Three Toed Tiger Tales

By Mark Corrigan

Three Toed Tiger Tales takes you back to one of the early stories that created the Legend of Captain Michael Patrick O'Neil and his efforts to establish the US Army's Sniper Team Concept. When the NVA comes after Captain O'Neil because of his Sniper Team's success and they kill his wife, this war becomes personal for him and he used his Sniper skills to extract revenge. This story gives you insights into the behind the Newspaper Headlines of the International interests in maintaining a balance of power in the Cold War and why the United States Government's Policies of limiting its military forces involvement in this Vietnam War was doomed for the start. This is Historical Fiction at is best, with a Romantic Twist of two Star Crossed Lovers who find themselves in the War torn environment in a Country called South Vietnam.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Corrigan
• Release date: Apr 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370214211

Mark Corrigan

I was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin and raised in the Town of Granville which no longer exists. I graduated from Granville High School and the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. I took a Regular Army Commission after graduating as a Distinguished Military Student in ROTC. I served in South Korea in a HAWK Air Defense Missile Battery before called upon to teach Advanced Marksmanship in 8th Army. I developed the concept of using Sniper Teams to control the same area as a US Army Battalion on line and helped to design the XM-21 Sniper Rifle used in Vietnam. I commanded a Hercules Missile Air Defense Unit in Union Lake Michigan, when I went to Vietnam on my "official" tour I Commanded Headquarters Company of First Field Force Vietnam. I was the Public Affairs Officer in 20th NORAD Region until I resigned my Commission on April 29, 1975 which is the day Siagon fell to the North Vietnamese. I formed Harpers Ferry Arms Company that made Civil War and Revolutionary Reproduction firearms, uniforms and equipment. Using my international contacts that made these reproductions I expanded into making other products for clients and imported them through James River Imports and Development Corporation. During President Carter's years I could not import things cheap enough to keep these companies alive. Year's later my relationships with overseas Companies brought me into the Tobacco business and eventually into trying to help Cambodia become a modern country with major projects in Electrical Power, Oil and Gas Production, Fertilizer and Concrete Plants and the reclaiming of the land as part of the Cambodian Veterans Rehabilitation Program. As Virginia American Management Corporation's Executive Vice President I was within days of signing these agreements with the Cambodian Government when President Clinton who was bribed my the Communist Vietnamese Government, illegally used the North Carolina Federal Court to stop me. For the detailed true life story about all these things I suggest that you obtain a copy of my Book "What Price Justice" Published on Smashwords.com.

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THREE TOED TIGER TALES

MARK R CORRIGAN

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SMASHWORDS EDITION

THREE TOED TIGER TALES

Copyright© 2016 Mark R Corrigan

Cover Design & Interior Layout: Laura Shinn Designs

http://laurashinn.yolasite.com

This Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. The ebook may not be resold or given way to other people. If you would like to share the book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, than please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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PROLOGUE

Mark Corrigan originally published this book under the name Jonathan .B. Longwood. The Toed Tiger Tales takes you back to one of the earlier stories that helped to create the Legend of Captain Michael Patrick O’Neil and his efforts to establish the US Army’s Long Range shooting capabilities that are still used on the modern day Battlefields. This is Historical Fiction at its best with the Romantic Twist of two Star Crossed Lovers who have searched the ages to find each other in the war torn environment of a country called South Vietnam. It adds color, flavor and spice to those moments and events in Southeast Asia during these turbulent times. It gives the reader insights and understanding of why disastrous things happened and the compelling reasons why some things become inevitable and why the policies our Country followed were doomed from the very beginning. Captain O’Neil is the main character in the books, SOFT TOUCH, and PAGE OF DIAMONDS and he is a supporting character in the book BLACKMOON RISING.

CHAPTER ONE:

MORE THAN A CHANCE MEETING

"Even the most courageous among us rarely has

the courage for what he really knows."

–Friedrich Nietzsche OUT of Life’s School of War

Their eyes met and her brown eyes pierced his Irish heart like a bullet shot from fate’s arsenal. The heat of the night had produced a small line of perspiration on the side of her face. Her jet-black hair had made a wet curl just ahead of her ear, pasting itself against her ivory skin. Turning full face to him, her eyes danced with a moment of fear, quickly followed by a deep realization that he was indeed looking into the depths of her very soul. She knew she was touched by something more powerful than anything else she had ever experienced. She found herself needing to take a breath not aware that she had stopped breathing when those gray eyes had locked on to hers.

Their gaze held them in a moment where neither could speak as their collective unconscious raced at the speed of light to a point created by ancient generations of lives long past. There was a spark of instant recognition. Perhaps they were star-crossed lovers or wondering soul mates, whose ancestors had only passed in the night, pausing briefly to create new life to carry on the genes from Adam and Eve to yet another generation, and yet another and another until the sands of time had run its course. This was not just a chance meeting of fate between the eons of souls who had expired before them. It was the moment predestined that finally arrived bringing them within arm’s length. It could have been a brief flash of light from a distant exploding star that forced them gazing into each other’s eyes.

His raised index finger curled slowly beckoning her image to come towards him. It was a small but friendly gesture inviting her to join him and she felt powerless to resist. Yet she hesitated as if she were waiting for some other signal for her to act upon her feelings of the awakened spirit whose sudden stirring had created a force beyond her normal control or understanding. Without realizing it, a smile crossed her face and she briefly dropped her eyes reflecting the customs of her culture. The momentary loss of eye contract did not break the exchange between them or lose the level of silent communication of feelings that had hit her at the speed of light. She had no way of knowing this moment had been established by the hourglass, that had been turned millions of times until this moment, a single moment so powerful and yet so unique that it could never come again.

His smile was so typically an American smile as he rose from his chair and extended his hand as she unconsciously approached him. She moved shyly at first, testing the waters of time, she extended her own hand touching his, than being touched with such warmth that surged through her body in a fiery flash that lit her very core causing her legs to weaken and her pulse to quicken. It was a rush of experiences beyond her wildest imagination. Their touch immediately isolated them from the rest of the group. There was no noise except the beating of their hearts while their eyes had sought further recognition that this was the person destined by time and fate to be here and this was a moment beyond all other moments in their lives.

Hay, make room for the Captain’s lady. Someone called out and his Team looked up to see the flower, the Captain had selected for himself. The team had joined their tables together along a padded bench that ran along the backside wall yet both sides of the table were full and everyone had a can of sweating American beer in front of them.

Sure-thing Capt-en. There is always room for a pretty one like you honey. Sergeant Borcowski a 6 foot 4 inch 285-pound warrior said as he picked up his girlfriend as if she were just a China doll and moved her on his lap making room for the Captain’s Lady on the corner of the padded bench.

She stood just briefly inspecting seat before sliding down on the corner of the padded bench not quite sure just how much of the bench she was expected to take. The Captain had continued to hold her hand as he sat down in the chair next her without ever blinking or losing a single moment of eye contact.

The owner of the Night Club had personally supervised the table arrangements for this party after he had introduced himself several nights, ago when they first came in as he recognized these men, as being good paying customers who loved to party. This was the first time he saw the Captain with a girl and she was someone he did not know. He did not want to offend the Captain, yet knowing all the girls who came into his Night Club was his responsibility. The Night Club owner came over and talked with the Captain.

The chattering of the Club’s owner made the Captain’s Lady feel out of place, as she was not a Bar Girl to pick up a man. Yet all the other men at the table had paid partners and because she was part of this group, she was guilty of being a Bar Girl by association. How unbelievable this situation had become after her cousin insisted that she come with her to the Club. The Night Club New York was a popular GI Bar where her cousin Sinlin on her mother’s side had been making a living for the last 6 or 7 months.

Sinlin’s boyfriend called Ski was big enough to make a place for himself and his friend anywhere he went. Sergeant Borcowski had been in country 8 months since he left South Korea and the 8th Army’s Advanced Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Commanded by Captain Michael Patrick O’Neil. Ski and Sinlin had been together almost since she started working at the New York Club. He had bought her contract first for a month and then each month after that. Ski and his friends had always come to the New York Club almost as if it were a second home.

The Captain who had invited her to their table was new to Vietnam, yet every one of the other men knew him. These men had unexpected degree of complete loyalty to this Captain that was almost unheard of between Enlisted men and Officers. She had no idea he took the same risks that they did. He was with them in the jungle sweating out the VC who came into their Sniper killing Zones while dealing with those VC who might try to sneak up close enough to slit their throats. The Captain had earned their deep respect and their admiration. There was something even more important as it was their appreciation of what he had taught them. The closest way to describe their feeling and their working relationship with Captain O’Neil was like being a Whiteman and an Indian who became blood brothers.

Each member of the Team took a full careful look at the Lady the Capt-en had selected. It was one of those looks taken without their own girl friends actually seeing her boy friend looking. The girls had also taken a quick look when Moria Arnnette joined their group. If it had not been for Moria’s cousin, Sinlin, there could have been a catfight. When the Captain chose her as his Lady, the catfight was averted, as the other Vietnamese women did not need to keep their men in line. They also give up the opportunity challenge Moria to date the Captain as they were all with their own GI’s.

Moria was the only daughter of Henry K. Arnnette II. Mr Arnnette’s Great Grandfather was a French Rubber Plantation owner who had come to Southeast Asia as the second son of a wealthy French Aristocrat back in the early 1800’s. The Arnnette’s were one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Vietnam. They had supported the Liberation movement, fought the Japanese during World War 2 and had a lined themselves with Ho Chi Minh in his Vietnamese unification movement after the war.

Moria’s father had married Song Su Yip the daughter of Professor J. K. Yip the Department head of Economics at the University of Hanoi. Song was herself a full Professor at the University in foreign languages of French, English and Italian. Both of Moria’s parents had died in the war efforts to throw off the reestablishment of French Colonial Rule after the Vietnamese had beaten the Japanese. After her parents were killed Moira lived on her Grandfather’s Plantation in the Western Province of Duc Lac some 40 kilometers west of Bam Me Thout. The Sisters of Charity assisted Moria’s Grandfather in the education and training of Moria until she went off to the University of Hanoi to follow her mother’s footsteps in languages. Moria was a natural in being able to picking up and speaking most languages. She would have completed her Degree if her Grandfather had not been attack by some roving band of Bandits.

Although her Grandfather was seriously wounded, he recovered and over the years, Moria had become his right hand person, learning the family businesses and she become involved with the business friends of her Grandfather establishing her own ability to conduct the family’s businesses. Working with her Grandfather was a practical education in International Business and World Finance that would have taken someone else years to learn.

This year Moria had gone to Siagon shopping and buying things for the New Year. Being French in Vietnam, the Arnnette family celebrated both the Annual as well as the Lunar New year. Like her mother Moria liked to shop a good month early so that there would not be any last minute rush to be prepared for the holidays as the trip from the country could take several days, depending on the conditions of the roads.

Less than a week ago, Moria was returning home to her Grandfather’s Plantation when she was met by the Province Chief who refused to allow her to return to the Plantation. He stated that since she was of mixed blood she might not be able to retain ownership or even hold Title to the land in his Province.

Moria was detained in the Province jail for several days before being released. The Province Chief had taken all her identification papers and was let go on the streets without any money. She was told that her Grandfather was killed and most of the Family servants had been killed. From what the Police Chief had told her, she was expected to believe there was nothing left of the Plantation to go back to and as a young girl, she was expected to sit back and cry about her fate. However, the Police Chief and the Province Chief had not dealt with Moria before and they did not understand the education that her Grandfather had provided her.

Being turned back at the Province, Moria needed to return to Siagon and find the family’s Attorney, her Grandfather had only told her about recently. She knew when she found him, he would have connections in the Government to correct the Province Chief’s opinions of who could and could not own property.

Once Moria had been released she learned that it was only through a close family friend that had paid money for her release otherwise there could be no telling how long she would have been held. This friend, give her a Bus ticket and a small bundle of food for her trip to Siagon. With only the clothes on her back and less than 200 Peasters in South Vietnamese money, she arrived at the home of Ding Fin Chic a Rubber Buyer who had done business with her family for years before the American’s came.

Mr Chic had been kind to her and returned many of the curtsies that he had received when he visited their Rubber Plantation but he was in no position to help a 20-year-old daughter of his business associate. He did however inform Moria of the location of her cousin Sinlin, who worked in a Night Club in the seedy sections of the city offering quick pleasure to GI’s.

Moria had her cousin’s home address or at least the last address the family had for her. It took most of the day to locate her cousin’s place. However, her cousin had moved to a new address. When Moria arrived at the security gate of a high walled compound, she asked for her cousin. The guard knew Sinlin and told her she was welcomed to wait in the Villa’s courtyard or come back later.

Moria sat on the steps of the Villa and waited for Sinlin who arrived just before Curfew. Sinlin was laughing and hanging on the arm of a very big American Soldier, she called Ski. The more accurate description was Sinlin was literally hanging and swinging from the forearm of this happy American Soldier as if she was hanging onto a trapeze. Sinlin introduced him but Moria thought he was too drunk to remember. Sinlin said he had just come back from the Field meaning he was out fighting in the war somewhere.

Although Moria had come to Siagon two or three times a year, she had not seen Sinlin for nearly three years. With Ski safely tucked into the bed in their room, she and Moria became reacquainted. They shared their experiences and disappointments. Sinlin was sorry to hear that Moria’s Grandfather maybe dead, but that loss did not seem to affect Sinlin as much as Moria had expected. Moria realized it was perhaps Sinlin was only a cousin on her mother’s side and her Grandfather was not a blood relative of hers.

Moria and Sinlin talked girl talk until the first light of the new day and Sinlin took her to a room she could use. Sometime during the morning, she woke up when she heard Ski in the next room wake up and demanded something to eat. By noon, several of the teammates had started to crawl out from their rooms, and food was produced just long enough to catch a second wind to continue their celebrating. Moria stayed out of the way in her room and she went back to sleep.

When she woke up, she planned how she might be able to locate the family’s Attorney her father and Grandfather had used and the other attorney she had never met. Unfortunately, it was only recently her Grandfather told her about this attorney. Although her Grandfather said he her always planned to take her to meet this attorney after she returned from the University she wondered why he was planning to take her to meet this attorney now. Did her Grandfather have a premonition of what was about to happen or did he already know about the threat against the Plantation?

Moria did not realize she had slept all day and it was too late to look for this attorney. Moria was talked into coming along with the gang to the New York Club. She had no idea what to expect, but she was feeling a little more confident that either Sinlin or her boy friend Ski would not let anything happen to her. Besides, it might be fun to listen to the music and just watch people enjoying themselves.

She was not prepared for the noise that was called music or the rude people who pushed, shoved, grabbed and poked her as if she were just another piece of fresh merchandise. The shock of how Sinlin had stayed alive and made her living was indeed a hard blow to take. Moria tied to take things in small doses but that was not possible, as it was all just too confusing and jumbled together until just a moment, ago.

All this flashed through her mind the moment she sat down at the Captain’s table the same table her cousin Sinlin and her boy friend were sitting at. These people knew each other and in fact they all were together and she was now part of that group. This curly black haired Captain had not let go of her hands as if by having made this physical contact he was almost desperate to hold on to her. His eyes smiled and she saw no reason to be afraid of him, as their holding hands had improved her self-confidence. Her eyes finally left the Captain’s and they jumped to the other men and their girl friends who sat around the table. Having been accepted Moria into the group, the other girls started to sing her praises as having caught the eye of the Dai-wy, the Vietnamese word for Captain. He was handsome tall American Officer and it was his team at the table. When Moria attempted to find out that they did she was told, They were very important soldiers who were doing hush hush things.

There was Sinlin’s boy friend Ski who sat next to The Rock, followed by Mighty Mouse, The Geek, Spy Glass, Pretty Boy, and Goof Off. Moria knew that those names could not be their real names, but that was all they were called.

As the evening progressed Moria had no way of knowing that this 8-man team had become the newest method of controlling large areas of the countryside especially those areas where the VC and North Vietnamese Army were trucking war supplies from Hanoi to the South Vietnam.

Moria had heard a lot about this war to unite Vietnam as one country but she was having some serious doubts about the changes North Vietnam wanted to make since 1954. Maybe she just noticed things as being more political since the French was forced to leave Vietnam? Perhaps if she had been exposed to other Political Systems that offered a better alternative to the current Communist Government established in the North, she could make a reasonable judgment of what was best for her county.

Thoughts of war and dying seemed to be just under the surface of the laughter and forced fun she felt these girls were having with these men. The men were constantly praising their Captain who was leading them in the party and celebrating with them in their success for a job well done. Some men can lead without a display of authority simply because of who they are and O’Neil appeared to be such a man. Moria concluded.

Captain O’Neil had trained a 60-man Sniper Class from Vietnam after first his trainees had made several Long kills on the Korean DMZ with open iron sights on the M-14 Rifles and then he had show the 8th Army Commanding General what could be done with Scoped Sniper Rifles.

However, when these men returned to Vietnam their Commanders did not know how to effectively use these skilled Snipers and O’Neil was asked to come up with a recommendation for their effective use. His suggestion was to develop the two men elements as part of an 8-man Sniper team and then proposed that four elements could effectively cover the same area as an Infantry Battalion on line. The first test of this theory had been highly successful, maybe too successful, but that did not matter for the moment as the team had proven Captain O’Neil’s concept and they were entitled to celebrate their success.

This all had started when Second Lieutenant O’Neil had been conscripted by General Bonesteel the 8th Army Commander in South Korea after three almost simultaneous incidents had taken place. The Seizure of the US Spy ship USS Pueblo and the killing of the North Korean suicide squad on the front lawn of the South Korean’s Presidents Blue house were serious events, but the event of even greater significance to the 8th Army Commander happened on the Korean DMZ. An Infantry Company on line at the DMZ fired their entire basic load of small arms ammunition at a North Korean who was less than 300 yards away and never came close to hitting him. The reason behind the last event was simple. All the men in that Infantry Company had been pencil qualified and none of them had ever fired their rifles. The elevation on their weapons was still set on zero, which meant their bullets were hitting the ground 30 to 40 yards from their positions.

This was not the first time that paper qualifications have been entered into the official records as having completed the Annual Rifle Qualifications when they had not been done. Maybe it didn’t matter for some desk jockey back in the States, but here in Korea there was a real war, one that was under a temporary Cease Fire that could become a hot war any time the North Koreans wanted to make it one. These men’s lives depended on their ability to shoot and defend themselves. Heads rolled and the immediate action required that every man in every unit would re-qualify and the General was having O’Neil teach a Class of 60 men how to shoot and hit what they aimed at. Those men would return to their units and teach the men in that unit.

Second Lieutenant O’Neil was at a HAWK Air Defense Missile Unit just outside of Osan Air Base and he had taken over a none functioning and none operational Unit some 60 days earlier. The men at the Missile Battery responded to its new Unit’s Commander by becoming fully Operational and Combat ready. The HAWK Unit had just past the IG’s Re-Inspection when he was pulled out of his Unit. He was made a First Lieutenant and given an order by a Four-Star General to create a Marksmanship Training Unit capable of teaching all the 8th Army’s soldiers how to shoot and qualify with their Primary weapons.

When the first 60 men reported to the Training Unit outside of Kimpo Air Base, it didn’t take much of an imagination to realize just what type of men would be sent, when a Line Unit who was already shorthanded. They would be the 8 Balls, and Screw ups. The GI’s who could not keep their rank and the ones who frequented Sick Call as VD patients would hardly be missed and most likely the Unit was better off without them. On the other hand, Lieutenant O’Neil would have 60 of the most talented 8 balls in all of South Korea with the unbelievable task of controlling the them and ultimately teaching them something about marksmanship with the goal of having these trained experts teach other members of their Units how to shoot and hit a potential enemy on the battlefield. To say that the potential disciplinary problems would be enormous was nothing compared to the potential embarrassment to the General if his handpicked Golden boy stepped all over himself with track shoes.

What surprised everyone was this newly made First Lieutenant got the job done and three of his first 60 men were not only effective, they were outstanding making confirmed kills from 700 to 1,000 yards with the regular issued US Army M-14 Rifle. Yes, the Good Lieutenant had rebuilt the M-14’s with accurizing supplies he had the Commercial Airline Pilots bring in from the US. The most phenomenal part of all this was, these men were making these kills with open iron sights and when these 8-Balls returned to their units they were outstand soldiers again.

One of the first men to return was Ski who had a confirmed kill at almost 1,000 yards the first day he was back on-line with his unit. Private Borcowski was immediately promoted to a hard stripe buck sergeant, he received 1,000 dollars in Savings Bonds and a 30-day unaccountable leave anywhere in the world. He had showed up at the 8th Army’s Advance Marksmanship Unit and asked if he could help train the next class of Marksman. This had been a godsend as the two other men helping to run the AMU were not instructors and O’Neil had trained the first 60 men by himself. Two other men who became O’Neil’s Instructors came in after making confirmed kills on the Korean DMZ. Mighty Mouse was promoted to an E-4, had 100-dollar Savings Bond and a 15 day leave. Goof off came in with a three-day pass and a 25-dollar Savings Bond.

Goof off’s First Sergeant offered him a transfer if he wanted to go back to the AMU. Goof Off had the ability to acquire things and between him and Corporal O’Connell, the ¾ ton truck driver O’Neil had been given, the AMU was not in want of anything. If Goof Off was not a professional thief, he was working on his Masters Rating for his highly honed natural skills of living on the streets in Detroit until he was caught and given the choice of joining the Army or going to jail. Goof Off really liked the Army for obvious reasons as nowhere else could he operate in a system so unable to police itself that allowed low raking enlisted men to handle millions of dollars worth of supplies.

The immediate success of Lieutenant O’Neal’s trainees was quite apparent. The General spent 20 minutes in his Staff meeting informing everyone that his new First Lieutenant had not only kept 60, 8 balls in line for 10 days, he got them back to their Units on time and then three of these men had three confirm kills with just three shots. This was just too good not to enjoy and the General brag about the Lieutenant’s accomplishments to the other Commanders during a meeting at COMCINPAC Hawaii. The General’s enthusiasm would not be shattered by anything else that the AMU might or might not accomplish. Lieutenant O’Neil had been issued a four star halo and every Staff Officer in 8th Army knew that he had to protect this Lieutenant as woe be the party who tarnished that man’s sainthood.

The results spoke for themselves. O’Neil had done something unusual and had accomplished it with 60, 8 Balls no unit wanted on their rosters. When these men returned to their Units’ they had become good soldiers again. They had that spark of pride and confidence in themselves and their ability to teach others what Lieutenant O’Neil had taught them and it was more than just how to shoot a rifle.

The idea of one shot one kill had made it all the way back East to the great Puzzle Palace on the Potomac River, once the Pentagon had caught wind of the success of 8th Army’s AMU, there was a renewed interest in special Marksmanship training. With Pentagon’s interests in Snipers the MAC-V Commander wanted more information and if snipers could be used in Vietnam. There were Generals on his Staff who thought it could work but they were not willing to stick their necks out to recommend something that may have been a fluke. The only way to test the concept proposed by this Lieutenant was to try it and since this Lieutenant in South Korea already had the Training Center set up, why spend any unnecessary time and effort to duplicate it in Vietnam. The Commander of Military Assistance Command Vietnam MAC-V, agreed with that recommendation and two weeks later 60 men from Vietnam were flying into South Korea for training by the Golden Boy Lieutenant.

This sniper training would not exist if Lieutenant O’Neil had not convinced General Bonesteel that the Scoped Sniper Rifles still in the 8th Army’s Armory since the Korean War should be issued to the best 6 men in each of the Training Class who would be given an extra 3 days of Scoped Sniper Rifle training. General Bonesteel did not know that he even had these Rifles and to prove his point O’Neil put on a shooting demonstration for the 8th Army Commander using the Model 70 Scoped Sniper Rifles. O’Neil’s request was granted after General Bonesteel watched four men shoot 18 shots to bust 16 clay pigeons mounted black side out on a white backer at 600 yards.

O’Neil had taken the idea of shooting the Clay Birds from one of the events he shot while a member of the North-South Skirmish Association. A small hole was punched in the center of the Clay Birds and a looped wire was pushed through them to mount them on a white cardboard backer. At 600-yards these clay pigeons looked like pencil dots but when hit, they would disappear.

After the demonstration, the General’s Aide claimed the shooters had missed twice but when they drove down to the target, they had found two clay birds had been hit two times so they had actually shot 18 perfect targets within a 3-inch target. O’Neil explained that the bullets were still traveling fast enough that sometimes they would punch through the Clay Targets without breaking them when they were hung with their black side out.

O’Neil went on to explain that it was normally accepted in the shooting world that if a Rifle could group all its shots within a minute of angle at any given range it was shooting up to the manufacture’s expectations. A minute of angle at 600 yards would have been that all the shots were contained in a 6-inch circle and here O’Neil and his men had improved the Rifle’s shooting accuracy by 100%. O’Neil pointed out that was head shot at 600 yards and that was double the normal effective range on the battlefield considered by the Infantry Commanders.

O’Neil got all the Model 70 Sniper Rifles he wanted. He would not have known about these Sniper Rifles either, if he had not tried to get one of the new Starlight Rifle Scopes he wanted to use to improve the Snipers night shooting capabilities. O’Neil who was a bit of a horse trader himself, when he was the HAWK Unit’s Supply Officer and he had to get the supplies the Unit needed. The AMU need ammunition to shoot but there was a restriction placed on the issuing of Rifle Ball ammunition and he could not get it. However, there were no restrictions on the issuing of M-14 National Match Grade Ammunition, which only took his signature on a properly completed Requisition Form.

When the 8th Army’s Ordinance Supply Sergeant found out why he needed this ammunition he mentioned the Sniper Rifles that were still in the 8th Army’s Armory. When O’Neil inspected the Model 70’s he also noticed the Starlight Rifle Scopes in the Arms Room. O’Neil casually asked the Supply Sergeant if he could have them. The Supply Sergeant was happy to get them out of his inventory and O’Neil could not believe his good fortune when he signed for all eight Starlight Rifle Scopes.

The Starlight Scopes added a nighttime capability to the Model 70 Sniper Rifles and O’Neil was now turning out truly qualified Snipers who were stopping the North Korean’s dead in their tacks. If O’Neil had given his Snipers the best tools to accomplish the mission, he took the selection of the men he would train to become Snipers one-step further. He developed a Psychological Test that would establish that these men had the capability of making killing shots without missing due to the subconscious factor of knowing that they were taking another human life.

What most people need to understand was the American culture reinforces the value of life and the need to protect the needless loss of life. This judo- Christian belief has established that the killing of another human is the highest moral crime that anyone can commit. An American soldier cannot just turn off his core beliefs, when it is his job to kill the enemy. Even then, it is not too difficult to deal with when a hundred men have been shooting and dead bodies are found after a firefight. Any one of them could have killed those enemies and it is easy to convince yourself that someone else’s bullets actually killed them and it was not your bullets. This was just like those who dropped bombs from 30 Thousand feet as they never saw the faces of those they blew up.

The direct relationship between you and the death of someone else is so remote that it is hard to transfer any possible guilt for those war dead to anyone. The exceptions to this form of denial, is those who have killed in hand to hand Combat and the killing done by a Sniper. The killing in hand to hand combat is done in self-defense where you both had a chance to kill the other guy, while the Sniper does not have those psychological excuses or means of denial.

He is off in the distance when his enemy is an image in the cross hairs of his Rifle’s Scope. He shoots his Rifle and the body of his enemy is lying dead eliminating any doubt he killed him. O’Neil believed that subconsciously most American’s place such a high value on human life that sooner or later the Sniper’s mind or his social subconscious revolts at the knowledge of killing even if they are killing the enemy.

Even the other American Soldiers deal with killing the enemy by depersonalizing or dehumanizing them into something less than human by calling them Zips, Gooks, and VC that are of no significance and they deserve to die. The Sniper is from that same culture and he could easily feel guilty when he shoots 900 yards and kills the enemy who will be dead before he even hears the shot that kills him. Some Snipers can no longer kill even after taking out one man while others can shoot more than a hundred enemies without appearing to be effected with knowledge that they killed them.

O’Neil believed that everyone had a point where his subconscious over comes his performance and he starts to miss for no apparent reason. His subconscious eye will not see the slight movement in the scope or the error in centering his sights on his target when his rifle could have made that shot. When he does start to miss, he becomes a danger to himself and his shooting partner as the enemy will find them and kill them.

It was therefore better to separate those who would have a problem with knowingly killing someone and let them return to be excellent soldiers in their Units rather than become a failure as a Sniper. Along with the Testing came the responsibility of accounting for every shot fired. When a Sniper started to miss for no apparent reason, it could be that his subconscious was telling him that he had reached his psychological limit and should be retired as a Sniper. Keeping a record or shooting book was mandatory. The shooting record established the results of every shot fired and it helped the Sniper review shots that he made under similar conditions. All these shooting records help to reinforce the Sniper’s confidence that he was living up to the Unit’s motto of One shot, One Kill.

The Army took O’Neil’s suggestions to develop its current Sniper’s Rifle. The M-14 having proven itself to be highly suitable as a Sniper Rifle by 8th Army’s AMU was now being made with a camouflaged plastic gunstock, it had a chromed plated rifle barrel used in National Match Rifle Competition and a flash suppressor which was just a name used rather than the sound suppressor it really was. All this happened after the first Class of 60 men from Vietnam had come to South Korea to be trained as Snipers. After several Sniper Classes went back to Vietnam, the results of O’Neil’s training had been evaluated and their shooting performance was above those who had been trained by any other method. The exception was a small group of Marines. However, when you understood the nature of the Marine Snipers it was easy to understand why. They were using battle hardened and experienced NCOs who already knew how the fight, while the Army’s Snipers were common soldiers who were younger and from the lower ranks.

O’Neil’s efforts produced the man of the moment, taking a psychologically selected individual and making him the ‘Hot shot shooter’ who could be reproduced and exchanged with someone else who had the combat experience of years of service. Instead of having one or two hero’s who had been written up in the National News, he was producing hundreds of top quality combat environment snipers who would not brake under even the most extra ordinary conditions. They would be good day in and day out, shot after shot, and kill after kill.

When O’Neil studied the results, he convinced the 8th Army Commander that he needed to understand how to teach his trainees to perform better and he could not expect these men to perform in the field if he himself had not done it. It was not his need to establish a kill record but the need to understand the full nature of the business and experience the real situations of those who had to survive and kill effectively in the field. O’Neil made his case when he asked the General, how could he train these men to become accomplished Snipers if he had not done it? He needed more than their respect as a shooter as he would need their understanding that he had been there. Nothing could replace the Act itself and the experience of survival on the most primitive level while killing the enemy.

O’Neil went to Vietnam to study how the snipers were being used and he came back with a new concept for Sniper deployment. His concept was based upon the principle that Long Range shooters could effectively control an extended killing zone and prevent all the enemy’s movements in that zone. The enemy’s war effort depended upon the movement of men and supplies coming down from the North and the Snipers could control large areas of the Countryside with a minimum of men. The first real test of this concept came when the O’Neil’s Snipers replace a Battalion and covered its killing Zone last week and it had ended just 24 hours before this party started here at the New York Club.

O’Neil had selected his men from all those who had gone through the Training Program at 8th Army. Two men from the first Class of 60 men were part of this team. Ski who had become a Sergeant E-5 after his initial training and killing a North Korean on the DMZ was now a Sergeant E-6 and the Deputy Commander and Goof Off who had been up and down the ranks before he became a Sniper was now a Sergeant E-5.

Using 8-men in four Sniper Team Elements took up the same position that a Battalion had been in during the Classic Blocking Position for a Hammer and Anvil Military Operation that had taken place for the last 30 days. In Vietnam, one of the worse kept secrets was when a Unit is going to move and usually the VC and NVA knew before the Commander of the battalion even knew it.

A day after the last Battalion’s trucks pulled out of their Combat Positions several VC and NVA Units began testing the area to confirm that the American troops had actually departed and it was safe to send their supply trains through the area. Within the next 24-hours, the North Vietnamese Military Supply Trains were moving through the area as they did before the Americans arrived.

Understanding this would happen the Sniper Team had to remain totally concealed and undetected for the first 48 hours after they had assumed their positions. They had come in 24 hours before the Battalion pulled out to make their ranging shots and confirm known distances to various locations in front of their positions. The hardest thing the Sniper Team had to do was to sit and wait until the VC and the NVA believed that it was safe to move through the area again.

On day three, four and five the Team reported 103 kills and the Brass refused to believe that 8 men could amass more kills in three days than a whole Battalion could claim during the 30 days they had been on the same position. When the MAC-V Commander himself flew out with the Division and the Battalion Commander, the bodies were still there as no one had been alive to carry them away and the count produced 107 kills. O’Neil had to explain that they had only counted confirmed kills. The remarkable thing during these three days was not a single High Explosive round of Artillery had been fired in support of the Snipers even though it was available if they needed it.

During the Sniper Team’s out briefing, they were asked why they had not called in any Artillery. One Sniper Team Member behind O’Neil had piped up with the comment. Awe gee Sir. That would have spoiled all the fun. O’Neil was pleased that at least who ever had made the comment had the good sense to include the word Sir in it.

A small circle of Officers and Commanders knew how successful these snipers were but they did not report it to the News Media who were already calling all US Snipers cold-blooded kills. The Army did not want to advertize how effective this new Sniper Team concept might be as the New Media was the enemy’s best source of military information.

In recognition of this achievement Lieutenant O’Neil became Captain O’Neil by order of the COMCINPAC Commander and he and his Sniper Team were given a week of rest and recuperation. Having proven the Concept this Unit would not be going back to South Korea as Colonel Rodmann had other ideas about where and how these Sniper Team’s might be used.

Three weeks ago, Ski and Goof Off were pulled out of their Units and they receive orders to report to a Colonel Rodman at MAC-V Headquarters with their gear and Sniper Rifles. Colonel Rodman told them that they had been selected by Lieutenant O’Neil for a special Sniper test mission to prove how effective a small group of snipers could control the same area as a Battalion. The Full Bird Colonel took them to the Unit’s Operational Headquarters that was a well-fortified and heavily guarded French Villa located in Siagon’s most affluent area of the city. Colonel Rodman understood the needs and wants of his Enlisted men as the Villa’s staff would provide all the food and beverages they wanted. Ski as the senor NCO was in command until O’Neil arrived and he was given a list of the five other snipers Lieutenant O’Neil had selected who would be reporting to the Villa as part of the Sniper Team. Ski was surprised to see that these other men were people he and Goof Off had help to train at the 8th Army’s AMU. As the men reported in with their gear and sniper rifles, Ski found out that these men had been shooting partners who had successful worked together before. Their selection for this Sniper test mission reflected the meticulous shooting records that O’Neil kept on every sniper he had trained.

However, it was now party time and as the hour of Curfew approached, the team’s party was moving back to this private Compound where Sinlin, who was called Suzie by Ski and the rest of the Sniper Team and their girl friends live. The team knew that their Captain had bought the booze and the food as part of his promotion party. To O’Neil it was more of a thank you party to his men that they all had made it back without anyone killed while being so successful. It could hardly have been a successful mission if any of the Team had bought the farm. Even a wounded man would have dampened the success of this first major test of the Sniper team concept.

As the team moved through the Security Gate, Moria had not noticed the other men when she was at the Villa Compound with Sinlin and she was surprised that the Captain was living here too. Moria expressed her concerns of being here after curfew with her cousin as she was not sure she was prepared to deal with what might take place here tonight. Moria had heard about GI’s hiring Vietnamese prostitutes and it was evident to her these men were part of those who had such girlfriends. Her cousin repeatedly commented not to worry that everything was OK and Number one. Her Cousin’s comments did not reinforce Moria’s confidence that it was ok and she was afraid of the problem that was about to happen.

Moria had never been with a man and she surely did not want to have sex with anyone, end up pregnant or catch some disease unless she had no other choice. Her strong Catholic upbringing dictated that sex outside of marriage was a Mortal sin and Saints had died rather than lose their souls. She was not a poor refugee dumped on the economy and forced to sell her body just to stay alive. She was here to establish her claim to her Grandfather’s estates and the sizable family International business.

She was confident that once she could find this family attorney, she would all right and he would help her establish just what actually happened at the Rubber Plantation. Since the Province Chief had taken all her identity papers, it might take a few weeks to settle things. Her cousin had already told her not to worry about money that she made good money and she had already saved an adequate amount to live on for several years.

All the way to the Compound the other girls were chattering among themselves at how lucky Moria was to have caught the American Officer, a rich Captain who could spend beaucoup money on her in exchange for such a simple thing as spreading your legs and letting him squirt his manliness into her. Moria shook her head feeling sorry for these girls, who had nothing but their bodies to sell and here she was with an American Captain who was such a high prize catch for any girl.

Once inside the Villa’s Compound the reality that everyone included the Captain also lived here, raised her level of personal concerns up several notches as she had nowhere else to go and it was just about time for the curfew. She was trapped and all her cousin’s previous comments that she had nothing to worry about had dissolved when she went through the security gate.

Moria view of the four story traditional French Villa had changed as she knew the top three floors had a number of bedrooms with several bathrooms on each floors was where these men and their girlfriends lived. On the Villa’s ground floor, Moria had already seen the expensively furnished dining room, a comfortable living room, several sitting rooms, a library with floor to ceiling books and a dark wood paneled office. Moria now noticed the high thick Stonewalls built around the entire compound and corrugated sheet metal run high up above them. Rolls of barbed wire and chicken wire extended out and above the walls to prevent anyone from throwing anything into the compound.

There were well armed and uniformed Chinese Mercenary Guards in Guard towers every 100 feet and the Main Gate had a sally port of two solid metal Gates so you could not just crash into the compound. It was strange that Moria had not noticed the guards earlier nor had she noticed the small gun port openings along the Stonewalls where additional armed guard now stood.

The inside of the compound had formal gardens that surrounded the house, which reminded Moria of her own special gardens her Grandfather had encouraged her to keep. Somehow, with all this display of weapons and men ready to use them, Moria found this artificial sanctuary welcomed after having been told of the lost of her family and estates along the Vietnamese border.

After they entered the Compound, she became separated from the Captain who had moved forward to talk with a Colonel who was exceptionally pleased to greet this Captain called O’Neil. That ever these men had done it was something important and the Colonel wanted to share some additional news. The level of respect was beyond a senior Officer who was please with one of his subordinate’s. Moria naturally smiled at the two men as she attempted to navigate to the stairs that lead to her cousin’s room but before she could take the first step, the Colonel called out in Vietnamese. Excuse me. Are you the new girl here at the Villa?

Caught by surprise of both the question and the fact that the American Officer had spoke to her without an accent in Vietnamese, she stopped, turned and faced the Colonel. Yes Colonel, I believe I am. My cousin Sinlin has given me a place to stay while I look for my own place after I take care of some family business with our Solicitor. She responded as politely as she could holding back the implied comment that she was just another ‘girl’ involved with an American. However, the edge in her voice and resentment of the being called a prostitute was not missed by the Colonel as he watched her turn and start to walk up the steps.

Well Captain it would appear you have found a very pretty one indeed. The Colonel said with a wide smile.

Hearing what the Colonel said as a private comment to O’Neil Moria immediately blush and turned back to the Colonel. The Colonel suddenly realized she heard and understood his off colored comment and he responded in French with the request to be excused for having made that remark, but he added the comment. You should know the Captain is a very good man.

Hearing this made her blush even more and Moria immediately responded in French. I don’t need a man good or otherwise.

Rising to the challenge, the Colonel spoke to her in Mandarin Chinese, Life can be a lonely place without a partner.

Moria responded in Cantonese. The wrong partner can make life a living hell. I would rather be alone as I am quite capable of managing my own affairs.

Surprised again by her response, the Colonel switched to Russian and asked her if she had ever been with a man. A deeper shade of blush came on her face and as a direct response to his bold Russian insult; she challenged his manhood and chivalry in High German with such force and strength that she might have been the Fuehrer himself.

The Colonel laughed enjoying his banter and then deeply apologized in Japanese at which time she bowed in the traditional deep bow from the waste normally given to the Emperor or personages in extremely high places. When her head came up she was smiling having enjoyed the encounter forgetting for the moment the sexual overtones that had began this language sparring match.

Is there any language you do not understand and speak? The Colonel asked as he extended his hand for her to join them.

I do have a little trouble with Spanish and Portuguese. I do not like to speak in Hungarian as it reminds me of gypsies who are known as thieves and beggars. She said as she approached him.

Please forgive me I am Colonel James Rodman. The Colonel said then reverted to French. And what brings you into our company? He asked as he led her over to a metal bench while O’Neil went to get them something to drink.

After Moria introduced herself, she related the story of her trip to Siagon and then being stopped by the Province Chief who told her about her Grandfather’s death and the loss of the Rubber Plantation that had been in her family for more than five generations. She explained how she had located her cousin Sinlin and how she needed to contact the Lawyer who had been handling many of the family’s affairs. Moria corrected herself and told them there were two attorneys she needed to see. One being the family’s attorney and the other one who had political connections with the South Vietnamese Government whose support she needed to insure that her family’s lands and holdings were protected and her claims of ownership would be up held.

She was very concerned now that her Grandfather was reported to be dead and the VC had taken over the Plantation after killing everyone who lived there. Once she located the attorney who had been appointed to some high position in the Government perhaps something could be done to deal with the VC who had violated her family’s presence here in Vietnam. Moria also mentioned that her family still had many business and political connections in France as well as in many parts of Europe.

The Colonel expressed his sincere sympathy at the loss of her Grandfather and her friends at the Plantation. He also expressed his personal concerns about dealing with most attorneys stating that he found them less than worthless most of the time and those who had taken positions in the Government maybe the worst of them all.

Much to his surprise, she explained that she had a lot of confidence in the family’s lawyer who had helped her father and her Grandfather in all their International business affairs. She did not say that she had never met this attorney or that her Grandfather had just recently told her about him. She appreciated the Colonel’s advice on Lawyer’s in the Government and she hoped that he was wrong about this one.

As the three of them ate and drank Moria had not realized just how hungry she was. She told them about her education and she had attended the University of Hanoi but had dropped out to take care of her Grandfather who had been injured when ‘bandits’ as she called them had attacked the Plantation. She admitted that she was not sure if it were not the VC and she had the opinion that it really didn’t matter very much as they were all thieves and murders anyway.

Her Grandfather and the men at the Plantation had killed them but he was seriously wounded and tried to keep the information from her so she would remain in school. However, like most secrets she found out and came back to the Plantation before he could get out of bed. It took a long time before her Grandfather was able to move around and he still required the use of a cane. During that time, she had learned the family’s rubber business and all the people her Grandfather was involved with in International businesses.

Moria was not sure if the latest attack on the Plantation were bandits or the VC. Moria felt confident that once she could confirm what actually happened at the Plantation and if her Grandfather was dead, she was the rightful heir who would be able to manage the Plantation and take care of herself.

Finally, Moria related how she had found her cousin Sinlin and that she had offered her a place to stay until she could take care of her business and fined a place of her own. She did not go into any details as to how she ended up with Captain O’Neil as if by doing so she would have to admit that she had picked him up or he had picked her up at the New York Club. In Moria’s mind, just being at the New York Club was enough to give the false impression that she was a Bar Girl.

The conversation just seemed to end and Moria excused herself and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Moria was not a small woman by any standers especially with having Vietnamese blood. She seemed to float up the stairs without her feet visibly moving under her dress. At 5 foot 10 inches tall, both men let out a deep breath as the slit on the sides of her dress gave both men a pleasant understanding that her legs and her body had definitely come from the French side of her family. Looking at each other their smiles reflected their appreciation of one fine looking woman who would draw attention to herself anywhere in the world.

Well Captain it looks like you have found a real pearl in this sea of shit. The Colonel said what was on O’Neil’s mind. O’Neil was captivated by this woman who suddenly appeared in his life on the other side of the world. O’Neil looked at the Colonel who seemed to be taking a more fatherly interest. You better treat her right, young man or I’ll just step over you and take care of her myself. He stated and O’Neil could not say anything but his widening smile had grown significantly from the smaller grin he had on his face when he walked in the Villa Compound with her.

The two men went through the parlor and out the French doors into the courtyard where the other men and their girlfriends were still into celebrating. A Tape recorder was set up and playing the latest popular songs from back home. There was a bar set-up against the wall with just about any type of booze anyone could want. There were two of the house