bandaged people, built fires and looked over our
supplies. We separated out the dead men. We were situated just as
night fall came. I...” Mike’s eyes filled. “We lost a couple men
that night.”
Valerie slipped her hand into his. He looked
into her smile and love filled eyes then gave a soft smile.
“ We were perched on this
rocky ledge. We couldn’t stay there. No way. We only had the water
and food we scavenged from the wreckage. We decided to split up. We
built a shelter for the men who couldn’t travel and gave them most
of our food and water.”
“ Why didn’t the Army come
for you?” the interviewer asked.
“ We think of the world as
easily accessible. But the Army wasn’t sure where we went down.
They sent someone for us immediately but it was eight hours to
where we started then another twelve to where we refueled
then...”
Mike shrugged.
“ We’ve talked to a couple
of the men who were left behind,” the interviewer said. “They said
the Army arrived three days after you left.”
“ Three days,” Mike said.
“The guys had food and water for a day, maybe two.”
“ But they survived. Every
one of them said they survived because of you. You made a fire from
a stick?”
“ Well, yeah, that’s what
you’re supposed to do. You settle in and wait.” Mike
shrugged.
“ The Army searched for
you,” the interviewer said. “They never found you. What
happened?”
“ We set off to find water
and food. That meant we had to head down off the mountain. We
weren’t in the greatest shape so the going was slow. But we were
Army hardened. We stumbled, fell, walked for as long as we could
stay on our feet. We made camp the first night.”
“ What about your GPS and
equipment?”
“ Most of our equipment was
destroyed in the crash. And you can ask anybody about GPS in the
mountains. When it works, it’s inaccurate about 60% of the time. We
couldn’t get a signal and the map was wrong.
“ That first night, we
dropped most of our possessions. I kept food, water and Valerie’s
pictures. I had the pictures in this pouch right next to my heart.
I knew exactly where I was going. I was hiking home… to
Valerie.
“ It never occurred to us
that someone was tracking us. In all my years in the Rockies, I
never saw anyone. But no one lives in caves in the
Rockies.
“ We were picked up about
two days into our hike.”
Mike stopped talking. For a moment, his mind
flooded with images.
“ I’ve thought a lot about
this,” Mike said. “We invaded their land, their country. I’ve
thought about how I’d feel if I found three foreign soldiers in the
middle of the Rockies or walking down the street… We… Anyway, they
took us back to their camp.
“ There was a lot of
yelling, hitting, and all the stuff you can imagine. They wanted to
know why we were there and we wouldn’t tell them. Truth was that we
weren’t supposed to be there. But why would they believe us? By the
time they hiked to the crash site, the Army had been there and
gone. The Army took everything – men, chopper, everything. The Army
even cleaned up the char marks from the crash and the fire. When
they got back? The shit hit the fan.
Mike shrugged.
“ They sent someone to get
the head guy in their region. After the initial drama, things fell
into a normal pattern. It was hard for us Americans. We were used
to doing what we wanted when we wanted, even in the Army. We were
captives. We did what we were told.
“ The guys and I were
strong and capable. We knew someone would come for us eventually.
As long as we were of value to them, they fed us. So we worked and
worked and worked and worked.
“ I told you I had the
photos next to my heart. I didn’t know Val was pregnant. She was my
life, my heart, my soul. I... I just focused on the pictures. When
I was alone, I would take them out. She has this smile in those
pictures. A kind of, ‘I have a secret’ smile. I’d imagine we were
talking or laughing. Those pictures
supplies. We separated out the dead men. We were situated just as
night fall came. I...” Mike’s eyes filled. “We lost a couple men
that night.”
Valerie slipped her hand into his. He looked
into her smile and love filled eyes then gave a soft smile.
“ We were perched on this
rocky ledge. We couldn’t stay there. No way. We only had the water
and food we scavenged from the wreckage. We decided to split up. We
built a shelter for the men who couldn’t travel and gave them most
of our food and water.”
“ Why didn’t the Army come
for you?” the interviewer asked.
“ We think of the world as
easily accessible. But the Army wasn’t sure where we went down.
They sent someone for us immediately but it was eight hours to
where we started then another twelve to where we refueled
then...”
Mike shrugged.
“ We’ve talked to a couple
of the men who were left behind,” the interviewer said. “They said
the Army arrived three days after you left.”
“ Three days,” Mike said.
“The guys had food and water for a day, maybe two.”
“ But they survived. Every
one of them said they survived because of you. You made a fire from
a stick?”
“ Well, yeah, that’s what
you’re supposed to do. You settle in and wait.” Mike
shrugged.
“ The Army searched for
you,” the interviewer said. “They never found you. What
happened?”
“ We set off to find water
and food. That meant we had to head down off the mountain. We
weren’t in the greatest shape so the going was slow. But we were
Army hardened. We stumbled, fell, walked for as long as we could
stay on our feet. We made camp the first night.”
“ What about your GPS and
equipment?”
“ Most of our equipment was
destroyed in the crash. And you can ask anybody about GPS in the
mountains. When it works, it’s inaccurate about 60% of the time. We
couldn’t get a signal and the map was wrong.
“ That first night, we
dropped most of our possessions. I kept food, water and Valerie’s
pictures. I had the pictures in this pouch right next to my heart.
I knew exactly where I was going. I was hiking home… to
Valerie.
“ It never occurred to us
that someone was tracking us. In all my years in the Rockies, I
never saw anyone. But no one lives in caves in the
Rockies.
“ We were picked up about
two days into our hike.”
Mike stopped talking. For a moment, his mind
flooded with images.
“ I’ve thought a lot about
this,” Mike said. “We invaded their land, their country. I’ve
thought about how I’d feel if I found three foreign soldiers in the
middle of the Rockies or walking down the street… We… Anyway, they
took us back to their camp.
“ There was a lot of
yelling, hitting, and all the stuff you can imagine. They wanted to
know why we were there and we wouldn’t tell them. Truth was that we
weren’t supposed to be there. But why would they believe us? By the
time they hiked to the crash site, the Army had been there and
gone. The Army took everything – men, chopper, everything. The Army
even cleaned up the char marks from the crash and the fire. When
they got back? The shit hit the fan.
Mike shrugged.
“ They sent someone to get
the head guy in their region. After the initial drama, things fell
into a normal pattern. It was hard for us Americans. We were used
to doing what we wanted when we wanted, even in the Army. We were
captives. We did what we were told.
“ The guys and I were
strong and capable. We knew someone would come for us eventually.
As long as we were of value to them, they fed us. So we worked and
worked and worked and worked.
“ I told you I had the
photos next to my heart. I didn’t know Val was pregnant. She was my
life, my heart, my soul. I... I just focused on the pictures. When
I was alone, I would take them out. She has this smile in those
pictures. A kind of, ‘I have a secret’ smile. I’d imagine we were
talking or laughing. Those pictures
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