Memories

Memories First Platoon boards the Huey, sickly smell of sweat and death elbow to elbow we sit cramped in the narrow compartment hot, sticky air like a sauna grips us in its wet claws rotors spin, air rushes through the open doors but no relief is felt from the hot, breath of the dragon gnawing fear grips each man as the bird lifts off taking us to places we don’t want to go the green canopy is now below us concealing them but not us we land at the LZ, bullets snapping and popping as we emerge the encounter is short, bloody, cries of wounded, silence of dead First Platoon boards the Huey, sickly smell of sweat and death gnawing fear grips each man as the bird lifts off are we headed back to the firebase, home, safety from the fire safety from the fear and death and sweat Hueys flying the wrong way, new orders issued on to the next hot LZ more fear death and sweat