The Siege of Firebase Gloria

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1

Looks abandoned.

Or worse.

Let's go, Shortwave.

It was Chinese New Year.

The Tet holiday.

The communists had

called a 36-hour truce.

It should've

been a routine patrol.

But we weren't

taking any chances.

Get DiNardo up here.

DiNardo was my right hand.

Go!

The kind of gung-ho fighting machine

that Marines are famous for.

We'd been to this village before

and a lot of smiling,

shaking hands

and bowing

to show that we

were the good guys.

The people were friendly.

We like them

and they liked us.

DiNardo knew enough Vietnamese

to be a big hit.

So it really hurts

to see their heads on stakes.

This rotten war was

getting to us.

We'd stay too long,

we seen too much.

Jesus Christ. . .

Sonofabitch!

DiNardo!

Got more in the wells.

Jesus. . .

No amount of training

could prepare you for an experience like this.

Shortwave said he'd seen worse

on the streets of Detroit.

But that's the kind of bullshit

you use to keep from going crazy.

Murphy was the one

that's hit the hardest.

He was a green college

kid from Indiana.

The closest he'd been to death

was his grand dad's funeral.

Sergeant Hafner!

Yo!

This is insanity.

This is effective.

Charlie's got this valley

by the balls.

Won't nobody step outta

line around here.

Sergeant Major!

Yo!

We got a boy, Sergeant Major.

He's alive!

Please, kid.

Calm down.

C'mon, Juicy?

Wanna Juicy?

Juicy, Juicy, Juicy.

There ain't no

ceasefire around here

that's for damn sure.

Somethin' comin' down.

Somethin' heavy.

Oh, we gotta find out

what it is.

We gonna leave

the village like this?

Torch it.

We radioed headquarters,

but they didn't read the signs

like we did.

Just another bunch

of dead gooks

What else is new?

DiNardo was pretty

steamed up inside

so I put him on point.

Best therapy

I could think of.

As point men go,

DiNardo had few equals.

He had a sharp eye

and a good nose for trouble.

Hold on.

It's DiNardo, sir.

What do you got?

Two VC by a cave.

I'm gonna pop 'em.

We got contact.

Murphy, I want you to check

out the area.

Need to know how many

dinks we're dealing with here.

You sure you wanna do this alone?

Yeah.

My turn.

Besides, I had needed a bath.

Okay Nard, you got the ball.

if I ain't back in ten,

use your imagination.

Sure..

Stay on 'em.

Jesus Christ.

You look like a f***ing ghost.

Whose were these?

I lost. . .

Lost my whole patrol.

What's your unit, son?

There were thousands.

We saw. . .

We saw thousands of 'em.

What's your name, son?

I don't. . .

I don't know.

No. . . No. . .

I'm whip-bounding.

Two clicks back. . .

Abandoned camps.

Looked about company size.

Well, there's a company,

there's a battalion.

- Come.

Tell DiNardo to get everybody

ready to pull out.

-Right.

C-4's in place, Sergeant Major.

Might be a pretty good

idea to blow it up.

Yes, sir.

Dinks up ahead!

Twenty, maybe thirty.

You know the program,

DiNardo.

Do your thing.

I want you bunched up

around the casualty.

Let's move.

DiNardo was like a brother

I never had.

He's always getting into trouble.

And I was always gettin' him out.

But when the times got tough,

he was the one

I knew I could count on.

For a while, there had been

some tension between us.

And it needed to be resolved.

But now was not the time.

Now, I needed the best

rifleman in the squad

covering my back.

Any VC in your area?

No VC here.

Only fish made in bottles.

-Yeah, I bet.

Where the boy come from?

We found the boy in An Lap village.

An Lap village?

I don't like it.

Let's move.

Let's get outta here.

I don't like the looks

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