Page 35 of Cry Havoc

FOB 4

Command and Control North

Da Nang, South Vietnam

TOM GLANCED DOWN AThis cards. Things were not looking good.

They had landed in Da Nang hours earlier, turned their NVA prisoner over to the Marine interrogators, checked in with the overworked FOB 4 S3 operations officer, and got out from underfoot as soon as they confirmed their mission was complete. Their captive and his satchel had been turned over. Now it was time for five days of R&R.

They said goodbye to Amiuh, who split off for the Montagnard barracks while Quinn and Tom headed for a secure section of the compound belonging to Special Forces Detachment B-52, better known as Project Delta. Quinn had operated with the secretive unit in 1964 and again in 1966 before being assigned to MACV-SOG. Drinks were already flowing when they arrived as the Delta team celebrated a successful recon mission in the A Shau Valley. Even though they were three sheets to the wind, they were just getting started. Like all special operators, the men of Project Delta worked hard and played hard.

Just as Quinn had promised, the Delta Club was the most extravagant team room that Tom had yet seen in-country. A massive, paddedleather–sided mahogany bar complete with barstools stretched along the far side of the room. Expended shell casings were embedded in the leather to spell out DELTA HILTON in huge letters with the triangular Greek delta character between DELTA and HILTON. Two Vietnamese barmaids behind the counter served twenty-five-cent beers and slightly more expensive liquor. The centerpiece of the pub was a captured NVA 12.7mm machine gun with two protruding shoulder rests and antiaircraft spiderweb sights. Bottles of whiskey, scotch, and gin were arranged around it in a defensive perimeter.

Interspaced between sections of glass behind the well-stocked bar were paintings of beautiful naked women. The linchpin of the collection was a large signed and framed photo of Jo Collins, the 1965 Playboy Playmate of the Year, who had passed through Vietnam in 1966. It was signed “To the men of Project Delta, ‘GI Jo’ Collins.”

So much for secrecy, Tom thought.

Flanking the flagship photo were pictures of Miss Collins at various outposts in Vietnam, including the Special Forces camp at Nu Ba Den. Everything from Hueys to buses had been renamed Playboy Special and adorned with the Playboy logo in honor of her visit. Tom remembered the story well, as it had made headlines across the conflict zone. By the time Miss December touched down in Vietnam the entire country knew the story. It felt like the war had come to a stop with every unit hoping to catch a glimpse of the striking model who embodied everything they yearned for on the home front.

Every GI in theater owed Second Lieutenant Jack Price of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, a beer. He had scrounged together the $150 for a lifetimePlayboymagazine subscription on behalf of his company and sent Hugh Hefner a letter reminding him that the first issue of a lifetime subscription was to be delivered by a Playmate in person. The letter specifically requested that the bunny be Miss Collins.Playboycame through, and Jo Collins delivered Price themagazine in person, in his hospital bed at Bien Hoa where he was recovering from wounds sustained in battle. By the time she left Vietnam, she wasn’t known just for her striking beauty, but also for her bravery and heart, representing all that was good about America and bringing the promise of home to units far afield at great personal risk.

Plaques commemorating Leaping Lena, Hatchet Force, White Star, and Snakebite Teams were arranged on the walls of the club amongst captured AKs and SKSs, an RPD, a Montagnard crossbow, and an NVA flag. A jukebox blasted through forty-fives with tunes from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, The Animals, Edwin Starr, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Janis Joplin, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Even with the plush interior, they could not completely hide the fact that they were in Vietnam; the cigarette and cigar smoke had a hard time competing with the odor of urine emanating from the piss tubes behind the building.

One section of wall was adorned with a mural of the Special Forces Crest—a Second World War stiletto facing up over two crossed arrows along with the wordsDe Oppresso Liberat the base of an encircling black scroll. Latin forTo Free the Oppressed.Next to it was another mural that read:

THE SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER

AS SEEN BY:

(MACV-HQ) A DRUNKEN, BRAWLING, JEEP STEALING, WOMEN CORRUPTING LIAR WITH A STAR SAPPHIRE RING, SEIKO WATCH, AND A DEMO KNIFE.

(HIMSELF) A TALL, HANDSOME, HIGHLY TRAINED PROFESSIONAL KILLER, FEMALE IDOL, SAPPHIRE RING WEARING,DEMO KNIFE CARRYING GENTLEMAN WHO IS ALWAYS ON TIME DUE TO THE RELIABILITY OF HIS SEIKO WATCH.

(HIS WIFE) A STRIKING MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WHO COMES THROUGH FORT BRAGG ONCE A MONTH WITH A RUCKSACK FULL OF DIRTY CLOTHES AND A HARD ON.

(COMMANDER) A FINE SPECIMEN OF A DRUNKEN, BRAWLING, JEEP STEALING, WOMAN CORRUPTING LIAR WITH A STAR SAPPHIRE RING, SEIKO WATCH, AND A DEMO KNIFE.

(DEPT OF THE ARMY) AN OVERPAID, OVERRANKED TAX BURDEN THAT IS INDISPENSABLE BECAUSE HE HAS VOLUNTEERED TO GO ANYWHERE, DO ANYTHING, AS LONG AS HE CAN BOOZE IT UP, BRAWL, STEAL JEEPS, CORRUPT WOMEN, LIE, WEAR A STAR SAPPHIRE RING, SEIKO WATCH, AND CARRY A DEMO KNIFE.

In the center of the room was a poker table, and just as Quinn had said, the men of Project Delta were more than willing to take Tom’s Navy pay.

Quinn had introduced Tom to his SF brothers James Jarrett, Gary Stedman, Moose Monroe, Ken Edens, Mike Norris, “Doc” Simpson, Jay Graves, and David Lee as they walked in the door. Soon they were all trading stories and reminiscing about past missions and hijinks and the influence of leaders like Charging Charlie Beckwith, who had commanded the unit in 1965.

“You just missed Martha Raye again, Quinn,” said Jarrett.

“I always miss her. When did she leave?”

“Just this morning,” Stedman said. “Off to visit the boys at Kontum.”

“I think I’m the only Green Beret who has never met Colonel Maggie,” Quinn said, referring to the actress and entertainer who had been givenan Honorary Green Beret and rank of lieutenant colonel in 1964 for her work supporting the troops.

“I heard she worked the med tent during the battle of Soc Trang,” Tom said. “Is that true?”

“Sure did. Didn’t take a break for over thirty hours,” Stedman said. “She’s a legend.”

“You’ll catch her next time, buddy,” Jarrett said.