This is the Real-Life Version of Rambo 🤯
A soldier recounts a tense nighttime combat encounter in Vietnam where he nearly engaged an enemy combatant in close quarters, only to discover it was a Vietnamese ally warning him of an incoming force of approximately 400 enemy troops advancing down a ridge line toward their perimeter.
Summary
The speaker describes a high-stakes nighttime military scenario during the Vietnam War. While lying on watch with a CAR-15 rifle across his lap, he hears a twig break and becomes alert to movement within their secured perimeter. Based on standing orders that anyone moving at night after dark must be considered hostile, he prepares for engagement. He readies his weapon on full auto and can sense a silhouette approaching through the dense air and darkness. To avoid alerting the entire perimeter to potential enemy presence, he decides on a silent takedown approach: he plans to grab the approaching figure, pull him to the ground, and strike him in the head with his rifle muzzle, with orders to fire if the person yells. However, just as this confrontation is about to occur, the approaching person whispers in Vietnamese, "Trung uy, Trung uy, Lieutenant," revealing himself as an ally rather than an enemy. The Vietnamese soldier warns him of lights and lanterns, and the speaker looks up the ridge to see approximately 400 people descending the mountainside toward their position, indicating a major enemy attack is imminent.
Key Insights
- The speaker had a standing rule that anyone moving within the perimeter after nightfall must be treated as hostile and eliminated
- The speaker chose a silent takedown method using the rifle muzzle as a striking weapon rather than opening fire, to avoid compromising the entire perimeter's position
- The approaching figure was identified as a Vietnamese ally through a whispered warning in Vietnamese calling out the speaker's rank
- The ally warned of incoming lights and lanterns indicating approximately 400 enemy troops descending the ridge line toward their position
- The dense atmospheric conditions were so thick that the speaker could only see silhouettes of approaching movement rather than clear details
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] And I heard a twig break. I opened my eyes, and I was thinking to myself, someone was inside our perimeter and was coming directly toward me. Laying back, I have CAR-15 laying across my lap, and I can hear this [music] person moving. All of our people knew the rule, once you go down, you don't get back up at night. Anybody moving is a bad [music] guy. And this guy's coming right toward me. I slid my selector switch over the full auto. The air is so thick, I can mentally see a silhouette coming [music] at me. I can't open up, cuz that'll light the whole perimeter up. So, I [0:31] decided just as he gets…
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