Fright Night:
The night was alive with thunderous sounds, flares seemed to be tripping for no
reason at all. Cans that were hung upon the wire rattled constantly and it was
though we were doing a balancing act on the edge of a razor blade. The fog had
rolled in as the rain cooled the ground after another sweltering day in the Nam.
An eerie light cast shadows in the mist, though no-one could be seen just heard
, and we peered into the blinding cloud as it rolled in and surrounded our
position. Voices cried faintly in the distance, muffled and indistinguishable-
almost plaintiff as we listened.
Mutter one!, Mutter one!, came drifting in from the edge of the wire, and we
shouted, " who goes there" and no reply came back at us. Just a chill
that sent Goosebumps up and down our spines. No one told us of any patrols out,
and the password was familiar, but it was used months ago. We had not been
briefed of any changes in the current password. We wondered what was happening
and we continued to stare into the white blanket for shadows of the patrol.
My buddy called out to the hole next to ours, a radioman was present there. He
crawled to our position eyes wide and he was shaking all over. As he entered our
foxhole he asked if we had heard the call from the edge of the wire, we affirmed
that we had. " shit man, I'm calling in and finding out what the hells
going on", And he low crawled back to his position. He was mumbling all the
way and we could almost hear his bones rattling as he made his way back. Damn
this was not an ordinary night in the bush, this was scary as hell...
Mutter One! Mutter one! came drifting in on the fog. " Who goes there,
Answer me Marine, Who goes there? "Give us the Correct password or prepare
to die." I could hear the radio squelching from time to time , and I prayed
that someone would have an answer soon. The cans rattled more intensely and the
wire seemed to make sounds as though someone was dragging it. Or perhaps
crawling through it. " I don't know bout you my friend but I think it's
time to pop a Flare". We can't see shit in this fog but it may show us
something, Hell anything is better than this"
POP, and the flare sizzled into the air and exploded . The whole sky lit up from
the reflection of the fog. Then we saw them, Long shadows, dark within the fog,
A point man, and six other shadows stood up. The first man waved his arm as in a
forward movement and the shadows seemed to float in on the fog. " HALT WHO
GOES THERE" I shouted and the shadows kept coming. The fog around them
swirled yet I could still not see them clearly, They had the silhouettes of our
men, The outline of their helmets, the way they carried their guns, they moved
with confidence and with honor. I sat there numb , motionless as they came
forward. A frosty chill went up and down my soul, they passed right by our
position, and still the only thing I saw, was shadows. They drifted by,
silently. One of them stopped and I could feel the presence, I looked up and the
eyes were vacant, just two pieces of coal staring down at me , and then they
vanished.
The Radio man came slithering into our hole, I shouted DID YOU SEE EM" ? he
looked at me like I was crazy, He said " did I see what" And I
repeated, Did you see the patrol that just came in out of the fog. DID YOU SEE
THEM"? He said "calm down Marine , aint nobody been by here since
sundown" Oh and by the way, that call sign we heard earlier, It was from a
patrol who went out from Mutter Ridge a few months back. They disappeared after
all hell broke loose and have been listed as MIA since then, Freaky aint it.
" Man you better calm down, You look like you seen a ghost".... I
replied, " I have seen a ghost, In fact a whole squad of Ghost's, They were
the lost patrol of Mutter Ridge.......Somebody better wake me...This has been
fright night for me tonight....
Welcome Home- Mutter One, Welcome Home.....
Though this story is a work of fiction, The fact remains that Our POW's
and MIA's have not returned yet. We as a nation and as Veterans must never
rest until all of our Brothers are home. Keep them in your thoughts,
Keep them in your prayers, But most of all Keep them in your Heart.
Boondocker