The Worth of Souls Page 11

  The woman motioned them to form a line and follow her. The girls meekly followed down the corridor. Not a sound was heard aside from the shuffling feet. They passed the room that earlier had the pleasant smells of food and incense. They approached a door located on the opposite side of the corridor. Here they were ushered in. It was a room with hoses and a slit trench toilet. They were directed to wash and dry using coarse, thin towels provided them. They also could do personal calls of nature as needed. There were small bars of homemade soap that had a bitter smell, but helped remove the dirt, sweat, urine and other foreign matter.

  As they completed the burdens of cursory hygiene, two strange men and a woman came into the room. Most had modestly covered their bodies before they came in, but a few of the younger girls had not completed the task. The older girls helped the younger ones. The men observed and said nothing to the woman that accompanied them. Then, just as quickly they left together. The remaining woman urged the girls in a scolding manner to hurry.

  Once more they were marched across the corridor to the dining area. Here they were told to take seats. The matronly woman that before brought them to their meal and medical checkup stood in front of the girls. She commanded that all who had bandages on sores were to go into the first aid room and have those re-dressed to avoid infection from the water and bathing routine. To the girls, time meant nothing and no one could have guessed it had been almost 5 hours since they ate and had the crude medical checkup. One of the women they previously saw came in and re-bandaged sores. At least it wasn’t the inept, dirty so-called doctor. They were then returned to the dining room.

  The next move startled the girls. First, they were told to stand against the wall and arrange themselves by height. After that they were divided into two groups with every other girl being placed in the new group. Each of the two groups was marched out and directed down the corridor. Here they saw their bundles of personal belongings on the floor. They were directed to pick up their belongings. A small shuffle-like sound occurred as personal belongs were sought and picked up.

  The two groups were then moved to separate sleeping rooms, this time with lights and bunk beds in each room. The smells were different too. Instead of urine, feces and vomit, the rooms smelled more inviting with floral smells that almost seemed fresh. Each girl suddenly felt they were being taken away from the wretched world of prisoner into the world of detained guest.

  Each room consisted of two, 4-drawer chests of drawers, four sets of bunk beds, 8 mattresses, 8 pillows, a chamber pot, an oscillating fan and an overhead light bulb that had to be at least 50-watts. In short, it was heaven compared to where they’d last spent the previous night and the last month. The floors were stark cement with paint marks and spills, but the rooms seemed cooler as the room’s air moved. Little did they know that this was all part of the separation plan to cause the girls to cease to want to escape. The girls settled themselves and their roommates into their new accommodations. Very little was said, but what was said was excited and positive.

  After about an hour, the matronly woman quickly opened the door startling the group. She was unannounced. She motioned for those of that room to line up outside in the corridor and follow her. Once the girls arranged themselves and were quiet, she headed down to the dining room. They saw they were alone. The other girls were not there. There were only six chairs.

  This time, however, they were fed a very salty broth soup with some small chopped vegetables in it. This was followed by more rice and dried fish with a very hot, spicy sauce. The tea they were served was all they were permitted to drink besides the salty broth. Each girl was so thirsty that they did their best to continue to drink as much of the semi-sweet jasmine tea as they could. Fortunately it was luke-warm and it helped offset the burning of the fiery, fish sauce. They were also given salt crusted wafers much like soda crackers they were all familiar with. Their salt-starved bodies wolfed down the crackers. They ate numerous crackers to offset the spicy fish and drank copious amounts of tea. What they did not know was that finally there would be minimal cramping in their legs and arms from lack of salt in their bodies.

  As before, they were commanded to stand and march in file back to their new “dorm room.” They did not see the other girls and could not tell whether they were still in the building or not. What they could not know was the men that had interrupted their bath and personal time before, were watching them from behind the mirrored glass on the far wall of the makeshift dining room.

  The other group of six received the same exact treatment and was fed the same fare. They also were observed by the men from the adjacent room. These girls did not know where their fellow prisoners were either.

  By this time, it was getting close to sundown. At sundown, all activity in Phnom Penh ceased due to curfews. Outward activity in the building also was reduced to a bare minimum. Loud sounds were avoided. The activities in this building were definitely against the law. This was the time for the traffickers as well as the children to be afraid. If anything seemed suspicious or irregular, the Army would enter by destroying and killing all within. This part of town was still in the control of the despot Pol Pot and his army, but things could change at any moment. While better for the girls, there was much to be fearful of. At least they had not been accosted by the evil man from the night before. In fact they did not know where he went.

  Chapter 13

  SEALS Invade Cambodia

  Tay Ninh, South Vietnam

  The unmarked, double rotored CH-46 set down with a bump. It was evident that the pilots were Navy fly-boys. They had been trained to put the bird on the deck with authority. Solid land was no different than a pitching deck.

  The fifteen SEALS and LT Kevin “Spoke” Marks, their assigned Intelligence Officer, made their way off the aircraft and single-filed themselves to the line shack.

  This was not the first time Spoke had been in this building. This time, however, he did not have the noticeable smell of tiger poop as his cologne. That had been Spoke’s first field operation; a look at a potentially devastating site for a gun/missile emplacement. He became so wrapped in his part of the operation that he totally forgot that there were bad guys looking to kill him. He was caught off-guard and when he quickly dove for cover, hit the foul-smelling tiger leavings.

  LCDR Randy “Bee” Rogers, Detachment Commanding Officer, also was on that operation. He smiled to himself remembering the razzing from the rest of the team about the event. To his credit, Spoke took it in style and proved he could take as well as dish out the team’s humor. It went a long way to solidifying his position with the other SEALS.

  That was then, this was now. They had a job to do. It had to be done and lives once again hung in the balance. From the flight line shack, they were taken to a briefing room using a 5-ton truck. Disembarking the truck they filed into the briefing room shedding their gear against a wall.

  Spoke then detailed the overall plan.

  Phase One: There would be two teams that would enter Cambodia. Each team would move to a predetermined location, rendezvousing approximately 18 hours later. That rendezvous would be three hours from Phnom Penh. They were to avoid all contact with anyone until the rendezvous.

  Phase Two: Once combined, they would move to the determined location where the hostages were supposed to be held captive. This was based on past knowledge of human trafficking. A significant amount of gold also passed hands covertly from an undisclosed U.S. State Department operative to a willing member of the Pol Pot regime; an Army Colonel . The agreed terms were that the team would be permitted three hours to recover the hostages and get to a prearranged location for extraction. After those three hours, all agreements ended and they would be shot if captured.

  Phase Three: Once clear of the hostage location, signals would be given to execute the recovery with a HH-53C “Super Jolly Green Giant.” This was at a predetermined location.

  Phase Four: The flight was to go as quickly as possible under USAF CAP aircraft direc
t to Saigon and medical attention for the hostages. There would also be the required debrief of hostages and team members.

  All members were to assume the hostages would be females and may only have minimal clothing. Personal health conditions were also in question. Therefore, each man was to carry extra first aid supplies as well as lightweight Mylar ponchos and blankets for the hostages. The ponchos were simply two sheets of the Mylar with a matrix of nylon mesh between them. They had a slit in the middle for their heads. Cords would be used to tie the ponchos around the waist to help maintain modesty and mobility. The color was opaque dark green. Simple but effective.

  The real concern was whether the Cambodian informant decided the finders fee, naturally paid in gold, was really not enough and he’d just keep it for himself or forget what it was for. There also was the matter of telling the bad guys to avoid shooting the good guys. It was not unheard of for both to have happened in the past. Anyway, it was a State Department/CIA responsibility, not theirs. Their duty would be to find and remove the hostages.

  Next, Bee stood and directed the squad make-up. He and Spoke would be in the same squad. Sr Chief LaMonde would head the second squad. Each squad had one M-60 machine gunner and three M-79 mortar launchers. Three of the newer M-16 rifles, three M-14 rifles and one M-870 shotgun rounded out the weapon load-out. The M-79 operators also had the newer, lightweight M-16 weapons. Hand grenades and extra ammo meant each man had close to 80 pounds of equipment on them. This was not unheard of, but it meant water breaks were a necessity. Spoke naturally had his MAC-10. Each also had a 45 auto handgun as well.

  The XO, Swede Swolchowski, was to meet the team on the HH-53 along with 6 or 7 medics, two doctors and two nurses. There would also be the aircrew which included two waist gunners, crew chief, pilot and co-pilot and flight engineer.

  Their jump-off was to be in eight hours. This meant getting to the Mekong River and meeting their transportation to the respective jump-off sites; not impossible, but close. They knew much depended on luck as well as skill.

  Rendezvous With Fast Boats

  Two U.S. Navy PBR Fast Boats met each team at 1800 hours at the prearranged locations on the river; four all total. Each boat accommodated four SEALS and their equipment. There they turned up river to their assigned jump-off points. The most perilous concern was being discovered by Viet Cong troops using the Mekong River as their reconnaissance points and river crossings along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

  As if rehearsed in real time, all 16 men boarded the riverine craft and were away in less than 3 minutes. Each man kept as low as possible so as not to alert anyone along the banks hiding in the jungle. The bow gunner on the PBR watched closely as well. His orders were simple. Do not fire unless fired upon using only enough firepower to halt any action. This was to be as covert as possible. Night was coming on fast and meant the boats would have to slow to a crawl.

  Finally, the first turn was made into a tributary flowing from the south into the Mekong. Squad One was to continue upstream for an additional hour while Squad Two was deposited on the left bank.

  Squad One’s boat crawled upstream for another hour and then deposited its warriors on the left bank of the small river. The left bank was closest to Phnom Penh and meant they would not have to cross the river to get to their rendezvous point.

  Night sounds enveloped them. Smells of brackish water and decaying vegetation assaulted the noses of the SEALS. Occasional sounds of a lone tiger reminded them that this was indeed a wild jungle. They moved in single file, one man at the point some 50 yards ahead. Another man trailing by 30 or so yards. This ensured no one would accidentally be surprised enough to open fire without checking in and making sure all were aware of possible concerns.

  At the first water stop, Spoke and Bee conferred with each other. Bee then addressed the remainder of their squad regarding progress. While stopped, men scraped their legs with their knives, dislodging leeches. These came from the brackish water they’d been in as well as small irrigation channels they had to cross or move through. Hopefully, using waterways as a tactic would confuse any use of dogs were the Cambodians to accidentally discover the SEALS.

  Bee felt most fortunate not to have run into any opposition from the Khmer Rouge or Cambodian Government Army. Both would have taken significant issue with any intruders regardless of their good intentions. After all, this amounted to “an invasion” by the US, or so the political leaders would spin it. It did not matter that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong did it all the time, escaping and hiding from formal prosecution by US troops inside Cambodia and Laos to the north. The NVA and VC attacked at will throughout SE Asia regardless where they went. National boarders meant nothing except as a way to hide from those military forces that followed the rules of war. There was significant fear of the NVA and VC soldiers. Not so for the US since their own press would crucify any of the U.S. military actions. This was win-win for North Vietnam.

  Bee ordered a position change with a new point man and trailing man. Again they moved toward the rendezvous location. Moving away from the river and inland a little, the squad continued. As they did so, the air became less noxious. The mosquitoes continued to drain blood from them, but more frequent minor air currents helped put the flying blood-suckers at bey.

  Several times, the squad came across huts; signs of life of local farmers. The concern was not engaging or destroying those people, but being discovered which would possibly ruin the chance to find the girls.

  Several hours passed. Their compasses kept them aimed at the all important rendezvous point. Two water breaks later, they again conferred. It appeared they were within an hour of their first goal.

  About 30 minutes later, the squad encountered several huts clustered together. This meant they were south of where they needed to be. They were sure they had passed it in the dark. A crude highway wound past the hamlet and confirmed they were headed the wrong direction. They did an about face and moved back into the jungle.

  A half hour passed and they stopped again. This time they checked their location more closely. If all was as it seemed, they were less than a quarter mile from the rendezvous point. Bee chose to wait here. The SEALS moved out into a semi-circular formation and watched for any movement.

  The appointed rendezvous time was in less than an hour, and dawn was beginning to lighten the sky. Early morning clouds gave the sky an eery glow of light gray accented with pink streaks. Soon farmers would be out and about and moving everything from buffalo-drawn carts to motorized vehicles. People would be out in the jungle as well as in the hamlets and cities.

  The radio crackled with a prearranged Morse Code signal. This was followed with a second signal. Three minutes later, a voice broke radio silence identifying itself as Romeo. They smiled and responded just as quickly that Juliet was waiting in the bushes for Romeo.

  Time continued to drag on. 10 minutes later another signal confirmed that Romeo was also in the bushes looking for Juliet. The highway was not where the rendezvous point was. Thinking on the fly, the teams modified the plan with Juliet coming through the bushes looking for Romeo. Romeo was to remain stationary. The SEALS that heard the exchange smiled and motioned for all to return to Bee. Here they would remain waiting for Juliet.

  The urge to continue the lighthearted banter was almost more than the squads could stand. If not for the seriousness of the situation, they might have continued by changing frequencies and teasing each other. Fortunately they were professionals and quit the banter.

  When sighted, the two squads identified themselves with light signals. Next they quietly met and turned toward Phnom Penh. The location was inside the city limits and was marked with two military trucks. The foot travel to the meeting point was strained as each sought to verify friend or foe and not be caught. Crucial detail was not to compromise the op with a stupid mistake.

  The combined squads continued adjacent to the road just inside the jungle curtain. Quietly they moved with time on their side. The overland part of
the operation was ahead of schedule. This allowed them to move more cautiously. They planned to be at the meeting point early anyway to ensure those that met them weren’t accompanied by bad guys.

  Carefully and cautiously they advanced through the outskirts of the city. Moving in ones and twos, they moved from street to street. Soon the burned out buildings of a former warehouse district heralded the meeting point. They did not want to continue too far into the city for fear of discovery. Hence, the use of Cambodian military trucks that could be covered and nondescript enough so as not to raise any concerns.

  Bee halted the group and motioned two men to head for one of the burned out buildings. This building had a second story vantage point. Here they would establish an over-watch position. Such lookouts would verify that there were no unwanted troops waiting to kill the Americans. The remainder of the SEALS waited in the dark shadows of the early morning near another burned out building.

  They did not have to wait long. Less than 10 minutes later, a truck loaded with soldiers pulled up and disgorged its contents. The soldiers moved to a loose perimeter to permit enough room for another truck to arrive. This truck was empty. A man climbed out of the cab. He wore the uniform of the Cambodian Army. His rank was Colonel. He stood by the front of the truck and looked at his watch. Next he lit a cigarette and leaned against the fender.

  Two American soldiers, SEALS, approached him and said something. He regarded them and walked to the rear of the first truck. He commanded one of the men to open the rear canvas covering. He then pointed to the rear of the second truck and obviously said for them to open its back as well. This completed, he stood by the rear of the second truck and looked at his watch again.

  Bee motioned for Sr Chief LaMonde to make contact. The over-watch SEALS waited and watched for any signs of treachery. Sr Chief approached the Colonel and gave the prearranged recognition code. The Colonel waved his hand as if swatting at a fly, dismissing the SEAL. The other Cambodian soldiers glared at the SEAL and while making no overt effort to cause hostilities, watched as he went behind a corner of the adjacent building.