The rows of huts called hooches lined the western border of the base. Those assigned to the hooches were squads that had dual responsibilities. When those units were not doing search and destroy missions, they provided security for the western border of the military complex at Da Nang. Two squads provided support for other missions.
Thirty-two minutes after his release from the stockade, Private Carl Daniels hopped from a deuce-and-a-half truck. It had stopped in front of the fourth in the row of hooches. Over the door of that hooch, a wooden sign read “Charlie’s 4th.”
Carl waved a thank you to the driver as he drove off.
Carl turned and examined the unique construction of his new home. He had to chuckle to himself about the stacks of wooden crates and sandbags piled along the outside for protection. They seemed very un-Army from his experience so far.
A tan, thirty-something soldier stood in the doorway. He wore an unbuttoned olive-green shirt minus the sleeves and shorts with a cigar hanging out of his mouth.
He gave Carl an unwelcoming stare and removed his cigar, then asked. “Who are you?”
“Private Carl Daniels, sir,” Carl saluted. “Reporting as ordered, sir.”
The cigar-smoking soldier was unimpressed by this new arrival. He had seen a percentage of the new arrivals leave a short time later in a body bag. The soldier got within six inches from Carl’s nose. “I want to see you at attention when you salute me. Didn’t they teach you proper military etiquette in boot camp?”
Carl stiffened and re-saluted again. He thought about decking this asshole, but he made a commitment to behave himself. At least for now.
“I’m Sgt. Jake Collins. I’m the squad leader of Charlie Company, Fourth Squad. Who sent you here?”
“Some spit and polish Captain, who looked like he belonged on a recruitment poster.”
“Were you in the stockade?”
“Yes, sir.”
Stockade, hmm. That has to be our Capt. Phillips. He likes to get our replacements from the stockade. How long were you in there?”
“Overnight.”
“When did you get released?”
“About half an hour ago. The Captain gave me only an hour to get from there to here.”
“How did you manage that? It should’ve taken you closer to an hour after going around the airfield.”
“I convinced that truck driver to give me a ride.”
“How long have you been in country?”
“I arrived yesterday.”
“I think you broke the record for arriving in country to getting thrown into the stockade.” Sgt. Collins motioned for Carl to follow him.
Once inside, Sgt. Collins’ cigar pointed to several empty bunks along the left wall. “Take your pick. There are only two other soldiers in this squad. Their bunks are on the right side. They should be back shortly.”
“When do we get to go out and shoot some communists?”
“Slow down, cowboy. First, we need to get you geared up. After that, I want to see how you handle yourself with an M16 and a sidearm.”
“I’m rated Marksman.”
“That’s fine and dandy when it comes to shooting stationary targets. Over here, the targets shoot back and move. The trick here is not to stand still long enough to get hit and take out the one who is shooting at you.”
“Oh,” Carl had not taken into consideration he would have to dodge bullets.
“In the meantime, kick back and get some rest. You will find these beds more comfortable than those in the stockade.” Sgt. Collins put the cigar in his mouth and disappeared into a back room.
***
A little more than an hour later, two soldiers walked in carrying a long wooden crate. The first one had stepped through the door when he yelled, “Hey Sarge, we’ve got enough ammo and supplies for a month.”
“Good,” Sgt. Collins said as he stepped out of the back room. He pointed his cigar at Carl, “We’ve got a new squad member. This is …” Sgt. Collins paused and stared at Carl.
Prompted by the sudden silence, Carl stood up and said, “Private Carl Daniels.”
“This is Private Daniels,” Sgt. Collins continued. “He came to us via the stockade like the rest of us.”
Sgt. Collins looked at Carl and pointed his cigar toward the chubby soldier in the lead. “That’s Mike. He’s from Illinois. The soldier at the other end is Jack. He’s from California.”
The two soldiers set the box between the rows of bunks and went to shake Carl’s hand.
Mike was the first to reach out his hand. “We go by first names here. What’s yours?”
“Carl.”
Jack said, “Good to meet you. Whereabouts are you from?”
“California.”
“I’m from California too. What part of California are you from? I’m from the coast by Santa Cruz. Have you ever been there?
“Na. I rarely got out to the coast. I partied there when on leave from boot camp.”
“You guys can get to know each other better later. Tomorrow, we need to check out Carl,” Sgt. Collins interrupted. “I want to make sure he knows how we do things around here.” Collins paused to take a drag from his cigar. “The Captain wants us to run some supplies up to An Hoa. Then on the way back we are to take some orphans to the orphanage over at Moi.”
“When are we to do all that?” Jack asked.
“The day after tomorrow. It’s one of his mercy trips.”
Sgt. Collins pointed his cigar at Mike. “Since you’re our sniper and medic, after breakfast tomorrow, I want you to take Carl down to the firing range. Put him through the paces. I don’t want him shooting at us in a panic.”
***
Later that evening, when all four sat in their bunks getting acquainted, Carl asked, “What’s your codenames?”
“We don’t have code names here.” Sgt Collins said. “We just use our first names.”
“Even over the radio?”
“We don’t use code names. The brass doesn’t like it. If we did, they would want us to change them weekly. If we got confused as to which code name to use, we might be mistaken for the enemy and get a gunship shooting at us.”
“They make me carry that 26-pound PRC25 radio. It gets pretty heavy lugging it through the jungle.” Mike paused; his eyes brightened with an idea. “Hey Sarge. What about having Carl carry the radio?”
“First, let’s get him all geared up and checked out before we stack on the radio.”
Jack looked over at Carl. “Where did they bust you?”
“In a place called China Beach. I was just looking to….”
Sgt. Collins interrupted. “It’s late. Time to get some shuteye. There are things that need to be done before we go to An Hoi. There will be time for chatting later.”
