Point Man

Point man

    Billy was getting nervous. This was his 5^th time being the point man for his platoon, and he wondered if his time was running out. He would consider himself now, a seasoned Viet-Nam combat veteran.

    Being point man on a patrol was the most dangerous position of all on a recon mission. He was only 18 years old but old beyond his years. He thought now he knew all the Viet Cog tricks. Billy’s job was to alert the patrol of an impending ambush. He would be looking for any movement, not even a blade of grass that was not natural and any movement not caused by even the slightest breeze. Billy knew the difference. Anything, not of the natural so the VC wouldn’t surprise his platoon. No. These were his comrades. He was their eyes and ears.

    Sgt Sheridan barked at his patrol. “You people. Listen up, Watch Billy. He will signal us if he sees something is not right”

   “Damn, he put so much trust in me,” he thought.

     He thought back to his youth. The way his dad used his experience as an Army Green Beret and Ranger to teach his son the art of hunting in the outdoors.

    . “Deer and game are just like people” he would say. “Always try to see them before they see you”

      Dad would spend so much time dressing me in camouflaged clothing. He would break up the outline of my face and hands with military black and olive drab color sticks.

    “Enough” my Mom would say to my Dad. : “You're just going hunting. And to have some fun. This is not Ranger school”

    Dad always believed military training should be used for teaching civilians how to get along in life.

    As the steps of learning Dad’s advanced techniques continued, it became time to learn how to creep up on game. We tested his teachings over and over again.

    We would move very slowly through the woods. Stopping every so often. I would notice that sometimes, the woods would come alive with some animals when we stopped. At different times, we would see deer, rabbits, squirrels, and other game only to have them “disappear” when we began moving again.

    We even took the time to camouflage our weapons. Anything that deer or any game sees or senses differently, will send them flurrying away in panic. But as soon as your movement stopped and you waited long enough, the animal activity would start again.

   There was a questionable look on Dad’s face. He wanted to discuss something important.

“About time Billy, we going to teach you the real thing. We’re going to creep up on some real people.

    And so we did, numerous times. And using Dad’s techniques, I noticed at no time did people notice us at all. “ Yes, that’s good, but they did not know we were coming. If they were on the watch for you, it would be an entirely different story.

    So, as I grew older and using Dad’s methods, I became a proficient hunter. I had learned my lessons well.

    Mom would say, “ your Dad’s methods were different”. But she would acknowledge, “our freezer was always full.

    Dad passed away a few years ago after the Viet Nam war had started. Billy tried to enlist in Special Forces to follow in Dad’s footsteps, but the recruiter said that would be impossible.

    He explained, “to get into Special Forces, you need prior 3 years of military experience just to try out. You had to be a qualified military paratrooper also.

 “They didn’t make it easy, that’s for sure,” Billy thought

    “I want to wear a Green Beret,” Billy thought, and he realized what he had to do. 

    “I will enlist in the infantry and volunteer for jump school.” “I’ll enlist in the 101^st Airborne”. Yes, infantry, airborne, and 3 years of military experience. When my initial enlistment is done, I’ll volunteer for the Special Forces as I will have all the requirements

    And now, here he was. In Viet Nam. Getting ready to be point man again and lead his platoon on a dangerous recon mission.

    And now he realized as he prepared for combat, his Dad’s purpose in teaching his son these abilities, was to be able to stand alone. And to prepare for whatever happens. Not to be taken by surprise in any situation.

    The Viet Cong were the most adept at ambushing but Billy Thought, “I am better prepared for what is to come and Billy prided himself on being prepared for any event. “Like the Green Berets”, he thought. 

    Let me see. Move slowly, stopping to observe the area. The VC would sometimes kill the point man and scurry off into the bush leaving the rest of the patrol nothing or nobody to shoot at. One of their tricks.

    There were other problems on these patrols. Sometimes you were in elephant grass, grass that could cut like a razor, other times in thick vegetation and always the ever-present insects and bloodsucking bugs.

    Billy knew his Dad was teaching him to be a hunter. But the skills he taught Billy were very important today in combat also. His platoon was getting ready for their mission. They made jokes and kidded around with each other. But Billy knew it was all a front. He sensed their fear. And they were scared.

    Yes, he learned much in those early years. And using these skills today would keep him and his men alive.

“You’re the best point man ever, Billy”, Sargeant Sheridan commented. “You are like a fox sneaking up on a rabbit” A quiet professional”.

     “Hmm,” Thought Billy. “quiet professional”.  Strange, the Sargeant said that. That’s what Dad told Billy they called Special Forces sometimes. The Quiet Professionals.

   Billy started to reflect. “Maybe, I think after my tour of duty is up, Maybe I believe I would just like to go home. No Special Forces. No more Army. Just maybe, just maybe I’m pushing my luck too far”.

    Billy, for the first time, felt his body and mind weakening. The thought of the upcoming patrol scared him to the point his palms were starting to sweat.

   What did they call it before in each war, shell shock, battle fatigue? Is that what is happening to me? The military had different names for it, names for it in different wars. What is it now? Oh yeah. Post-traumatic Syndrome. Is that what’s happening to me he nervously thought

    This feeling of fear is something new for Billy. He caught himself starting to tremble.

Counting to ten, he calmed down. He needs to be calm and cool. He owes it to the platoon

   Sgt Sheridan bellowed.” Mount up. Let's go. We have a party to go to”>