Post by 727sky on Jan 1, 2015 4:53:29 GMT -6
The war had never been fought to win; some would call it a holding action more than a war. Because Striker was one of the few pilots not married he was chosen to fly into Saigon and pick up the Ambassador's wife and two kids before the NVA finally entered the city proper. There was already shelling at Tan Son Nhat airbase and it would not be long before the runways would be unusable.
The aircraft Striker was flying was a twin engine turboprop which in the right hands could use a taxiway or even the grass between the runways for landing and takeoff.
The flight over Cambodia enroute to Ton Son Nhat was uneventful except for a few thunderstorms and a lower cloud deck that prevented Striker from seeing the ground, but also stopped guys on the ground from seeing him and trying a lucky high altitude shot at his aircraft.
The landing was actually uneventful except for the occasional smoke and a few fires that had been caused by the previous hours shelling.
When he had arrived at Tan Son Nhat the tower operators warned him there had been small arms fire from the north side of the airport boundary, so Striker basically rolled the aircraft from 3000 feet into a split "S" maneuver and landed midway down the runway on speed on target.
The touch down was like a cat pissing on a piece of velvet, (or so the saying goes) and to his knowledge no one had taken a pot shot at his U-21 aircraft.
From someone's view point on the ground it would have looked like something had happened and the aircraft was going to crash. The tower controllers even asked if he was taking fire; once they got their voice back..
The Ambassador's wife's aid was at the terminal and as soon as he saw Striker's aircraft come to a halt he ran up to the aircraft as it was being shut down.
As Striker exited the aircraft the aid said, " Man am I glad to see you. The Ambassador's wife just called and said due to some travel concerns she would be unable to get to the airport for at least another 2 hours. She sends her apologies".
"No problem, do you think it will be a full two hours or maybe she will be here sooner"?
"If I had to bet it will be at least another hour and a half at the earliest," said the aid.
Striker looked at his watch and said he would be ready to go when the Ambassador's wife arrived.
"Will you be going to Bangkok on the flight too"?
The Aid's answer was, "No, still to much to do here".
They shook hands as Striker said, "Good luck man, good luck".
Striker made sure his aircraft was refueled and he filed a flight plan back to Bangkok. All finished he then headed to the PX which was just outside the gate of the airport.
There was a beautiful Vietnamese girl by the name of Li who worked at the PX and Striker wanted to be sure she had a way out of country. Her brother worked for the CIA and if things held true their whole family would be exterminated when Saigon fell; Striker's thinking was tempered by the years of war and cruelty he had personally observed from the NVA ..
Striker had been introduced to Li by her brother after a rather harrowing mission in 1969 where Striker had flown a UH-1H into a hot landing zone to extract some Air America pilots and their passengers.. As expected his bird had been shot to hell but no one was injured and they all made it out alive.
That day in 1969 caused some kind of bond to be formed by everyone involved. Little did they know at the time, this bond would last all their life times through cards and letters...... Merry Christmas, happy new year, kind of things; usually ending with, 'I am still alive and hope you are too'.
Once out of the main gate Striker could not believe what he was seeing. Vietnamese troops walking and dragging the barrels of their American made M-16s in the dirt; walking as though they were already dead or somewhat like a later day zombie movie would show in 'The Walking Dead'. Demoralized is an understatement.
He finally made it to the PX and found Li who was working at a cash register. When she saw Striker she ran around the counter and rushed into Striker's arms smothering him in hugs and kisses as she made female sounds of joy from her heart.
To say this was out of character for an educated Vietnamese girl with a real 'non barmaid job' should have totally surprised most people who knew the Vietnamese culture. For a brief moment both of them threw their cultural inhibitions away and just enjoyed the feeling of being held by someone who truly cared.
" Li, I have an aircraft, I can take you out of here if you need a ride"!
"My love do not worry, my brother has made arrangements and our family will be taken to a big American ship and then to the states. I will find you there I promise".
"If something happens and we are unable to leave; maybe I die.... I will find you in my next life, this I promise".
"Well, you better not die, for I want you now"!
They stood there for a moment looking into each others eyes oblivious to their surroundings.
Li broke eye contact and rushed back to the counter to rummage through her purse until she pulled out a paper. The paper was an official document with her family name and ID number; all written in English. She gave this to Striker and said," For good luck you look for me too"!
One last tender lingering hug and Striker headed back to the airport feeling the heavy dread that had descended upon this city and his personal feelings .
The Ambassador's wife, birdcage, two kids, and two cars full of luggage arrived right on time so 'this simple flight' was out of there without incident, winging its way back to Don Muang airport in Bangkok..
This all occurred on the Friday before the Monday Saigon fell. The news and the videos that came out of Saigon during the fall were heart breaking and dire. Reports of all the Vietnamese at the Embassy gate trying to get through because they had been promised a ride out of that hell hole was not encouraging and left a strong mistrust of government promises by those who knew what was going on for the rest of their lives.
Striker tried to find Li and her family, which was an extremely frustrating process. Finally, just about 6 months later, due to some Embassy contacts, he was able to discern they never made it out of Saigon. Her father and brother had been executed and she had not been seen by any of the remaining intel assets still in Saigon.
There was always the possibility she made it out on some Vietnamese boat but the Pirates and the trip itself was a low percentage shot at freedom. Horror stories of the few survivors who made the trip were enough to make one's blood run cold.
Rape, pillage, and plunder; The Pirates code has not changed and never will. The saying just left out the part where they do not leave witnesses or take slaves...
For the next three years Striker continued to seek information and then one night in a dream she came to him.
All she said was, "Next life my love, I promise". He woke up and cried like a baby.
The new year was being celebrated as Striker was surrounded by friends and merry makers. There was a toast offered and everyone raised their glasses. Striker's added to the toast in his mind's voice, "next life my love, next life I promise"...
