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| Category:
Conflicts/Vietnam |
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Viet
Nam Patrol 2; another day at the office for
a Crunchie |
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<<
Infantry Combat Badge. This is how you earn one |
| OK We're
on patrol. The choppers have dropped us on a cold LZ. So . . . are
we into jungle, rubber, bamboo, padi, flat land or the hills? |
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This is rubber. It
happens to be the Courtenay Plantation, but, it could just as easily be Long Tan. Can
you see your mates. They are there. Try to find six of them. Not easy, is it?
Charlie is harder to spot. He's hiding. |
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| This
is bamboo. Life just goes from bad to worse, don't it? |
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| Now
you're in the J. Well ! Bamboo and rubber start to look good, with
hindsight. Victor Charles might be 5 meters away and you could
miss seeing him. Of course if you do, someone, probably you, will be
dead. Be careful now. Oh, by the way, the poison of the snakes around
here is deadly. |
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| Sh---it;
here is a break in the canopy. Charlie loves to ambush these as they
might be useful to you as a place to bring the choppers in for re-supply
or Dustoff. Extra care please. Don't get killed now. It spoils your whole
day if you get shot. |
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| Bloody
Hell. Why does God hate us? What a bloody awful crossing place. Too
bloody obvious but there is no alternative. Watch for booby traps and
thank your lucky stars you are not the forward scout. Then again
sometimes they let a few through, everyone relaxes and then . . . |
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| OK.
You're out of the J, thank Christ, and back in rubber. There's a hut.
Might be perfectly harmless. Might be booby trapped. Might be home to an
"innocent" rubber worker who killed 2 blokes from Bravo Company last week. Now remember the rules of engagement. Do not fire
unless fired upon. Oh well. Everybody has to be somewhere and you're
here. Are you going in first or am I? Toss you for it. OK. Heads I win,
tails you lose. Make
bloody sure Bluey has the Gun cocked and ready to go. |
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| By
comparison to what we have been in, this is "open country".
Keep your eyes peeled. |
To continue
with the Patrol  |
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