the Hill (1995)

by Scott, Leonard B

  “You are right again, my friend,” Duc said. He took the colonel’s arm and began walking him toward the command tunnel. “Our schedule will be easily attained, but there has been a change. I have been asked by General Giap to hold as long as possible. It seems our success has given our leader more than just a diversion. The general informs me that the newspapers in the United States and in the South are focusing on Dak To. This is the biggest battle yet fought by the Americans. They believe we are trying to take the highlands back, and their political leaders’ attention is on this single battle.”

  He stopped and looked again at the distant orange glow. “The American people will read tomorrow in their newspapers about the loss of ammunition stockpiles, and their leaders will worry. They will ask how it could have happened.” He turned and looked into Huu’s eyes. “The American people will ask about casualties and question their military leaders’ tactics. They will give us the victory we seek.”

  The colonel lowered his head. “Are you telling me to stay beyond the twentieth and hold this hill?”

  Duc laid his hand on Huu’s shoulder. “The general has asked me. I am sick of this war. Today I lost an opportunity to deal the Americans a devastating blow by wiping out a battalion, but the real victory is still at hand. You and your men, along with the company from the Sixty-sixth, are the instruments of that victory. The longer you hold this hill, the more their people will question the need to take it.”

  Colonel Huu raised his head. “I will hold as long as possible and give you your victory.”

  “Not for me,” Duc said slowly. “It is for the reunification.”

  General Duc watched his commander disappear into the darkness and sat down in the place he had sat so many years before. His decision would seal the fate of the hill’s beauty. Already the land had been spoiled by the trenches and bunkers, but the trees still remained … for now.

  He shut his eyes and dug his hands into the soil. “I’m sorry, old friend. I’m sorry.”

  33

  Ty wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a long gulp from his canteen. Bravo Company was on a road-clearing mission again, but it beat the hell out of humping in the mountains. Nobody was complaining about walking up the road toward Dak To and protecting the engineers who were improving the dirt highway. Over the past few days, they had been rotating with Charlie Company in the clearing operation, and everyone was convinced the battle was over.

  Hammonds strode up. “Cat, I just got word you’re to report back to your first sergeant day after tomorrow. He said he had a dog coming in for you.”

  “Good. This walking is for grunts. Us special guys don’t do this type of dirty work. ”

  “Who do you think is leading this convoy and checking for mines.” Hammonds asked. “Yeah, a dog team. Keep talking and I’ll have you replacing that fool.”

  Ty could tell that Hammonds wasn’t feeling as down as he had been a few days ago. “Sure good to see you lost that lemon face of yours. Me and the boys were gettin’ worried.”

  Hammonds laughed and took out one of Caddy’s pictures. “I’ve been looking at this and driving on. Just twenty-eight days, and I’ll find me a whore and do whatever Caddy is doing in this picture. ”

  Ty glanced at the photo. “Well, Sarge, if you don’t know what he’s doing, you have definitely been here too long.”

  Hammonds laughed and threw his arm around Ty. He squeezed Ty’s neck roughly and let him go. He walked a few steps and suddenly looked back with a strange, sad expression. “Women. I don’t know. I don’t even understand the whores.”

  “Sarge, we’re all gonna be happy again when we get outta here,” Ty said softly. “You’ll find it again.”

  Hammonds nodded reluctantly and shifted his eyes toward the road. “What I felt only comes around once. I just hope second best is back there somewhere. I couldn’t stand to go back and think about this fuckin’ place.”

  Ty put his arm around Hammonds’s shoulder. “I know.”

  Jason sat outside the bunker listening to the Charlie CO brief the other two company commanders on their new mission.

  “… and a Special Forces company was inserted at the bottom of Hill 875, just two kilometers southwest of us. The company moved up the south ridge only five hundred meters and was hit by machine-gun fire that killed their point man. They managed to break contact and pulled back to the valley. We’ve been ordered to move from here and assault that hill and clear it of all enemy. Charlie Company will lead, followed by Delta, then Alpha. Bravo is still at old Dak To trying to get back on its feet. The colonel has made me the commander for the operation, so I’m gonna need your help. I’ve never been an acting battalion commander before.

  “Any questions?”

  He answered several questions, then added, “By the way, the ol’ man is giving us his forward operations center for backup radio support. Lieutenant Johnson and Sergeant Harper will be going with us. Chaplain Waters has requested to go, and the ol’ man okayed it. You guys keep an eye out for him. That’s it. We’ll be leaving in an hour, so you’d better brief your people. I’ll be up with my company behind the lead platoon. Good hunting.”

  Jason was shocked to hear that he was going out with the unit. Neither the major nor the colonel had said a word to him. He quickly approached the acting commander. “Sir, is there anything special you want me to do?”

  The captain shrugged. “I’ll get you two RTOs from headquarters to carry the radios. Just stay back in the rear with Alpha and monitor the radios. Keep the ol’ man informed if the companies have communications problems. You’re strictly backup.”

  Jason nodded. “Sure thing, sir. I guess I’d better pack my ruck.”

  He took several steps, then stopped and glanced back at the hill again. It was odd, but from where he stood, 875 looked like Red Hill. The trees were different, but the hill had that same majestic aura. He couldn’t help but think about what would happen if the situation were reversed, if he were home and given a company with a mission to defend Red Hill.

  A shiver ran up his spine, and he quickly walked away. Shaking off an ominous feeling, Jason continued on to the bunker. He could only hope and pray the enemy on 875 had withdrawn.

  They were moving slowly for a good reason: the trail was covered with recent tracks. The three hundred men of the Second Battalion heading for Hill 875 could feel the enemy’s presence. It was there, hanging in the humid air.

  Sergeant Harper spat a stream of tobacco juice toward the bamboo. “L-tee, if I find out you volunteered us for this, I’m gonna wring your damn neck. I’m an operations sergeant, not a humping sergeant. I already did this shit my last tour.”

  Jason couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t volunteer us, but hearing you bitch makes me think I should have. You sound like a whining old lady.”

  Chaplain Waters patted Harper’s back. “Sergeant Harper, if it’s any consolation, I’m older than you. Us old men need to exercise for our health.”

  “Sir, don’t take this wrong, but you must be drinkin’ your communion wine,” Harper said. “We’re in hostile country and you’re talkin’ about how a walk is good for our health? Field grade officers are supposed to be smarter than that.”

  Waters chuckled and was about to respond when the RTO in front of Jason stopped and held out the handset. “Sir, Charlie Company’s point man found something ahead. ”

  Colonel Huu peered out of the bunker firing port. “Are you sure they have stopped?”

  The young scout sergeant spoke calmly. “Yes, Colonel. They found the hospital tunnel entrance and formed a perimeter just six hundred meters down the ridge in the saddle. I estimate at least three companies, and they are carrying their mortars.”

  Huu nodded in thought and turned away from the firing port. Bending over, he entered the communications tunnel that angled down for a few meters, then stood erect and looked around. The tunnel ran twenty meters to the trench line and continued again to another bunker system that was twenty mete
rs farther beyond the trench. This was the most elaborate of all the fortifications he had seen. The engineers had outdone themselves. The complex had three major defensive lines all tied in with phone wire and bombproof tunnels. The command center, located directly beneath the center of the hill, was like the hub of a wheel, with eight tunnels running out of it toward the defense positions. The control center was beneath fifteen meters of soil, and was reinforced with ironwood and sayo support beams. Ammunition storage areas were dug into the side of each tunnel, providing the defenders with enough supplies to fight day and night for two weeks.

  He walked through the tunnel, lighted by an occasional candle, past the second defensive line then the third. He entered the command center, where General Duc was seated in front of the wall map. “Comrade,” he said “I must insist you leave immediately. The Yankees have stopped only six hundred meters down the northern ridge and are preparing for the attack.”

  The general waved him to a chair. “There is time. You know they will call in their air and artillery first. You know where the attack will come. Now, tell me, what is your plan?”

  Huu confidently picked up a bamboo pointer. “The northern ridge is narrow, perhaps only large enough for two companies abreast in an attack. The Americans will hit our first defensive line of bunkers and be stopped. They will then do what they always do: pull back and call for more air and artillery support. When they do this, I will order my Second Battalion to attack their rear and flank. The battalion commander and his captains have already walked the terrain around the hill and know the infiltration routes constructed by the Sixty-sixth Regiment. The attack will cut the Yankee force in two, and we will wipe out the rear unit. We have mortars and B-40 rocket launchers located on the next ridge. They will support the infantry once the attack begins. The Third Battalion has the mission of supporting the Second by maintaining a steady rain of fire on the enemy and keeping him inside our steel ring. All around the American perimeter will be squads whose only purpose is to engage helicopters. Other squads will be designated as snipers.”

  General Duc glanced at the row of field phones along the earthen wall. “Do you have communications with all your units so that the attack is coordinated?”

  “Yes, both wire and radio communication, and I have runners if necessary.” Huu lowered his voice and stepped closer to the general. “The defensive plan is as we discussed. Once the Second Battalion attacks, they will return to Cambodia; I have no room for them in the bunkers. The company from the Sixty-sixth Regiment and my two companies from the Fourth Battalion will remain in the complex and hold the hill until ordered to leave.”

  The general rose and looked at his operations officer, Colonel Kinh. “Do you have any suggestions?”

  Kinh was still in awe of the complex. He didn’t think it possible to take the hill after seeing the extensive tunnels and protected fighting positions. He lowered his head. “I can only offer my respect to you and your men for what you are about to do. ”

  General Duc put out his hand toward the confident commander. “Remember, my friend, plans are only guides. The Americans have their plans as well. Beware: you are facing the tiger.”

  “I will not fail you,” Huu said confidently.

  The general patted his shoulder and picked up his small pack. “We will be back at the base by nightfall and listening for your reports. Good luck, my friend.”

  General Duc stopped his small group of men once they had climbed a ridge. He turned and looked at the hill.

  “What is it, Comrade General?” Colonel Kinh asked.

  The general took a deep breath and turned around. “It’s nothing. I was just saying farewell to an old friend. Come, we have a long journey ahead of us. ”

  Jason stepped inside the earth-walled room and gasped. He had heard about the tunnels, but the sight before him was beyond belief. The entrance to the tunnel was very small and the corridor was initially narrow, but the farther he and the others had walked, the larger the corridor became. Now he stood in an empty hospital ward. The beds were made from bamboo and were aligned perfectly, as were the storage shelves. The NVA must have had plenty of time to evacuate, as they left nothing behind but a bag of bloody bandages. The Charlie company commander panned his light back to the tunnel. “I wanted you to see this so you could report it to the old man. I’m going to start calling in arty and air on the hill.”

  Chaplain Waters stepped in front of the senior company commander. “Harry, the best of luck to you. There isn’t a better man I know to lead us up that hill.”

  Captain Harry Kaufman shook the major’s hand warmly. “Father, it’s a little early. We’re going to attack tomorrow morning. But thanks.”

  Jason exchanged glances with Sergeant Harper. If the NVA had built this, what could they expect to run into on the hill? Harper shook his head. “I don’t think we could build anything like this. We just don’t have the patience.”

  Jason could not imagine the time and number of men it would have taken to dig and haul out all the dirt let alone to construct such a shelter. He was impressed and fearful at the same time. The Vietnamese showed amazing tenacity and dedication. He looked one more time at the line of beds and stepped back into the tunnel corridor.

  The fighter came in low and released its five-hundred-pound load. The bomb seemed to glide to earth and disappeared into the treetops. Then suddenly the ground shook. Seconds later the shock wave hit, followed by the horrific sound of man-made thunder. Again and again the planes came and dropped their bombs. The hilltop was slowly being turned into a scarred wasteland. The artillery had fired first and had managed to blow holes in the canopy formed by centuries-old trees. Later the Air Force air controller had fired a marking rocket, and the jets streaked in for the kill.

  Jason sat beside Waters on the edge of the perimeter and watched the destruction as if it were a Fourth of July fireworks show. Jason felt at ease with the chaplain who always seemed to have time to talk to a passing soldier. The service he had given an hour before had been attended by almost all the men.

  Jason glanced at his watch. It was almost 9 P.M. “Father, do you think anyone could live through such a pounding?”

  Waters leaned back and closed his eyes. “What I have seen of these people tells me yes. I can’t imagine their suffering, but I feel compelled to pray for them.”

  Jason stood and put on his helmet. “Tomorrow, I hope you don’t have to do that for us.”

  Waters smiled. “I’m praying for that, too.”

  Dirt cascaded down the far wall and covered the field phones. Colonel Huu kept his balance as the earth beneath his feet shook again. A captain in charge of the first line of bunkers stumbled into the dust-filled control room. “Colonel, bunker three has collapsed and its communications tunnel is blocked. Several connecting tunnels have partially caved in that lead to the trench lines.”

  Colonel Huu spoke hoarsely through the silk scarf tied around his mouth and nose, “Use the wood in the storage areas to shore up the weak points. This is just the beginning. Keep your men busy and digging.”

  34

  Captain Kaufman sipped coffee from a canteen cup as he pointed at a terrain model he’d made earlier that morning. “The operation will be executed as follows: we will depart the perimeter at zero nine thirty after I lift the artillery fires. The trail that runs up the north ridge is our center boundary. We’ll attack with Delta Company on the left and Charlie on the right. Both attacking companies will have two platoons forward and one in reserve, along with the weapons platoon. Alpha Company will follow to secure our rear and be our reserve.

  “We’ll move almost due south along the ridge, which has a gradual slope and is about one hundred meters wide all the way to the crest of the hill. The ridge drops off sharply to the east and more gradually to the west. The whole thing is vegetated in fairly thick bamboo, scrub bushes, and tall trees. We must keep the movement coordinated and on line. I will be following behind the lead platoon on the right side of the t
rail, and I want you to keep me informed at all times. Once we reach the top, we’ll consolidate by using the clock method. The center of the hilltop facing south will be twelve o’clock. Delta will consolidate from nine to twelve, Charlie will be from twelve to three, and Alpha will occupy from nine through six to three o’clock. Lieutenant Johnson and Sergeant Harper will be with Alpha Company; they’ll be monitoring the horns and keeping the old man informed. If there are no questions, inform your people and be prepared to move at 0930.”

  Jason got up and patted Major Waters’s back. “Come on, Harper has some coffee for you.”

  Waters smiled. “Thank him for me, Jay, but I’ve got to talk to the point team in Delta Company. I’ll be back with you before we move out.”

  Jason returned to his position in the perimeter and took out a C-ration can of peaches from his ruck. Sergeant Harper sat up with an irritated scowl. “How in the hell can you eat at a time like this? Tell me what the captain said, for Christ’s sake.”

  “He gave the standard Fort Benning operations order,” Jason said, opening the can. “Two up and one back in reserve, just like the book teaches. Nothing fancy.”

  “Us, damn it! What are we doing? Staying here and watching, I hope.”

  “Nope, we’re going with Alpha. Chaplain Waters will be with us, so don’t worry about anything.”

  Harper shook his head and stared at his battered boots. “ ‘Don’t worry,’ he says. ‘The chaplain will be with us,’ he says. Damn it, L-tee, the padre don’t even carry a rifle.”

  Like all the others, Jason had become desensitized by the constant artillery pounding. He put on his pack and checked his rifle before motioning his small CP group forward. The attack had been delayed a few minutes because the last jet strike had been late. The lead elements of Charlie and Delta companies had begun walking up the hill at exactly 0943. Jason waited until the lead companies had gone far enough ahead for Alpha to move before making his way up the ridge. Harper cussed and bitched the first five minutes until Chaplain Waters reminded him of his language. Harper looked to Jason for help. “Tell the padre I don’t mean nothin’ by it. It’s just habit.”