Part Two
Chapter 1: The Saga Continues

 


"Actually, not to keep the secret of a king is perilous and a terrible risk,
but to be silent about the works of God is a great loss for the soul."

  (Saint Sophronius)
 

 

Table of Contents 

 

Third Edition
 January 2011

copyrighted © 2000
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Table of Contents
Part Two

Quick Link to:     [Part One]  & [Part Three]

Chapter 1: The Saga Continues - scroll down to read.


Chapter 2: Vietnam, 1974
Chapter 3: Great Falls, Virginia
Chapter 4: Kettle Mountain
Chapter 5: The Intruder
Chapter 6: Siem Reap-Ta Prohm
Chapter 7: The Boat: 1975
Chapter 8: The Red Monkey Lounge
Chapter 9: The Mekong Angkor Hotel
Chapter 10: The Shining Lotus Orphanage
Chapter 11: Back in Laos, 1975
Chapter 12: Elephant Mountain
Chapter 13: Washing Pots
Chapter 14: Elephant Mt. - The Next Day
Chapter 15: The Children
Chapter 16: The Village 
Chapter 17: Kitri
Chapter 18: Haridas
Chapter 19: How Much Salt?
Chapter 20: Questions
Chapter 21: Maria's Tears
Chapter 22: The Khmer   
Chapter 23: The Trail
Chapter 24: Laos 1983
Chapter 25: One Day Away
Chapter 26: The Summit

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Part Two
Chapter 1: The Saga Continues

 

The Drama Begins

 

 

 Abandoned by Ronald E. Boutelle

 

Please Note: My editor wanted me to mention that several stories are being told at the same in this next part, eventually merging like three rivers into one as Part Two comes to an exciting end.

 

 

Chapter 1: The Saga Continues
 

 

(Flying back home....)

 

Getting from Washington, D.C. to Hanoi and then back again is not as difficult as you might expect. This more than surprised Blake when he found out. When the proposal to accompany Sutton and the JPAC team was first introduced to him the exact details were never explained—and it was a good two weeks before Blake and Sutton had the opportunity to sit down to discuss all the intricacies, leaving him with all sorts of wild notions going through his young head. The average person back then wouldn’t have known that all it took was $1,341.00 and two days each way, all flown on a large, modern airline. 

This hardly matched the visions and intrigue that Blake had imagined. But that misconception had been rectified many months ago.

With a sweep of his hand, Sutton gracefully motioned for Blake to take the window seat. Because Bangkok Airway only flew out of Hanoi on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays—the flight to Bangkok was full of passengers.
 

Bangkok Airways Airbus A320-232
Photo by: Lerdsuwa

 


 


Exactly like traveling by air anywhere in the world, everyone was pressing in, shuffling to find a good seat. Once inside the narrow fuselage there wasn’t a person on board who failed to notice that the aircraft’s air conditioner was doing a miserable job of defeating the 90-degree heat outside. Blake commented how it almost felt a 100 degrees inside.  Not even the morning flight could beat the scorching temperatures.

After a futile attempt to get something cold to come out of the little silver nozzle above him, Sutton turned and said, “Well, Blake, in a couple of days we’ll be back in the States. I can’t wait to relax.”

“Yes Sir, this has completely exceeded my wildest expectations. Plus I think I’ve lost about ten pounds.”

“I think we all have!” That comment came from Pete.

Tracy, Pete, and Scott all sat grinning across the aisle, amused by Blake’s comment. Yes, they were all eager to get back home—and yes, they all looked about ten pounds lighter.

Hanoi to Bangkok to London to Washington, D.C.—that was their return route, matching exactly how they had gotten there. For the men, this is where it would end for them. Blake also thought that this was the end of the line for him. How little did he know! Actually, Blake was about to enter one of those pivotal points in a person’s life that can be looked back upon—years later—and recognized as nothing but monumental.  A story certainly worth telling.

Many hours later, the sleek Boeing 767 made a perfect landing at Dulles International Airport.  It was 3 p.m. on a Thursday.

 

   

Dulles International Airport
Wikipedia

 

 


A few minutes later, exactly as promised, just as the team exited the long ramp leading into the terminal, all the wives and children and family members that you would normally expect to be there gave the men a well deserved greeting. Some of Blake’s rock climbing buddies were there, too, along with his parents. This was when airport security used to let the waiting public greet their friends right as they exited the aircraft.

“Blake,” Sutton said, “I’ve got some debriefing to take care of but I’ve been doing some thinking and I’ve got something important to discuss with you. Something really important. I’ll call you in a couple of days.”

“Sure, Mr. Sutton, I’ll be home.”

“Good, you’ll be hearing from me soon. Hey, watch out for that crew of yours. They look more dangerous than Lt. Ngo’s men.”

While the rest of Sutton’s team made their way home, because he didn’t have a family waiting to greet him, Sutton decided to make his way toward the Pentagon. General Samm was expecting his report and after getting a hotel room he planned to call for an appointment. Outside, trying to flag down a taxi, it was just as hot as it had been in Hanoi. There are some things you can never escape.

Because of a traffic accident, it took the cab almost two hours to finally make it over to the Holiday Inn. Sutton kept thinking about Nick’s letter.
 

________________________________________

 

 

General Samm! Yes Sir, hello. Oh, not much hotter than here. OK, tomorrow morning at 9:30 is fine. Yes, everything went well. Just great. Blake held up better than the rest of us. Yes Sir, Roberts made all the arrangementsand General Chin sends his regards. He thanks you for the gift. Yes Sir, the film’s been developed. But General, there’s one other thing. OhOk, I understand. Yes SirI’ll give you a complete briefing in the morning. No, 9:30 is perfect. I’m going to bed early and I’ll see you in the morning. Ok, see you then. 

Compared to the hotel that Sutton and his team had stayed at in Hanoi, the Holiday Inn seemed like a palace.

The sheets were fresh and the room ice cold. After a thick steak and a baked potato, Sutton made his way down the carpeted hallway to the bar. It was only 6 p.m. Inside, Ebb Tide was playing softly in the background. Perfect. Sutton took a seat and adjusted his chair. The bartender was in his late 40s and had a soothing voice. Sutton ordered a cold beer. With that finally in front of him he took out his Colibri and lit one of his JR cigars, taking note that he needed to buy more. Lifting the tall glass to his lips and tasting the cold beer in his mouth, for the first time in what seemed liked months, Sutton felt relief. It would take three, maybe four more beers to finish off the cigar. That was exactly what he wanted—time to think.

But really there was only one thing to think about—Eleni. She had to be told. She had to be given the letter. Such a terrible thing had happened to her husband. Her country had let her down. Sutton also thought about Nick. God, what a shame! After all he went through—first abandoned—near death—then rescued and nursed back to health—only to be snared by the clutches of death a second time. No matter how much Sutton thought about it or felt sorry, the shame remained. It just wasn’t right what had happened. Of course, other men face injustice and learn to move on. In time they probably don’t even give it a second thought. But this had become far too personal for that. For over an hour Sutton sat at the bar, trying to enjoy his fine cigar—thinking.


________________________________________

 

General Samm, nice to see you again—how’s the family?

Thank you, Sutton. Everyone’s fine. Please take a seat. Did you get a good night’s sleep?

Yes Sir. Probably the best I’ve slept in weeks.

Well, good. OK, let’s see those photographs.

Sutton reached down for his brown briefcase and placed it in his lap, his fingers reaching to release the two metal buckles.

These are the photos I took. I gave the others to your Operations Officer in Hanoi along with my written report. I guess you’ll be getting all that in a few days.

Yes—sometime next week. I appreciate you keeping these out of the loop so that I could see them. My God, will you look at that!  That is unreal.  Boy, the jungle was really kind to her.  It’s amazing you even found it. Great work! Major, you and your team did a tremendous service to your country. How did Lt. Ngo and his men handle themselves? Oh, I see you’ve got one of them, too.    

Very professional, Sir. They got us in and out of there without a hitch. Actually, it was one of the Lieutenant’s men that first spotted the bomber. 

Well, I’ll be. That’s unbelievable. And what are these pictures?

“Yes, Sir—that’s what I need to talk to you about. You know about Operation Shining Brass.  Ok, let me start from the top.”

 

________________________________________
 

 

The meeting with General Samm took almost two hours. As for Sutton’s report, what he had to say was duly noted. Sutton knew the drill. He expected it. The letter and Nick’s fate was simply going to be treated as more MIAs found—lumped in with the dog tags that belonged to the fallen men in Nick’s original unit, plus the six crewmen from the B-52. As far as what happened to Nick and his comrades—in private circles the Army would acknowledge this isolated foul-up on their part. Considering the sudden evacuation that had taken place carrying out Operation Frequent Wind, certain mistakes were unavoidable.  

 

Operation Frequent Wind - The Sudden End of the Vietnam War
Wikipedia

 

 

 

Sutton kept telling himself that nobody was to blame—that this was just an anomaly of war. Every war has its share of mistakes.  Of course the Pentagon was never going to reveal the larger picture that involved dozens of abandoned soldiers. No, that was never going to happen.

A Staff Sergeant entered the room and handed the General photocopies of Nick’s letter. Here, let his wife have the originals. This will be sufficient for our records.  What do you think of that letter, Major?

What could he say?  Shaking the General’s hand, Sutton turned to his right and headed down the long hallway.  He had to get hold of Blake.


Chapter 2: Vietnam, 1974     •     Abandoned      •      Ronald E. Boutelle     •     Back     •     Table of Contents   

Part Two
Chapter 1: The Saga Continues