Big Dog Fight

             It was a day I’ll never forget. Podna.We were headed for hell and I could feel it in my bones that something nasty was about to go down..It was midday and we were flying in Hueys racing towards the Big Dog fight.It was my first day in battle, and I was scared like everybody else, except I tried to hide it.Not that it mattered, because the squad moved out anyway.Thats the way it was,you had to move out with the squad.

            Trust me, we were ready to rock and roll.The machine gunner carried a M-60 machine gun and had 7 inch bullets strapped across his chest.The radio operator was next to the lieutenant..Johnson had his M-16 locked and loaded,we called him,” Sea Breeze.” Crazy name for sure.Everybody called me “Doc” becaiuse I was the new medic.I carried a 45 automatic but surrounded by all the firepower,I still felt powerless because I had no control of my destiny which lay in front of me.

             The scene was set in front of us as we got closer to the action..About five miles out, we could see jets laying down bombs on top of the enemy, and the noise could be heard at our altitude of about 5,000 feet up.I could feel my heart thumping a little harder and louder as we got closer..Everybody looked calm as if we were going out looking for some chicks,except I knew this was the big dog fight.

              It was kill, or be killed time..Three miles out I could almost smell the arid odor of the bombs that were dropped in the trees,along the edge of the rice field, where we planned to land.The anticipation mounted as we drew closer.The door gunner tensed, as he fingered his weapon, pointed out towards the open door.

               I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew somethng nasty was about to happen.While we hovered over our landing spot, another screeching jet flew about fifty yards in front of us, laying down a wall of boiling fire, that seemed to hang over the foliage in front of us..The platoon had landed

               And the big dog fight was about to begin..