The Rescue


It happened off the coast of Vietnam. A group of Navy Seals moved silently onto the shore during a moonless night, their mission highly classified. It was a five man team and they had only 12 hours max to complete the assignment and rendezvous with the ship that would bring them back. Their stealthy approach eventually brought them to the outskirts of a small unnamed village, guarded by a detachment of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), many disguised as common villagers.

Intelligence reports had been delivered to friendly headquarters for some time and the NVA had divided their forces in order to retrieve supplies from a neighboring encampment. Now was the time to strike and then melt back into the jungle. The objective was a large cache of explosives, hidden in a cave near the village. The Seal Team was to take out the guards of the cave, set the timed detonations and be gone far from the area before the gigantic explosion took place. This was to be done in the dark with the most profound silence.

The team had practiced for months and no detail had been overlooked, or so they thought. When they arrived at the village, it was still several hours before dawn. They set up a make shift perimeter and two of team headed for the cave entrance. They found a sleeping guard just outside the front of the cave and began setting demolition devices, well past the entrance. Stores of ammunition and bombs could be seen everywhere, with the aid of their special flashlights. They finished the charges and were beginning to exit the cave. So far, everything had gone as planned; unfortunately, that was about to change.

“What are you guys doing?” The sound came from deep within the cave. The two demolition experts froze; one because no one was supposed to be in the cave and two because the question came in English. The team members quickly crouched and pulled their weapons, suspiciously shining their lights at the source of the question. There, within a steel cage, sat three, scrawny American prisoners in tattered uniforms. The seals stared at each other for only a moment and then put their fingers to their lips, gesturing for silence. Finding a nearby crowbar, they quietly spread the lock that held the three captive and bid them follow.

Outside, the other seal members were briefed at what had happened. The three former prisoners communicated that they were the only three captives in the area. Now, with a group of eight, the tiny caravan exited the village without a shot being fired. They reached the rendezvous point and informed the ship that eight would be boarding instead of five. After they were all safely on board the Navy ship, they could hear and see, in the distance, a tremendous explosion that lit up the dawn sky. Mission accomplished with three added bonuses.