is not looking good.”
“Listen to me, son, and know I am coming to help you. Take a few deep breaths and when I overfly your position, I want you to say, overhead now. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes, sir, but hurry or the words will be spoken in English the next time you hear my radio.”
“I have your general location in sight, so let me know when I fly over you.”
Bulldog nudged Albert and pointed out a couple of partisans shooting at them. He then said, “We are pretty safe, even if they launch a missile at us, because we are well protected by the electronic counter measures system that is computer operated. It is all automatic.”
“Uh, you are over me, now! I am about 20 feet to the left of when I said now. Is that good enough, sir?”
“Excellent, Private. Now, I want you and the survivors to put your heads down low. I am coming in hot with my 30 mm cannon.”
“Copy, and thanks!”
Bulldog gently banked the aircraft, lined up the nose, then dropped to maybe 50 feet above the ground. Albert had a hard grip on the armrests and his eyes were glued to the nose of the helicopter. Then the 30 mm cannon opened up and he had a hard time thinking with the noise and vibration of the aircraft.
As they completed the pass, Sioux 19, said, “Right on the perfect spot, Bulldog. How about hitting west of me, in the tree line?”
“I will do that next with missiles. Get your heads down, here we go again.” Bulldog said as the aircraft banked sharply.
“Uh, Bulldog, this is Knife 2, a MiG-31, carrying some napalm and machine-guns. Do you need some help with Sioux 19, over?”
“Roger that, Knife 2, are you near our location?”
“I am overhead now. When you make this pass, point out the location of the good guys.”
Albert looked up, saw a single jet circling and then almost lost his breakfast when the Alligator dropped suddenly and started toward the trees. About a 100 meters from the dense woods, the helicopter pilot said, “Friendlies under me, 3...2...1...now!”
“I see them, Bulldog. After this pass, move to the east and let me go to work.”
“Copy, Knife 2, and releasing my missiles now.”
White smoke from the released missiles were seen moving for the trees, and when the helicopter was banked, Albert saw the explosions. They then moved east and circled to watch the MiG.
The jet approached the trees at an unbeli
evable speed to Albert, and just when the nose was even with the trees, two canisters were released that tumbled toward the ground. From the helicopter, they looked like two auxiliary fuel tanks, but when they struck the ground, a huge wave of flames rose above the trees and then fell to the ground below. He knew anyone in those trees was dead. If the fire didn't kill them, the flames would take all the oxygen, so they'd smother to death. It was the first time Albert had seen napalm from above, and it was impressive.
“Knife 2, this is Sioux 19, and what will you use on your next pass?”
“Gatling guns on an external pod. Where do you need me?”
“I need you to come in close. The enemy is moving in too close to us for safety. Can you put the rounds within 15 meters of us?”
“I will do that, but keep in mind, what you want me to do is extremely dangerous, Sioux 19.”
“I have little choice, Knife, because all of us are wounded down here.”
“Hunt a hole, because I will be coming in hot, fast, and mean.”
“I understand. Thanks, Knife 2. This is Sioux 19, out.”
“This is very dangerous, Colonel, and there is a good chance some friendlies will be killed or injured. The partisans often move in close to us and snuggle up.”
“I have had to do exactly what that young Private is doing right now, before. It is scary, but it is the only way to kill those in close.” Albert replied.
The MiG-31 banked as the pilot lined up the nose of the aircraft on his suspected targets. He then increased power to his engines and they reacted instantly to his throttle changes. He shot over the ground at a fast speed and then those on the ground heard what sounded like a huge zipper being unzipped in one quick fast pull.
“Knife 2, excellent job. Is it possible get you to do the opposite side for me now?”
“Roger that, Sioux 19, so stay low, here I come again.”
The MiG was half way through the strafing run, when the Private screamed over the radio, “Break, break, break, you are hitting friendlies! Break, please, my God you are killing us down here!”
The machine-gun fire instantly stopped and the MiG pilot pulled back on the stick and moved toward the sun, twisting as he climbed.
“Sioux 19, this is Knife 2, what is your situation down there?”
“Uh, wait a few minutes, because I have a mess on my hands.”
“Copy.” the MiG pilot replied with a flat voice.
A good five minutes passed before the young Private said, “Knife 2, I have less hurt than I thought I did. Your bullets had dirt flying all over us and many of the screams I heard were of fear, not pain. I have one man struck in the leg, but the rest are still alive. I need for one of you to contact base and let them know we need to be picked up by helicopter.”
“Okay, glad to hear all is well. I will contact base for you.” Bulldog said, and then turning a knob, discussed the team on the ground with base.
He turned the knob again and said, “Base said negative on the pick up right now. There are things going on that need the aircraft, things of a higher priority.”
“Bulldog, my batteries are getting weaker. Tell those sonsofbitches at Base, if I have to walk back, I intend to beat the shit out of all of them, starting with their Commander, over.”
“Copy, Sioux 19, I will pass your message on to them. Uh, Knife 2, what is your fuel status?”
“I am good for maybe another 45 minutes.”
Five minutes later, Bulldog said, “Base said if you can stay where you are for a little over an hour, a helicopter will pick you up. Now, Sioux 19, I have contacted my squadron and have another aircraft coming here to assist you. I suspect the partisans will leave to lick their wounds.”
“Copy, Bulldog, and I owe you a bottle of vodka.”
“Get a bottle, and you and your men enjoy it for me. Sioux 19, out.”
“I will stand guard until your helicopter arrives, Bulldog.” Knife 2 said as he waved his wings to say goodbye.
Chapter 21
Top was confused when base contacted him that the Chinese Chopper was enroute and their call sign was Tiger 24. He again had them confirm it was a Red Chinese aircraft and crew. Base warned them the English spoken by the crew was terrible, but they had a Chinese American at Headquarters who was speaking with them.
James pointed into the sky and said, “There is our taxi ride.”
Lea spoke into the headset, “Tiger 24, this is Dog 17. Do you read me?”
“Lodger, I hear you.”
“Do you need smoke?”
“Yes, prease.”
Lea said, “Pop smoke, Brewer.”
A minute later the voice on the Chinese chopper said, “I see smoke. I come down and you come to me fast.”
“Okay,” Top said, “Base said there are five Americans on this bird that will make up the rest of our team. Once this thing touches ground, follow me to the open side doors. I will be the last man on the aircraft.”
Brewer was guiding the aircraft down as a crewmember had his head out the door feeding the aircraft Commander how much tailrotor clearance he had. The second the aircraft touched down, the partisans ran for the door. It was then three pock marks materialized on the skin of the bird, and the door gunners opened up with their machine-guns. The bullets from the Russians struck the helicopter and then zinged off into space as the team loaded.
Once on board the chopper, the team fastened their seatbelts, and glanced at the new members of their team. All of the replacements they knew, and some they'd worked with before. The pitch of the engine changed, and the aircraft began to move forward, nose slightly down as it seemed to slowly climb invisible stairs to avoid the ground fire. But in just a minute or two, all that was heard was the aircraft engine and wind blowing in the compartment from both removed doors. The gunners relaxed and smiled at the Americans.
These gunners can't be full grown, Top thought, hell, they ain't either of 'em over five foot and two inches. But, they knew what they were doing back there on that hot Landing Zone (LZ).
One of the gunners handed a headset with a microphone to Top, knowing as the last man in, he was the one in charge.
“I need to talk to base.” Top said.
“Talk den.”
“Uh, Base, this is Dog 17, over.”
“Copy, Dog. How did the pickup go?”
“We took some ground fire as we left. What can be expected at the next LZ?”
“Unknown at this time, Dog. The Russians may think you are a Russian team.”
“Any good NCO or officer with his head out of his ass, will know this is no Russian Chopper, base.”
“The LZ condition is unknown at this time. Be advised they will fake a half-dozen insertions before you have to get out and walk, but be prepared for a hot LZ, over.”
“Copy, base, I will be prepared for a hot LZ. This is Dog 17, out.”
The rest of the flight they spent looking at the inside of the helicopter, watching the crew, and glad they had a ride and didn't have to walk. Top, listening to the crew talking, found the language difficult for him and he couldn't make heads or tails out of any of it.
Finally the aircraft Commander said, “We now land, but you no go. Stay wid us.”
“I understand.” Top replied to the Commander.
“Good.”
Then Top screamed to be heard over the chopper engine, “They're starting the false insertions. Stay on the bird until I start to leave. Before we leave this chopper, we'll lock and load.”
Heads nodded.
Fifteen minute later, after a number of false landings, the pilot said, “Next land, you reave us. You must go.”
“We get off on the next landing?”
“Yes.”
Top began checking his gear and watched his people doing the same thing. Then, he prepared his weapon and heard the others doing the same.
As the chopper descended slowly to the ground, Top expected to get small arms fire, but he heard nothing. Right when the skids struck th
e ground the pilot said, “Go now. Goodbye.”
The team left the aircraft and moved away from the bird's nose, or the helicopter's 12 O'clock position. They moved approximately fifty meters and then spread out. They then went into a defensive circle to wait and see if they'd actually been inserted in a cold LZ.
An hour later, Top picked up the headset and said, “Quarterback, this is Dog17. Do you read me, Quarterback? Quarterback, this is Dog17, over.”
We'd been having trouble with our radio and I suspected it was the batteries. The batteries in the unit were the last we had on hand. So, that meant we needed new batteries and the only place that might have some was on the trail where the cannibals had ambushed the Russians with Tom. They'd likely take everything but a radio. I hoped they'd just left it.
“Tom, did you see the radio in the camp of the man eaters?”
“No, I think they threw it aside. They'd have no use for one.”
“Good, we need to find it and take any batteries we can locate. Our radio is almost completely dead.”
“I don't look forward to doing that, not in the daylight.” the Master Sergeant said, and then thought, This will be the perfect time for me to kill him.
“We need the radio, so you and I will go, but we'll leave these two here with the suitcase.”
“Okay, I understand. I was more or less thinking out loud.”
Grinning I said, “I understand and I don't like the idea much either, but the bomb needs set at some point this evening. Let's move.”
I had Tom lead me to the ambush spot and then we began searching for the radio in the brush and leaves. It was only as I moved over the ground that he'd covered that I found it. Thrown near the radio I also discovered two spare batteries. I wondered why he'd not seen them, but knew from experience it's hard to spot things at times, so I said nothing to him. I didn't want him to know I knew he was a spy, until later. I stuck the spares in my pocket and carried the other one.