A Clash of Vietnam Vets Part II
Walter and Sgt Johnny had spent the previous day and night on the mountain. The pair had made it to the edge of clearing and started harvesting. They had camped off one of the trails of National Historic park. Walter popped the comment I guess this makes me officially a doper. Sgt Pettimore replied "Yep you could be the spook." Walter then said "Or worse that mining engineer that plays the role ignorant Hillbilly at Colson field. They then heard the sound of two sets of rotor blades smacking the air. Their weapons were soon out as if a mad wish had been initiated. In both their minds they long ago knew how to shoot down a helicopter.
It was two choppers that were now slowly working the backside of Cumberland Gap. They were on the narrow area between the National Park and the strip mine. They knew that they had to get this done quickly it was summer time and as the temps increased the mountains could easily create a roiling mass of air that made mountain flying a royal pain. The Captain in the fifty eight had heard stories about flying in the highlands on the way over. It was a slow methodical process. The sight gag was seeing Red mount the fifty eight in the pre dawn darkness. Captain Brant kept a little pressure on the cyclic counteracting the two hundred ten pound red observing. The helicopter approached the clearing of the strip mine now overgrown with grass. Then near side Red's eyes screamed at his brain "Marijuana and whole lot of it." Red said "Give me a pedal turn to my side and keep your eyes out the chin bubble as we hit the tree line do a turn around it. Captain Brant saw two men with rifles a split second later the chin bubble was shot out. The next thing was the engine being hammered. It died quickly. Red knew he was under fire the rounds went through he front cockpit. Whoever was doing the shooting knew what they were doing. He heard Captain Brant get a call out and did a forced landing into the clearing.
Red the chubby viking, knew what was happening. Instincts he long ago thought dead resurrected themselves as auto rotation was cushioned. The OH-58 was down. Red had his Beretta cocked. He had already made it out. Captain Brant with a look realized he better. Red though being twenty years older then the Captain practically yanked him out of the helicopter after he opened the door. The Huey was on the way. The old sergeant saw two men running into the woods. A voice from the past directed his next set of actions. They could be summed up in one word attack! He gave chase to the two men He ran parallel and down into the woods He saw a trail and cut them off. "Stop!" he shouted an AK and CAR-15 were visible. They were in motion the well trained reflexes took over. The first two shots were through the heart of the guy with the long salt and pepper hair The gun was aimed lower and two rounds ripped through the mountain air both impacting the chest of the one with the CAR15 with blond and gray hair. There was now silence as the two men had fallen. He could hear the Huey land. The old sergeant hated the weapon he hated having to use it but he knew in either line of work he would have to. As a result he was a master of its use. He walked to the two men. There was chill in his heart when he saw one of them. The one with two holes in the chest was his platoon sergeant.
He saw the troopers coming he shouted "This is red I got two stiffs" The troopers saw a familiar face with arms up. This was a procedure for them not to get jumpy in an area where they were under fire. They looked at the two bodies. One of them counted four holes. The response came back professionally "Nice shooting." The other got Red's M-9. The remark came back four rounds fired every single one of them in the two bodies. The bodies were carried to the Huey. They would be carried to Knoxville where the state police had a lab.
The flight took thirty minutes to the airport. Batarags and Berg were flying the Tennessee Guard Huey. Red and Captain Brant had climbed aboard. There was a pair of State Police officers aboard as well. The approach to Class C was straight forward. The ATC at Knoxville tower knew how to work helicopters well. The Huey was on state police ramp in no time. Slowly the rotor blades came to a halt. The two older Warrant officers got out and tied the blades. When the second of the two bodies was removed Warrant Officer Batarags paused and said "Walter?"
The state police sergeant McCann looked at Batarags. "You look like you know him." Batarags replied "Impossible he died covering a tunnel fire between Cumberland Gap and" McCann replied "I remember the case they never found the body they decided to call him dead but I remember one of senior guys." McCann continued "There had always been rumors about him faking his death." The two men walked in.
The drive to police headquarters was quick. The state police had a new toy they could go back in time. The photos of John Doe's body were digital. The photos were uploaded into the computer. The computer worked its magic and as the years went way digitally Warrant officer Batarags found himself facing an image he once knew. The shooting team was also investigating. The fifty eight had taken ten hits 5.56 and 7.62 shorter cartridge. The calibers matched the carbines in the hands of those weapons that were recovered. The local prosecutor for the county had been informed. The incident had been witnessed from a state trooper in the Huey. With the OH-58 being shot down. Big Red was cleared. Lunch consisted of McDonalds brought in. Walter's eldest son was in Tazwell jail for cocaine possession with intent to distribute. He was the God father. The decision was to do a DNA sample to confirm. The computer was already doing a fingerprint search. The fingerprints were in a DOD computer file.
Batarags was driven back to Comfort Inn. In the Hotel Room he heard Captain Brant playing a song "Shades of Gray." Warrant officer Batarags had long ago lost a fair amount of hearing. Captain Brant explained the plot of song by Robert Earl Keen. Captain Brant then asked "So you think it was your friend" Batarags shaken "Yeah." The phone rang it was the state police they wanted to take the group to Dinner. They had found about fifty plants at the sight and a large sum of cash at Pettimore's place. The steakhouse was Ryan's and the great state of Tenesee was paying the bills.
The group managed to snag a bit of private dining room. The bill was paid with cash and everybody was out of uniform. Everybody was seated. The senior state police captain got everybody quiet. He then asked the question "How many you from Texas have heard the song 'Copperhead Road'?" There most pilots raised their hands. Batarags raised his hand "my son antagonizes with the song when he visits from school." The state police captain continued well believe or not Steve Earle had actually hung out in the right bars around here north of Pigeon Forge south of Virginia. The song has more of a basis in reality then in fiction. We just would rather not have the stuff in the papers. Apparently Steve Earle picked the song up while hanging out in the right bars. Red and Batarags were processing it all. The unit was given plaques and mementos in appreciation of the support given.
Sleep came slow for Batarags and the rest of the crew. They still had a couple extra days. That meant they could hang around Ft.Hood the decision was to go fishing. Captain Brant put Robert Earl Keen on. Slowly the two were asleep.
The following morning another C-12 came to pick them up. The flight occurred in almost silence. Red had lost a friend. Batarags had faced something he did not want to deal with and was forced. Mike seeing that but knew he had to be quiet for now. Berg made the commented he was getting to old for this and was looking forward to retirement. Brant had been under fire for the first time and had passed the test.