Another Place - Episode 22

Another Place Another Time

Book One

Jake and Whispers

Episode Twenty-Two

In the next mile, we found three more traps and cleared them. Then Whispers stopped a fourth time. This time was different from any other time in more than fifty patrols. I didn’t have a clue what he had sensed. I waited and then I knew, absolutely knew, that whatever was going to happen was going to happen right then.

Owens said, “How about it, Sarge, which way do you want me to go?”

Before I could answer, Owens disappeared, knocked backwards by an unseen force. I shouted to Whispers, “Down!” And I felt him drop onto his belly. Everything moved into slow motion as I turned toward Owens. That saved my life. Just as I heard the sound of the shot that had hit him, a second round hit me in the left shoulder an inch outside the edge of my flak jacket. The impact knocked me out, and I must have been out for at least a minute. When I came to, Whispers was sitting beside my right shoulder. He was alternately whining softly and licking my face. The LURP medic was holding a pressure bandage on my left shoulder.

I looked at Whispers.

“I thought I told you to get down.”

He barked and licked my face again. Then I realized the medic was talking to me, saying something that I couldn’t understand. I concentrated and heard, “You’re all right, Sarge. It’s a through-and-through. The bandage will stop the bleeding until we get you out of here.”

“What about Owens?” I asked.

The medic laughed, “He’s sitting on the ground behind you trying to trade his c-rations for some cigarettes. His flak jacket stopped the bullet. He’s bruised, but that’s about it.”

I heard a Huey landing nearby and turned my head to see it. It was a Greyhound Gunship and it settled in thirty yards away from us. I saw the word “Boss” on the nose and I knew everything was going to be all right.

The Crew Chief jumped from the helicopter, ran to us, and screamed above the sound of the turbine.

“The Boss said we’ve got to go now. There are VC everywhere.”

Lieutenant Williams knelt beside me and shouted, “Jake, can we keep Whispers with us?”

I heard the headset in the Crew Chief’s helmet come to life just as I told Williams that, if Whispers stayed, I stayed. Then I heard the Crew Chief reporting to the Greyhound Commander, “Sir, the Lieutenant wants to keep Whispers, but Jake said he won’t leave without him.”

Lieutenant Williams and I stared at the Crew Chief who was listening intently to the response.

In seconds, the Crew Chief responded to the Greyhound Commander, “Yes, Sir, I’ll tell the Lieutenant.” He turned to Lieutenant Williams and said, “The Boss said get the Sergeant and the dog on the chopper and get them on right now.”

Williams and the Crew Chief helped me up and half carried me to the chopper. As we moved past the nose of the Huey, running at a flight idle, I glanced toward Colonel Cavanaugh and smiled as best I could. He gave me a thumbs up and then saluted. Williams lifted Whispers onboard, and I crawled in after him.

*******

Four days later, Colonel Cavanaugh and Captain Sprague came to the ISPD with Captain Petty. They found me at the kennel. Colonel Cavanaugh was tall, maybe six foot three or four. He was solid in a way that reminded me of John Wayne. He had close-cropped, prematurely gray hair and pale blue eyes that could look right through you or light up your day. There was an air of confidence about him that told you he was the real deal. He looked at my arm, which was still in a sling.

“Jake,” he said, “I’ll bet you could have traded that for some recovery time in Japan.”

I grinned.

“Yes, Sir, that’s what they told me at the hospital.”

The Colonel laughed and said, “And I’ll bet you didn’t go because they wouldn’t let you take Whispers.”

I just smiled and he looked right in my eyes.

“I understand, Son. I understand.”

We talked on for a while with Whispers right in the middle of us, managing to get more than his share of attention. Then Captain Sprague told me the Greyhounds flew to Vung Tau for parts and supplies almost every day, and he said that if Whispers and I ever needed a ride down all I had to do was let them know. I glanced at Captain Petty who had a knowing grin on his face, and I knew how Colonel Cavanaugh and Captain Sprague had found out about Vung Tau and Betty Ann.

I said, “I’m sure I’ll be taking you up on that, Sir.”

*********

Four days later, with my arm out of the sling and a ten day medical pass in my pocket, Whispers and I took Colonel Cavanaugh up on his offer. We caught a ride with him to Vung Tau. When we landed at the helicopter repair and parts depot, the Colonel told me that when I was ready to go back to Bearcat, all I had to do was get one of the supply officers to radio the Greyhounds, and they’d send a chopper for me. I thanked him and headed for the Red Cross Office.

A clerk told me that Betty Ann and the rest of the Doughnut Dollies were working at Tay Ninh and should be back within the hour. I waited and for once a Vietnam schedule was right. Betty Ann walked through the door fifty minutes later, saw Whispers and me and jumped into my arms. I winced and she quickly stepped back a half step but kept her hands lightly on my shoulders.

“What’s the matter, Jake?” Betty Ann asked.

“We need to talk,” I replied.

We went to the Red Cross mess hall where we sat in the corner and talked quietly for the rest of the afternoon. I proposed and she said yes. I asked if she had signed up for another tour and she had not. She told me she wouldn’t do that without talking to me first. I told her exactly what had happened on the last patrol. I explained how I knew that Whispers could take care of us on regular patrols; he’d proven that for over a year and a half. However, on tracking jobs, there was no way anyone could protect us from snipers, and the odds were that one would take us out one day. I took both her hands in mine and looked in her eyes.

“Betty Ann, it’s time for the three of us to leave this place.”

She smiled and said, “I know, Jake. Let’s do it.”

Whispers barked.

I told her how I planned to leave and take Whispers with me and I told her that it might take us a couple of months or longer to get home. She told me she would be home in a less than a month and she gave me her parents’ address and phone number.

“Jake,” she said as she slipped her hands into mine, “I’ll be there waiting for you two no matter how long it takes you to get there.”

Then we kissed, which got a round of applause from a group of Doughnut Dollies who had come into the mess hall, unnoticed by Betty Ann and me.

********

I post two episodes of Another Place Another Time every week

For info on receiving each episode directly on your Kindle click here
Or, if you don’t want to wait, click here to purchase the complete Kindle version of the book.

Currently I’m working on The Mystic Trilogy – the first volume – The Sages – it is posted weekly – click here to read the first and all subsequent episodes.