attempted to peek over the top and locate the snipers' position. Hathcock took a short breath and held it, bringing his scope's reticle on the black tuft. Slowly he tightened his grip around the small of the rifle stock and began squeezing the trigger.
Burke winced as Hathcock's bullet struck the soldier's skull, showering the young NVA troops who huddled beside him with blood, bone, and brains. The sudden bloody shower sent a dozen soldiers scurrying down the wall toward the east-em end, and Burke followed them with three shots from his M-14.
Hathcock shot once more and sent two soldiers dashing from the dike's east end toward the distant huts. Both snipers concentrated their fire toward the middle section of the wall as more of the soldiers saw the escape unfolding and followed their brothers' lead.
"Call the artillery, Burke."
Burke called the fire mission, instructing the battery to fire for effect.
"Let's go," Hathcock said.
Both men moved quickly up the ridge and began their trek around Dong Den to their rendezvous with the patrol that would take them back to the fire base and their helicopter ride home.
The two Marines walked up Hill 55 toward the operations tent.
"You two look like shit!" the stocky intelligence chief called out to the pair. Between laughs he said, "The word's out on you two-all the way up to General Walt. Pinning down those NVA like that. What were they, a Boy Scout troop?"
"Durn near, I suppose," Hathcock responded. "Their big mistake was walking smack down the middle of that valley. I was going to watch the other side of the river where mat opening runs between the hills at the big turn. I had that all staked out to catch a patrol crossing there.
"When these hamburgers come marching down the middle of the valley-on my side-just like a Saint Patrick's Day parade, I knew I had them. But one thing that I can't figure out is why didn't they move out at night. All they had to do was run out to the river and jump in. I couldn't have gotten more than a dozen of them like that. They kept going for those huts that sit on the east end of the bend, you know, just out of the trees where that ridge runs down into the valley.
"I let that woik in my favor when we had to pull out. We called in the fire mission and dropped over the ridge. We never saw what happened, but I know plenty of artillery dusted them at those huts, if the rounds were on target."
The gunny put his arm over Hathcock's shoulder and said, "Come on in my house. We'll debrief and I'll tell you about that artillery mission."
The three Marines sat down inside the tent. Hathcock took a cigarette from the gunny's pack, which lay open on the field desk, and lit up.
"What about that artillery."
The gunny chuckled and said, "You boys were real smart getting out before the H-Es* hit-all over that valley. You probably would have taken a few. When Lance Corporal Burke radioed for the fire mission and said 'fire for effect,' they did. Those cannon cockers opened every gun they had and hit every one of your on-call targets at both ends of the valley... and everything in between, too.
"By the time the shooting stopped and the sweep team got in there, that NVA company scattered over every mountain around that valley, and they may still be running. The sweep team picked up one prisoner. And nobody can make heads or tails of any kind of body count out there."
"What did the prisoner have to say?" Hathcock asked.
"Well, that company was close to being a troop of Boy Scouts. They had just finished training in the north when their captain-whom you killed right out of the gate-marched them south to join up with an NVA battalion that was supposed to be waiting for them on the north side of Elephant Valley.
"We had pretty well ground that particular battalion down to nothing in the past two weeks-they needed these guys bad. But not bad enough to come down and face whatever it
Burke winced as Hathcock's bullet struck the soldier's skull, showering the young NVA troops who huddled beside him with blood, bone, and brains. The sudden bloody shower sent a dozen soldiers scurrying down the wall toward the east-em end, and Burke followed them with three shots from his M-14.
Hathcock shot once more and sent two soldiers dashing from the dike's east end toward the distant huts. Both snipers concentrated their fire toward the middle section of the wall as more of the soldiers saw the escape unfolding and followed their brothers' lead.
"Call the artillery, Burke."
Burke called the fire mission, instructing the battery to fire for effect.
"Let's go," Hathcock said.
Both men moved quickly up the ridge and began their trek around Dong Den to their rendezvous with the patrol that would take them back to the fire base and their helicopter ride home.
The two Marines walked up Hill 55 toward the operations tent.
"You two look like shit!" the stocky intelligence chief called out to the pair. Between laughs he said, "The word's out on you two-all the way up to General Walt. Pinning down those NVA like that. What were they, a Boy Scout troop?"
"Durn near, I suppose," Hathcock responded. "Their big mistake was walking smack down the middle of that valley. I was going to watch the other side of the river where mat opening runs between the hills at the big turn. I had that all staked out to catch a patrol crossing there.
"When these hamburgers come marching down the middle of the valley-on my side-just like a Saint Patrick's Day parade, I knew I had them. But one thing that I can't figure out is why didn't they move out at night. All they had to do was run out to the river and jump in. I couldn't have gotten more than a dozen of them like that. They kept going for those huts that sit on the east end of the bend, you know, just out of the trees where that ridge runs down into the valley.
"I let that woik in my favor when we had to pull out. We called in the fire mission and dropped over the ridge. We never saw what happened, but I know plenty of artillery dusted them at those huts, if the rounds were on target."
The gunny put his arm over Hathcock's shoulder and said, "Come on in my house. We'll debrief and I'll tell you about that artillery mission."
The three Marines sat down inside the tent. Hathcock took a cigarette from the gunny's pack, which lay open on the field desk, and lit up.
"What about that artillery."
The gunny chuckled and said, "You boys were real smart getting out before the H-Es* hit-all over that valley. You probably would have taken a few. When Lance Corporal Burke radioed for the fire mission and said 'fire for effect,' they did. Those cannon cockers opened every gun they had and hit every one of your on-call targets at both ends of the valley... and everything in between, too.
"By the time the shooting stopped and the sweep team got in there, that NVA company scattered over every mountain around that valley, and they may still be running. The sweep team picked up one prisoner. And nobody can make heads or tails of any kind of body count out there."
"What did the prisoner have to say?" Hathcock asked.
"Well, that company was close to being a troop of Boy Scouts. They had just finished training in the north when their captain-whom you killed right out of the gate-marched them south to join up with an NVA battalion that was supposed to be waiting for them on the north side of Elephant Valley.
"We had pretty well ground that particular battalion down to nothing in the past two weeks-they needed these guys bad. But not bad enough to come down and face whatever it