Summer Shorts-Four Short Stories Read Online Free PDF Page A

in his hands,
    He's the champion of the land,
    It's a rifle-not a toy,
    He's our hero, BB Boy"
    The next show scheduled a few days later to
take place just outside of Saigon was expected to draw even bigger
attendance numbers. It was slated to occur on the Vietnamese New
Year being called "Tet". With a truce called for the New Year
holiday, Republic of Viet Nam soldiers would be attending the show
along with American soldiers and civilian employees.
    The ensemble was stuffed into Army
helicopters and flown south towards the capital city. Most rode in
the massive "Jolly Green" twin motor choppers but BB Boy and his
ever present new side kick, the Major, brought up the rear in a
smaller Huey chopper. Twenty minutes into the flight, a rocket
propelled grenade emerged from the jungle bellow, striking the Huey
in its tail rotor and causing it to spin wildly. The Major shrieked
orders into his headset mic for the Jolly Greens to climb to a
safer altitude, all the while the Huey spun like a maple seed
towards the base of a hill.
     
    ******
     
    The crash came suddenly…violently…rolling the
Huey sideways towards the hill as rotors and cargo flew through the
air. There was stillness for a moment, soon pierced by moans and
cries of pain. The pilot was severely injured; no doubt his spine
was shattered. The co-pilot was dead, as seemed to be the case of
the door gunner/flight engineer who had been thrown from the
wreckage. His limp body wrapped around a tree in the distance. The
Major had a broken leg…probably internal injuries to boot. BB Boy
sat on the floor of the mangled Huey, dazed and looking around,
questioning his own survival in the midst of such destruction.
    The Major called over to him "BB, you okay
kid?" BB Boy replied in an uncertain tone of one in shock: "Well…
it appears to be…oops!" When he tried to scoot over to the Major,
he heard a gurgling sound coming for inside of his Army jump suit
the Huey crew had provided him. Unzipping it, he saw a mass of his
own insides exposed. Instantly, he zipped it back up. "I guess not,
sir" he mumbled to the Major who saw the look in BB's eyes and
quickly surmised the rest.
    "Son, they'll be coming for us soon…ours and
theirs. Your new gun is on board. Can you reach it?" BB Boy saw the
special black rifle case with "BB BOY" stencilled on the side of
it. It had been securely tied to the side of the cargo well and had
survived the crash. "Yeah, I got it" BB Boy groaned as he reached
over and released its tie-down straps. "Son, inside that case
you're going to find a phosphorus grenade. I put it there …just in
case this sort of thing happened." BB Boy felt the grenade inside a
small compartment within the case. "Found it too, sir" he replied.
The Major's voice grew softer…sadder…as he added "Now son, that M16
of yours has the new Starlight vision scope attachment in the case.
Neither the gun nor the scope can be taken by the enemy. Do you
understand what that means?" BB Boy felt a nausea sensation
stronger than he had ever known. Leaning out the window beside him,
he vomited. It was mostly blood. Wiping the mess from his lips, he
replied "I understand sir... totally ".
    There was a crackle in the Major's headset.
Then a voice called "King 151…King 151. Do you read me?" Above
there was the faint sound of an aircraft engine…a propeller engine.
The voice continued "This is Sandman 79. What is your status?" The
Major relayed the situation to the pilot of a "Sandy", a propeller
driven A-1 Skyraider attack plane. The A-1 was not glamorous
compared to its jet counterparts flown by the Air Force, but it was
a most reassuring sight to downed American pilots. Sandy's flew
escort missions for rescue helicopters and were renowned for taking
as much punishment as they dealt out.
    The Major was both encouraged and disturbed
by Sandman 79's arrival. "Charlie" also knew about the A-1's duty,
and the Major knew that the enemy would be drawn to the wreckage
site by Sandman 79's