I am currently reading a book about war: “On The Ground – The Secret War In Vietnam,” by John Stryker Meyer & John E. Peters. This book is the authors’ personal memoir of their experiences in Vietnam, as well as those of their close friends/comrades, from 1968-1970.
The accounts in this book detail the dangerous and daring missions of small 6-person SOG (Studies and Observations Group) teams. These “secret” teams were flown via Huey helicopters and dropped deep in enemy territory, with the sole purpose of observing what the enemy was up to.
While the small SOG teams were not tasked directly with blowing things up, their efforts resulted in “the destruction of tons and tons of enemy supplies and equipment, via air strikes.” And … as was often the case, the annihilation of enemy forces by “a sky full of assets” coming to rescue a pinned-down SOG team.
Chapter Ten is a gripping account of one such SOG team rescue. The author, John Stryker Meyer, was the One-Zero (team lead) for this mission, and his SOG recon team had been dropped deep behind enemy lines in Laos.
“We had been working our way slowly through the underbrush for about an hour when we suddenly heard an explosion behind us. It had to have been the claymore Bubba rigged to go off if anyone tried to follow us. In the jungle there are almost always animal noises of some kind, and these suddenly fell silent. In the quiet we could hear some distressing sounds to the west, sounds that were not of a jungle kind, but those of men on the move. We were not alone.”
The SOG recon team was under aggressive pursuit by heavy enemy forces to the west; and they were soon under fire from heavy enemy forces to the north as well. They needed extraction immediately!
The SOG team contacted Covey and called for air support! (Covey – flying in a two-engine O-2 Cessna Skymaster – served as the liaison between the SOG teams on the ground and the air strikes which assisted them.)
Darkness was approaching, a storm was raging, and the life-saving helicopters were nowhere near.
The account continues to detail the team’s desperate struggle to survive, as they moved to a position on higher ground, while waiting in desperation for the Hueys which would rescue them.
Covey radioed the team: “The only chance we have is about 100 meters north by northeast from your location. There’s a small hole in the roof and we might be able to get strings down to you.”
With air support “roaring in across their northern perimeter” bombing away at the enemy, a path was cleared for the small SOG team to be able to make it to the extraction point. There they set to work placing explosive charges on the trees.
“We blew the charges around the trees and they were cut clean, but the dense jungle refused to let them fall. We had not succeeded in making the hole any bigger, so we would just have to hope the rescue ships could manage to drop the ropes down to us, and then pray the ropes were long enough.”
The biggest threat to the team’s rescue was the fact that they were hard pressed on all sides by enemy forces, and under heavy fire … and as such, they would most likely be shot and killed mid-air as they were being lifted to safety.
“Just before the rescue choppers attempted to hover and drop the ropes, I told Covey I wanted the gunships that accompanied them to work over the area around us. I wanted the NVA to either be dead, wounded, or with their heads buried in the ground when we tried to make our escape.”
“We were getting low on ammunition, grenades, and claymores. If we didn’t make it out … I was sure we couldn’t survive the night no matter what kind of air support managed to reach us. It was now or never.”
“There was no way we had enough time for two lift attempts; there was no way I was going to split the team. Either all six of us were going out together on four ropes or we were going to die together trying.”
“Did the chopper have enough power? Would we be dragged through the trees? Would the NVA manage to shoot one or all of us out of our saddles? We were about to find out.
“As the ropes became taut, gunfire erupted from the west. The team returned fire. … As we started up, Bubba reached out and ignited the delay fuse on the last claymore, the one he’d fastened to the tree. With my feet dangling in the air, I fired a round from my M-79. Still gaining altitude, I then pulled the pins on two hand grenades and tossed them down to the ground at about the time the claymore went off. The back blast blew under us, but we could still feel its power and heat.
“With its engine screaming, the Huey somehow came up with the power it needed. It was agonizingly slow-going and we had to push our way around some branches, but we were not being dragged through them. We were being lifted straight up.
“The NVA continued to fire at us and I had the unsettling impression that tracer rounds were passing between my legs. The team fired back on full automatic and we all threw the last of our grenades.
“As we finally cleared the trees, I immediately called Covey, ‘The team is out!’ The Muskets rolled in and pulverized the ground we had just left. The A-1 Es were right behind them.”
So what’s the point, you might be wondering. Why share this account on the blog?
For me, personally, this account is a very real and vivid picture of what the Christian life is like. Being a Christian in today’s world feels a lot like being on a SOG team. With unseen spiritual forces of evil pressing in hard and heavy all around!
Being a Christian in today’s world feels like being outnumbered! … darkness falling … storm raging! … attacked and under heavy fire!
I find myself thinking a lot about Jesus coming back again!
Jesus, when will You come? And why does it have to be such a bitter fight all the way to the very end??
For sure Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming back to judge the earth! And just like the rescue Hueys came in hovering low and dropped ropes … so also we as Christians will be lifted out of this world and taken to Heaven. Rescued! And upon our extraction … the “gunships” of God’s wrath will open fire! Pulverizing the ground we have just left. The wicked will be punished! Evil will be eradicated!
But until then we fight! We fight to the bitter end!! We fight to rescue those trapped by Satan’s deception! We fight to free those enslaved by lies! We fight against wickedness … we fight against spiritual oppression! We fight against unseen forces of evil!
It’s a bitter fight!! To the very end!! Setting off charges and throwing grenades to destroy the enemy’s lies and strongholds! Even as our feet leave this earth … and Jesus pulls us out in a great rescue! … to the very end, we fight!
