He considered waiting until dawn. The flash from his rifle’s muzzle would be more difficult to see in the daylight. Besides, he was tired from traveling all night and thought he might be able to get a few minutes shuteye before what promised to be a long flight which might require him to stay awake, depending on the situation. He closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.
Granier woke to the sound of a jeep engine. The sun was already up and in his eyes when he looked down the road. A jeep with five men wearing khaki was approaching the airfield. As the jeep passed, Granier couldn’t believe his eyes. It was the Deer Team.
Santana was driving. Dewey sat in the passenger seat. Holding their weapons, Hoagland, Green, and Davis rode in the back.
The two guards shouted something in Vietnamese and raised their rifles.
Santana braked the jeep to a stop in front of the gate.
Granier used his telescope to see what was going on. He had mixed feelings about seeing his comrades. Part of him was angry that they had so easily abandoned him. Another part was glad to see so many familiar faces. He wanted to be part of the team again. The team protected him and gave him purpose. They were his pack. He wanted to believe they had a reason for doing what they did, but he wasn’t sure he could ever fully trust them again.
The Viet Minh guards were waving their weapons, ordering the Americans to get out of the jeep. Dewey got out and ordered the other team members to stay put. He pulled the folded letter from his shirt pocket and opened it so the Viet Minh could look at it. “Ho Chi Minh,” he said, pointing to the signature on the page.
The Viet Minh weren’t interested in the document. The white faces and rifles were all they needed to see. They were outnumbered and frightened. Realizing that neither of the two Viet Minh soldiers understood a word of English, Dewey spoke to them in French, “Ho Chi Minh, your leader sign this document. It gives my team safe passage through Vietnam.”
Hearing Dewey speak French, the eyes of the younger of the two Viet Minh grew wide with fear and anger. Dewey continued, “We are not French. We are Americans, friends of the Viet Minh. We fought with the Viet Minh against the Japanese.”
Granier chambered a round and placed the telescope reticle over the head of the Viet Minh that seemed most threatening… just in case.
The younger of the two Viet Minh panicked and shot Dewey in the chest. Dewey fell to the ground with a shocked look on his face. “No!” screamed Hoagland jumping from the back of the jeep to tend to Dewey.
The other Viet Minh scolded his younger comrade for shooting.
Granier was shocked to see Dewey hit. It took him a moment to react. He fired and killed the Viet Minh that had shot Dewey.
Green leveled his BAR and fired a salvo of bullets into the second Viet Minh, ripping his body apart, killing him. Davis turned to see where the first shot had come from. Granier stood up, holding his rifle. “Buck?” said Davis, surprised.
Everyone in the jeep turned, shocked to see Granier. Granier walked toward the jeep, toward Hoagland tending to Dewey on the ground. Granier stood over Dewey as he gasped for breath, the Viet Minh bullet having punctured his lung and severed an artery. Hoagland was frantically trying to stop the bleeding, pressing down on the entry wound, his hand covered in Dewey’s blood. Dewey looked up at Granier with a confused look and said, “Buck, you’re alive?”
“Yeah,” said Granier. “I made it.”
“That’s good. That’s real good,” said Dewey coughing up blood.
Dewey stopped breathing. Hoagland wouldn’t stop trying to save him. He pounded on his chest to get his heart going again. He breathed air into Dewey’s bloody mouth. There was no response. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Dewey was dead – the first American soldier to die in Vietnam.
“Doc, we gotta go,” said Santana. “They’ll be coming.”
Hoagland realized Santana was right. “Will you help me?” he said to Granier.
Granier helped Hoagland lift Dewey’s body into the back of the jeep. Hoagland climbed into the back of the jeep, leaving the passenger seat open for Granier. But Granier didn’t climb in. He just stood there. “Quit fucking around, Buck. We gotta go,” said Green. “The Viet Minh are gonna be pissed when they see we killed their guys.
“Get your ass in the jeep, Buck,” said Santana.
“We’ve got a plane waiting,” said Davis. “We’re going home.”
Home? thought Granier. Hoagland could see Granier was questioning what to do. That he didn’t understand what had happened. “The Viet Minh told us you were dead. We took them at their word. That was a mistake. We would have gone back had we known you were alive,” said Hoagland. “You need to get in the jeep, Buck. Everything will be okay. You’ll see.”
Granier took another moment before he decided to believe Hoagland and climbed into the jeep. He was part of the team again. It was what he wanted – to be part of a pack.
Santana drove onto the airfield. A C-47 with Chinese Air Force insignia was waiting near the end of the runway. McGoon stood next to the cargo door waving at them to hurry. The jeep pulled to a stop, and the Deer Team removed their commander’s body. “Jesus. That’s a crying shame,” said McGoon watching the team load Dewey’s corpse in through the plane’s doorway. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but we’re gonna need to strap him down. Don’t want him rolling around. There’s some rope by the door.”
Granier was the last to climb up the ladder. He hesitated and looked back at the city of Hanoi. He could hear the gunfire and explosions in the distance. “I guess the Frenchies and the Viets are going to be slugging it out from here on. Glad it ain’t no business of ours,” said McGoon.
Granier didn’t respond. McGoon looked at him, a little worried. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Just a little tired,” said Granier.
“I bet. Traipsing around, living in the jungle like that.”
“I wasn’t so bad.”
Granier climbed into the aircraft, followed by McGoon. The ladder was pulled in and the door shut.
A few minutes later, the C-47 lifted off the runway, banked to the left and headed for China. The American War in Vietnam was over… for now.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed A War Too Far.
If you wish to read in chronological order, the next novel in the series is We Stand Alone. It’s the fictional account of the longest battle in the Indochina War - the siege at Dien Bien Phu. It’s fascinating history and the story that inspired me to write the Airmen Series. Here is the link:
We_Stand_Alone
Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you.
In gratitude,
David Lee Corley
Author’s Biography
Born in 1958, David grew up on a horse ranch in Northern California, breeding and training appaloosas. He has had all his toes broken at least once and survived numerous falls and kicks from ornery colts and fillies. David started writing professionally as a copywriter in his early 20’s. At 32, he packed up his family and moved to Malibu, California, to live his dream of writing and directing motion pictures. He has four motion picture screenwriting credits and two directing credits. His movies have been viewed by over 50 million movie-goers worldwide and won a multitude of awards, including the Malibu, Palm Springs, and San Jose Film Festivals. In addition to his 23 screenplays, he has written nine novels. He developed his simplistic writing style after rereading his two favorite books, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea” and Cormac McCarthy’s “No Country For Old Men.” An avid student of world culture, David lived as an expat in both Thailand and Mexico. At 56, he sold all his possessions and became a nomad for four years. He circumnavigated the globe three times and visited 56 countries. Known for his detailed descriptions, his stories often include actual experiences and characters from his journeys.
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