Episode 6. Avoiding Our Own Ordinance

There were so many days that just blur into fog.

Only a few days, like this one, stand out.

We moved like a serpent through the bush. I remember how we seemed to be going downhill for a change. Finally we came upon a good night location (November Lima) and the plt deployed in a perimeter.

At night we could hear the dinks whistle to each other, signaling god knows what. Sometimes they tossed a rock into the perimeter. I don't know if it was psychological warfare on their part or just a way of keeping in touch with each other. Probably both.

In the morning the guys showed me an unexploded 500 lb bomb found inside our perimeter. Very freaky. It was an ugly thing and it looked dangerous. I don't think I would have been able to sleep had I known it was there. This was a very bad place to have a firefight. One round in the wrong place could have obliterated us all. We moved out and called the bomb in to HQ for later destruction.

Later we traveled along a dry stream bed. It was full of tumbled rocks and boulders. I was fully loaded down as I stepped over the rocks and followed the man in front of me.

He happened to turn around and suddenly gave me the sign to freeze in place. I was balanced on one foot straddling a large rock. From my vantage I couldn't see the danger. He moved quickly to me and guided my foot to the ground. I looked down and hidden by the rock, only inches from my boot, was a bomb the size of a softball.

We dropped theses things from the air. They are designed to arm themselves after they hit the ground and explode if later disturbed. They were very dangerous and hard to see. I don't remember the name of the guy who saved me but it took a lot of courage and camaraderie for him to move towards it and guide me to safety.