AN AMERIND IN 'NAM
I served two tours of duty in Vietnam where I was assigned to a Ranger Battalion with duty as a demolition team leader. In my unit the lieutenants had their own ten man tent..There were two ten man tents which housed the twelve to fifteen lieutenants of the unit..In my tent I was the only none African American and I was the only person in my tent who did not drink..Ididn't drink because I can not drink due to being allergic to alcohol and even one sip can make me extremely sick.. My other tent buddies were great friends but they did like to drink beer in the tent and play card games until the wee hours of the morning..
On my first tour of duty I often went to bed early to try to sleep before departing on a next morning sunrise mission only not being able to sleep due to the noise the other tent members were making drinking beer and playing cards..I asked them many times to please find another place to drink and play cards so I could go on my missions which required me to pay close attention to detail and I received the same remarks each time I asked them..They told me to do a sexual act I am not capable of doing..One day after coming in off a mission and knowing I had another early morning departure the next morning I decided to remedy my situation so that I would be able to go to bed early and get some sleep.. I went to the base exchange and bought a can of cigarette lighter fluid and went into my tent while every other tent member was out doing their assigned mission..I proceeded to take apart five or six 45 caliber rounds and remove the gun powder from them..I next dug a small trench leading from my bunk to the area where I knew my tent mates would set up a card table and play cards after they got off duty.. I drew a pentagram near the area and connected the small trench to the pentagram..I filled the pentagram with a mixture of gun powder and cigarette lighter fluid and used lighter fluid to fill the trench leading from it back to my bunk..
About nine or ten aclock my tent mates came in after drinking and proceeded to sit up their folding card table to begin their nightly card game..I asked them to please hold down the noise because I had to leave early the next morning for a mission and they once again told me what I could do..I just sat up on the edge of my bunk and started rocking back and forth and chanting Ohh Prince Of Darkness come to my aid over and over again..I did this for three or four minutes and then I took out a match and struck it and set the small trench on fire..The flames very quickly made their way up to the pentagram..When the flame ignited the gunpowder cigarette lighter mixture a great almost moaning sound was heard and rising from the ground a green flame shot up making it look like some frightening thing was coming from the ground..my tent mates started screaming and almost wrecked the tent getting out..I even became scared and left the tent.. After I gained my composure I went back into the tent and crawled into my bunk and slept like a baby until my alarm clock went off..I spent the night alone in the tent because my tent mates refused to come back inside..When I came back from my mission I was told to report to the Colonel..I reported to the Colonel and he asked me if I was a Devil worshiper and I told him no why? He told me the other lieutenants in my tent was demanding I be given my own tent away from them..I told him what I did and why I did what I did and he said that was the greatest initiative he had ever seen displayed.. Instead of getting me into trouble my actions gained respect from all the others in my ranger unit and from that day on no one messed with me again..
My colonel went on to later become a four star general and he often told my story to others.. My Colonel was General Hollingsworth of which the character Rambo was based after..
--Running Fox
I served two tours of duty in Vietnam where I was assigned to a Ranger Battalion with duty as a demolition team leader. In my unit the lieutenants had their own ten man tent..There were two ten man tents which housed the twelve to fifteen lieutenants of the unit..In my tent I was the only none African American and I was the only person in my tent who did not drink..Ididn't drink because I can not drink due to being allergic to alcohol and even one sip can make me extremely sick.. My other tent buddies were great friends but they did like to drink beer in the tent and play card games until the wee hours of the morning..
On my first tour of duty I often went to bed early to try to sleep before departing on a next morning sunrise mission only not being able to sleep due to the noise the other tent members were making drinking beer and playing cards..I asked them many times to please find another place to drink and play cards so I could go on my missions which required me to pay close attention to detail and I received the same remarks each time I asked them..They told me to do a sexual act I am not capable of doing..One day after coming in off a mission and knowing I had another early morning departure the next morning I decided to remedy my situation so that I would be able to go to bed early and get some sleep.. I went to the base exchange and bought a can of cigarette lighter fluid and went into my tent while every other tent member was out doing their assigned mission..I proceeded to take apart five or six 45 caliber rounds and remove the gun powder from them..I next dug a small trench leading from my bunk to the area where I knew my tent mates would set up a card table and play cards after they got off duty.. I drew a pentagram near the area and connected the small trench to the pentagram..I filled the pentagram with a mixture of gun powder and cigarette lighter fluid and used lighter fluid to fill the trench leading from it back to my bunk..
About nine or ten aclock my tent mates came in after drinking and proceeded to sit up their folding card table to begin their nightly card game..I asked them to please hold down the noise because I had to leave early the next morning for a mission and they once again told me what I could do..I just sat up on the edge of my bunk and started rocking back and forth and chanting Ohh Prince Of Darkness come to my aid over and over again..I did this for three or four minutes and then I took out a match and struck it and set the small trench on fire..The flames very quickly made their way up to the pentagram..When the flame ignited the gunpowder cigarette lighter mixture a great almost moaning sound was heard and rising from the ground a green flame shot up making it look like some frightening thing was coming from the ground..my tent mates started screaming and almost wrecked the tent getting out..I even became scared and left the tent.. After I gained my composure I went back into the tent and crawled into my bunk and slept like a baby until my alarm clock went off..I spent the night alone in the tent because my tent mates refused to come back inside..When I came back from my mission I was told to report to the Colonel..I reported to the Colonel and he asked me if I was a Devil worshiper and I told him no why? He told me the other lieutenants in my tent was demanding I be given my own tent away from them..I told him what I did and why I did what I did and he said that was the greatest initiative he had ever seen displayed.. Instead of getting me into trouble my actions gained respect from all the others in my ranger unit and from that day on no one messed with me again..
My colonel went on to later become a four star general and he often told my story to others.. My Colonel was General Hollingsworth of which the character Rambo was based after..
--Running Fox