HONDURAS TO HAITI

EXCERPTS FROM HONDURAS TO HAITI

I could see they had an M-16 and two FN-FAL rifles. One rode a bicycle. After walking another 25 or 30 yards, they turned up a driveway to a house about 50 yards off the road. A dog at the house then started barking; I didn’t think he would ever stop. I continued to lie in the ditch, watching one of the Hondurans walk around the perimeter of the yard; he passed within 15 feet and as he did so I saw he was armed. Thanks to the weeds he couldn’t see us. At last we started moving again.

His S-2 was to propose a site where the boy and his mother were to cross the boarder. A company of soldiers was to be in place to prohibit enemy soldiers crossing at that point after them. His bringing the boy and his mother to us 10K on this side would also make it difficult for the enemy to reach us. That next day the young man was briefed on what to do, as well as when and where to cross.

Chief, a couple of the other guys and I were going to Danli to eat. Halfway there a car pulled up behind us, its lights blinking on and off. Thinking this could be the enemy, we readied our pistols. It was our source. He reported that his most trusted man on the other side of the border had sent word that terrorists were planning to kidnap an American at the Maya hotel that weekend. He suggested that we call someone. We returned to camp;

I covered the one on my left and Rob had the one on the right. We held our fire, wanting to shoot only as a last resort. If they didn’t point their rifles at us, we wouldn’t fire. They wanted us to follow them down the road. Right! We were brain-dead. They were getting agitated and making me nervous when from our right we heard someone telling them to leave now or they wouldn’t be leaving at all. I looked in that direction and saw four men from the restaurant armed with FN-FAL rifles. I grinned at the fact that the odds were now in our favor.

He asked what was so important. I quickly told him, “It’s going down tonight.” There’s a good chance it will, he agreed. NO, I countered, I mean it is going down tonight for sure. He asked, “What makes you so sure it’s going down tonight?”  “Because I was just given a quarter-million dollars’ worth of munitions and didn’t have to sign for the stuff!

The choppers were winding up for liftoff, men were moving with purpose. We returned to the room we had been in and retrieved the AT4s. We had joined with another team for a total of 12 men. Then we exited into the night and soon were on our way,

He had gone about 10 feet when a 50-cal tracer passed right to left about 5 feet in front. He quickly put it in reverse and scooted backward. Then he called out to me, “Hey, Pop! I think we should stay here for a little bit!” I then instructed everyone to find a tire track and get in the bottom of it.

I was home, safe but considerably changed. Life, to me, had become more precious. Sadly, those who meant most to me failed to show how happy they were about my safe return. For several months their continued well-being had been uppermost in my mind. Could they survive without me if I was killed or seriously injured? Little did they realize the strain this had caused me. My concern for them underlay my concern for the mission, the men who served with me and their families.

Big day today; we did a 17,000-foot climb. We left the launch point at 0830 and walked about 7k uphill to reach a point 5000 feet above where we had started. The climb, while not difficult, was extremely dangerous. This mountain was in fact a old volcano, with the ground not at all solid. Often, it seemed, you would look at a protruding rock which would suddenly loosen and fall.

The worsening weather did not deter us; we were too near the top. Our path was often obscured by the clouds and at times our visibility limited to 20 yards. Sooner or later we would reach the top, weather permitting, and we were determined to make it. Those who wanted to turn back were allowed to. Of the two teams only 9 of the 20 Americans who had started up the mountain now remained.

Ice climbing, self-arrest methods and crevasse rescue procedures were reviewed today. We had a very short distance to travel---out the back door 50 feet or so to the foot of the ice field. Training was accelerated by necessity; at midnight on Wednesday we would ascend to nearly 20,000 feet. This left us very little time.

The MH-53s were loaded with soldiers, rotors turning, momentum building for take-off. It was an awesome sight and sound. Escort helicopter gunships, Cobras and Apaches, were also powering up. This end of the island was rumbling and shaking. Then the unbelievable happened! The order was given to shut down---there would be no invasion.

There was a Special Forces scuba team on one boat, with mortars and at least four 50-caliber machine guns; plus there were more than enough soldiers on the two boats. As an added measure I told him there was a Ranger company with helicopters within striking distance just hoping for a fight.