The Bandido
Prolouge (part 2 of 3)
At least once a week, Dad, Barbara, and I get together and share a bottle of wine. The opportunity to spend time together is a heartwarming, special occasion each and every week. But when we’re unable to join up because of some other commitment, let’s just say, it’s a doggie downer moment. Because when we do pour those three glasses, conversations are lively, fun, and enjoyable. The best part: I’ve gotten to know Dad more in the toasts than I ever did growing up. Nothing like live versus Memorex. And yes, one can tell the difference. Anyway, in one of our recent get-togethers, he commented about my love of “cowboy” and how it came to be. Dad couldn’t understand where the passion came from. Well, duh, when one is “outfitted” before they even turn one, it kind of sets the life stage of what one carries into adulthood. Conversely, one has to ask why the giver, if they were not of the same vein, what their intent was? And, yes, there it is. From the shootout at the OK Corral to the Lincoln County Range War; Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid proved tenacity, grit, courage, and Draw! As such, the concept of fighter pilots believing they were gunfighters comes to the reality of life. So, I present part 2 of prologue for your enjoyment:
With the mission briefed and the pre-flights performed, the flight set out. In route, they did not encounter any ground fire, fighter aircraft, or SAMs (surface to air missile) during their time to target. Things appeared to be an easy-in, destroy, and RTB (return to base). Although, once over the target area, conditions changed rapidly and dramatically. The VC (Viet Cong) needed the supplies, the flight needed to be eliminated. In an instant, the sky erupted with anti-aircraft fire trying to destroy the fighters before their first attack while Chico set parameters. Runs would consist of aircrews laying their ordinance ahead of the previous aircraft’s run, covering a wider area, hopefully destroying the depot entirely.
Everything confirmed, flying Lead, Chico started his attack. With the enemy fire now concentrated on his aircraft, including small arms, he delivered his bombs. Surviving, he pulled up and out, but noticed a water tower and informed the others: “Be careful.” Knowing this was a bombing run, number Three charged his Gatling gun, hoping to strafe the tower if it was still standing after his pass. Two committed, released, and pulled up, leaving the target area. Thinking about survival and the enemy’s destruction, Three attacked. And there was the water tower, intact.
Now, the squadron had already lost four pilots. Young men taken out in the prime of life. So, with his finger on the trigger, contemplating the loss of his friends, Three strafed the tower. In combat, it’s called “firing a shot in anger.” Once Four completed his run, leveling the target, the crew went “feet wet,” checking each other over, and RTB.
Back at CRB (Cam Ranh Bay), the ground crews moved in to repair any damage, prepping the Phantoms for another mission while the aircrews filled out reports. During debrief, Three mentioned the water tower and strafing it, despoiling the enemy’s water supply. Without thinking, Three violated an ROE (rule of engagement). Pilots could not touch the enemy’s water supply while attacking. Yet, killing them with bombs, rockets, or cannon fire was permitted. Hell, even dousing the VC with napalm, so those remaining after the blast could be burned alive was legal tender. But destroy their water supply? Nope! As warriors, their mission was to kill the aggressor, but only in certain ways. Pilots could be court-martialed violating ROE, then sent home in disgrace. And all they were trying to do was defeat an enemy their commander in chief asked them to destroy.
Chico also discovered he was fighting a multi-fronted war: one was against an ill-defined elusive enemy. The other, an ambiguous set of rules his own government imposed. In the heat of trying to survive, the warrior was expected to know them, understand the intent thereof, and stay in compliance with the myriad of regulations put before him while engaged in combat. So went Vietnam! Air combat and the governing rules were evolving into a complex game of risk, unlike the old days of takeoff, shoot at or bomb anything in enemy territory, and RTB.
Well, going even farther back into the past, when Chico enlisted, equal opportunity, affirmative action, and civil rights were not in the vernacular of political intervention. If one wanted something, they earned it. In life, being of Mexican descent, Chico had to claw his way through by working hard, with strong perseverance, and outright fealty while sacrificing everything else.