The hits just keep coming! Yesterday the brass decided to use us as targets to bring "Charlie" out in the open. Today they have a better plan. Because of all the attacks on the firebases by enemy artillery,the higher ups feel that there is to much risk for the CH-47s. Besides everything else we will now be delivering 105mm shells to the bases.

Landing at resupply we are loaded with artillery shell. Someone has conned some of the replacement to ride along with us and push the ammo out the doors when we get to the firebases. That's the nice thing about new guys, they are dumb enough to believe this is good duty.

As we head into the valley I brief our new crew member. Just push the stuff out the doors and don't get to close to the edge of the floor. If the sh*t hits the fan and we pull pitch really quick he may find himself sitting on the pad. The first sortie is for FSB 20. Coming in at tree top level we flare onto the pad and the shells are out before we squat down on the skids. As the morning continues we are doing pretty good. This will end at 1100hrs.

As Gator 110 was making their approach into TF Alpha's location all hell has broken loss. Their ship comes under heavy automatic weapon's fire and the base starts receiving enemy artillery fire. They are able to get out of there but the ship is badly damaged. No one is hurt but the ship will have to return to Holloway.

Task Force Alpha has casualties that need to be evacuated. Dust-Off 37 is on station and is able to pull some of the wounded. We stand-by in case we are needed. Dust-Off is loaded and coming out. We head with our sortie. Hitting the pad we push out the load. Three soldiers hand the corner of a poncho to our loader and he pulls in another wounded soldier. Climbing into the cargo to check our passenger I discover that he is dead. We carefully wrap the ponch around him and call Mary Lou to tell them to have someone waiting for us.

Each sortie is a carbine copy of the one before. The entire afternoon is spent racing into the bases. Mortars and artillery rounds are the enemy's game today. None of the patrols report contact. As a reward for all of his hard work today our loader is assigned to A/1/8. They are sitting at FSB 27 in the middle of nowhere. As we drop him off, I shake his hand and wish him good luck. I wonder if he ever made it out of the valley.