1. Of Love and War and Donna Lynn


    Date: 8/31/2015, Categories: Historical, Author: RumpleForeskin, Rating: , Source: LushStories

    the other men of recon knew all too well. They were the eyes and ears of the battalion, experts at operating alone on intelligence gathering operations. Ambushes, snatches, tracking, manning listening posts at night and observation posts during the day were all considered good missions. No one thought today's assignment, serving as scouts for a regular infantry company, was a good mission. They were now under the direct control of another unit's commanding officer. Whenever that happened, they became expendable. Halfway to the village, things started going wrong. A high-pitched shriek from somewhere ended in a sickening explosion followed by a geyser of dirt, smoke, and death. Unable to tell where the fire was coming from, twenty-four men dove for the only available cover. After that, it was a matter of praying they’d guessed right and put rice paddy dikes between themselves and a body bag. The platoon began checking in. "What the hell was that? Where's the son-of-bitch? Is everybody all right?" "Hardcore" Harding, the unit's platoon sergeant, yelled over from a nearby rice paddy. "That thing's gotta be a goddamn recoilless rifle, Lieutenant." First Lieutenant Dale Lester never stopped scanning the terrain. "Roger that, shit. You got any idea where the hell it's firing from?” "Can't be sure, sir. But they've probably got it set up on that hill over there on our right flank." Mack forced himself to lift his head and look for the hill. There was a second explosion followed by ...
    an eruption of sporadic small arms fire from the village to their front. But he’d seen a flash. “I think Hardcore’s right, Lieutenant. I spotted something looked like a small back-blast. Probably about two-thirds the way up the hill, just left of that dead tree.” Dale Lester studied the hill and then the surrounding terrain. His platoon, a group he and Hardcore had molded into a first class recon unit, was pinned down in the open. Meanwhile, Delta Company and the supporting armored personnel carriers were back in the safety of the wood line and didn't seem anxious to risk exposing themselves by providing fire support. "Looks like it’s command decision time, Big Mack.” Mack, whose name and size had made the nickname inevitable, wiped sweat and dirt off his face and nodded. "If we stay put and call for help that recoilless rifle will pick us off," said Lester. “Heading towards that automatic weapons fire would be dicey. Going back’s not much better. So that leaves…. His words were cut off by another incoming round. Mack had an idea, but wished he hadn’t. “Lieutenant, my squad’s closest to the hill. What if the platoon lays down covering fire long enough for us to shag ass over there? If it’s just the weapons crew, odds are they’ll ‘di di’ when they see us coming.” What he didn’t need to say, what both he and the Lieutenant knew, was that if the crew didn’t leave and the position was defended, the squad could be in a world of hurt. Lieutenant Lester glanced at Mack, then surveyed ...
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