A Tour of Duty Story.
The characters are not mine, they belong to TNT, History Channel, Zev Braun, etc.
Winds of Change
Chapter 1: The Turning of a Page
The first thing LT. Goldman saw as the chopper blades slowly came to a halt, was about thirteen young women get out of the helicopter and rush to the nearest building. It had only been three months, but he still hated seeing new people brought into Vietnam, men or women. Shoot, he was "green" himself, as Sgt. Anderson would say. He was frustrated with himself, because he hadn't learned everything yet, but he new that would take time. He was also aware that everyone had to work as a team and depend on each other in order to make it out alive. That was one area good ol' Myron was working on, he had a tendency to be fiercely independent, sometimes a little to much for his own good. That's why Anderson irritated him so much at times, he always seemed so confident of his abilities. Just then, a hand on his shoulder shook him out of his reverie.
"Excuse me," a voice said softly behind him. He turned around to see a young woman staring at him.
"Yeah," he said gruffly.
"I'm new here," and she pointed to the helicopter. "I just got off the helicopter, and I'm not sure"...
"Which building to go to," L.T. finished with a slight smirk.
"Actually, no, I'm not sure who to report to," she said with a shrug. She turned around, a smug smile on her face.
"Hang on a sec," she heard him say behind her. The young woman turned around to face the Lt. again. "Hang a right at the next building, then go straight ahead. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," she said politely.
"Are you one of the nurses that was supposed to fly in?" he asked in surprise.
"No," she said. "I'm a donut dolly."
"If your a donut dolly, I'm a special forces agent," he muttered to himself.
"Did you say something?" she asked, turning back towards him.
"Huh, uh no," he said thoughtfully.
She shrugged, "What an odd fellow," she said thoughtfully, as she walked away.
He watched intrigued, as she trudged through the sand-filled wind that more incoming copters had stirred up. *I've got to learn how to behave around women,* he thought, shaking his head as he walked back to his hooch.
As she crawled into bed, in the all girls hooch, she couldn't help but feel bad about her first encounter with a soldier. She was a donut girl for crying out loud, it was her job to be nice, and perky all the time. That was definitely not a problem for her, but she was tired and nervous. The last thing she needed was some smart-aleck soldier making it harder for her. She fell into a troubled sleep, lost in her thoughts.
Next morning:
She woke up to the sun shining on her face, but as she looked down at her yellow night gown, she realized that her whole body was bathed in the sunlight. She jerked her head up to see a gigantic whole in the wall. She surveyed the room, and found she was surrounded by dead bodies... She woke up with a muffled scream, her yellow nightgown drenched in sweat. *I need some air she thought,* as she put on her robe.
She walked out into the humid air. She decided a walk around the base might be nice, kind of get a feel for everything.
Within 20 min. she had walked half way around the base, when she heard a gruff voice call out to her, "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, little missy?" She turned around to see a bulky figure in the shadows, but she didn't miss the smile on his face. She smiled back in return.
"I just needed some air, that's all." She swallowed hard, and stuck out her hand, "My name is Annie."
"Name's Zeke," he said as he grasped her outstretched hand. "It's not safe to take strolls around the base at night. NVA bombings are prevalent at night."
"NVA what?" Annie asked.
"North Vietnamese Army," Zeke explained.
"Oh," she said quietly. "Thanks for the warning."
"By the way," she said quietly, "where are the restrooms?"
Zeke laughed lightly, "Restrooms, try port-a-potties," he said with a grin.
"Your serious?" she asked unbelievingly. He nodded. "Straight ahead and to the left. Can't miss the smell, I mean er them." She gave him a funny look, then headed toward the bathrooms. When she reached the port-o-potties, she couldn't believe it. There were 2 of them lined up, side-by-side. Instead of the plastic ones she pictured, they were made of crudely cut wood.
She knocked on the one directly in front of her, only to hear a voice say, "I'm in here, sorry."
She didn't hear any movement from inside the other stall, so she risked it and yanked open door. *whew, no one's here,* she thought. Just as she settled herself on the seat, she heard a scurrying sound beneath her- she got up and saw a dark object crawl out of the toilet. She almost screamed and she covered a hand over her mouth to keep from doing so. She realized it was a roach or a Palmetto bug, as her dad called it. The only time she had seen "Palmetto bugs" back home was outside. She had never seen one inside before.
Just then she heard a slightly hoarse voice from outside say, "Oh, come on, hurry up would ya!" She quickly did her business and opened the door. She would never forgot the guys face staring back at her. *Not in a million years,* she thought with a laugh. Even in the dark Annie could see the man's clear, light blue eyes staring back at her. She wanted to reach out and gently close his jaw, which was hanging open. She smiled brightly at him, "I didn't mean to take so long," she said lightly.
"Oh my apologies ma' m, I didn't realize that, I mean I thought it was a soldier," he finished lamely.
"Oh, it's no problem," she said brightly. "By the way, my name's Annie," she said as she made her way back to the hooch. The young man just stared after her for a minute, then shook his head to clear his thoughts. *She must be new,* he thought. *Everyone knows you're not supposed to walk around the base at night.* Then he remembered why he was there and quickly yanked open the door before he had a little accident.
The characters are not mine, they belong to TNT, History Channel, Zev Braun, etc.
Winds of Change
Chapter 1: The Turning of a Page
The first thing LT. Goldman saw as the chopper blades slowly came to a halt, was about thirteen young women get out of the helicopter and rush to the nearest building. It had only been three months, but he still hated seeing new people brought into Vietnam, men or women. Shoot, he was "green" himself, as Sgt. Anderson would say. He was frustrated with himself, because he hadn't learned everything yet, but he new that would take time. He was also aware that everyone had to work as a team and depend on each other in order to make it out alive. That was one area good ol' Myron was working on, he had a tendency to be fiercely independent, sometimes a little to much for his own good. That's why Anderson irritated him so much at times, he always seemed so confident of his abilities. Just then, a hand on his shoulder shook him out of his reverie.
"Excuse me," a voice said softly behind him. He turned around to see a young woman staring at him.
"Yeah," he said gruffly.
"I'm new here," and she pointed to the helicopter. "I just got off the helicopter, and I'm not sure"...
"Which building to go to," L.T. finished with a slight smirk.
"Actually, no, I'm not sure who to report to," she said with a shrug. She turned around, a smug smile on her face.
"Hang on a sec," she heard him say behind her. The young woman turned around to face the Lt. again. "Hang a right at the next building, then go straight ahead. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," she said politely.
"Are you one of the nurses that was supposed to fly in?" he asked in surprise.
"No," she said. "I'm a donut dolly."
"If your a donut dolly, I'm a special forces agent," he muttered to himself.
"Did you say something?" she asked, turning back towards him.
"Huh, uh no," he said thoughtfully.
She shrugged, "What an odd fellow," she said thoughtfully, as she walked away.
He watched intrigued, as she trudged through the sand-filled wind that more incoming copters had stirred up. *I've got to learn how to behave around women,* he thought, shaking his head as he walked back to his hooch.
As she crawled into bed, in the all girls hooch, she couldn't help but feel bad about her first encounter with a soldier. She was a donut girl for crying out loud, it was her job to be nice, and perky all the time. That was definitely not a problem for her, but she was tired and nervous. The last thing she needed was some smart-aleck soldier making it harder for her. She fell into a troubled sleep, lost in her thoughts.
Next morning:
She woke up to the sun shining on her face, but as she looked down at her yellow night gown, she realized that her whole body was bathed in the sunlight. She jerked her head up to see a gigantic whole in the wall. She surveyed the room, and found she was surrounded by dead bodies... She woke up with a muffled scream, her yellow nightgown drenched in sweat. *I need some air she thought,* as she put on her robe.
She walked out into the humid air. She decided a walk around the base might be nice, kind of get a feel for everything.
Within 20 min. she had walked half way around the base, when she heard a gruff voice call out to her, "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, little missy?" She turned around to see a bulky figure in the shadows, but she didn't miss the smile on his face. She smiled back in return.
"I just needed some air, that's all." She swallowed hard, and stuck out her hand, "My name is Annie."
"Name's Zeke," he said as he grasped her outstretched hand. "It's not safe to take strolls around the base at night. NVA bombings are prevalent at night."
"NVA what?" Annie asked.
"North Vietnamese Army," Zeke explained.
"Oh," she said quietly. "Thanks for the warning."
"By the way," she said quietly, "where are the restrooms?"
Zeke laughed lightly, "Restrooms, try port-a-potties," he said with a grin.
"Your serious?" she asked unbelievingly. He nodded. "Straight ahead and to the left. Can't miss the smell, I mean er them." She gave him a funny look, then headed toward the bathrooms. When she reached the port-o-potties, she couldn't believe it. There were 2 of them lined up, side-by-side. Instead of the plastic ones she pictured, they were made of crudely cut wood.
She knocked on the one directly in front of her, only to hear a voice say, "I'm in here, sorry."
She didn't hear any movement from inside the other stall, so she risked it and yanked open door. *whew, no one's here,* she thought. Just as she settled herself on the seat, she heard a scurrying sound beneath her- she got up and saw a dark object crawl out of the toilet. She almost screamed and she covered a hand over her mouth to keep from doing so. She realized it was a roach or a Palmetto bug, as her dad called it. The only time she had seen "Palmetto bugs" back home was outside. She had never seen one inside before.
Just then she heard a slightly hoarse voice from outside say, "Oh, come on, hurry up would ya!" She quickly did her business and opened the door. She would never forgot the guys face staring back at her. *Not in a million years,* she thought with a laugh. Even in the dark Annie could see the man's clear, light blue eyes staring back at her. She wanted to reach out and gently close his jaw, which was hanging open. She smiled brightly at him, "I didn't mean to take so long," she said lightly.
"Oh my apologies ma' m, I didn't realize that, I mean I thought it was a soldier," he finished lamely.
"Oh, it's no problem," she said brightly. "By the way, my name's Annie," she said as she made her way back to the hooch. The young man just stared after her for a minute, then shook his head to clear his thoughts. *She must be new,* he thought. *Everyone knows you're not supposed to walk around the base at night.* Then he remembered why he was there and quickly yanked open the door before he had a little accident.