Palidan

Paladin
(C) James J Alonzo
(Fiction)

Preface

This story is a fiction, so any similarities to anyone living or dead is strictly coincidental.

There was a man that grew up in an orphanage, then reclaimed by his mother when he was five years old, to join her new husband, and instead of living happily ever after, he had to live his life in a living hell. for the man his mother married was a brute , and shared his violent ways on his new wife and her child for the next eleven years!

By the time the child had grown to sixteen years old, he had experienced the step-fathers brutality, witness his mother being slapped around, living in the slums ( now called the ghetto). He had participated in street gangs, crime, gang fights of the late 1950's to early 1960's. All training for his future and his willingness to react violently, he soon ended the step-father's violent ways.

Paladin had learned well, for one day at sixteen years old, his step-father's violence had started as the usual way. His step-father arrived home and complaining about something trivial had slapped Paladin's mother across the mouth! Paladin now 5'11", 200 pounds, witnessing another Act of violence, reacted in the same way of defending his mother, but yet this time differently, stood up, not saying a word and began beating his step-father with his fists and feet. Thus ending a long abusive relationship, and saving his mother from any future beatings at the hands of this cruel man. Paladin,by telling his bloody and beaten step-father, that if his mothers suffers an other attack or even an accident, that the old man would be killed.

At eighteen years old Paladin joined the Army during the Viet Nam War, where he was trained, as an infantry soldier, became gung ho volunteered to become an Airborne soldier, attended Infantry school and parachute school, and later Ranger training at Fort Benning Georgia. attended Jungle Training at the Panama Canal Zone. So in all Paladin got his violent skills honed even sharper, learning to read people, environments, opponents, weapons including hand to hand combat training, and learning to pick his times and not to react to soon.

When he got to Viet Nam Paladin eventually was assigned to a special unit, called the Phoenix program.
This is Paladin's story.



The First One

(C) James J Alonzo

In Viet Nam I was a squad leader of a combat team, and we had many interesting characters, some were Heros, other cowards, other thugs, but there were a few that were just criminals. Of these criminals there were a few of the lowest form of the human evolution. While on patrol in the Third Corp of Viet Nam, an area known as the Iron Triangle, we were patrolling through a village or hamlet, that was known to be sympathetic to the Viet Cong. I was learning that my squad had a man that was a rapist!

His name was Johnny Doan, a blonde 6' tall, 180 pounds, from Brooklyn, New York. He was a new man, so he had yet to have been battle experienced, so I was reserving judgment of his combat abilities. In a team each man is counted on to protect the others. And when a new man arrives, no one trusts the new man until he proves himself in the heat of combat. For allegedly when a man gets through Ranger training, it is usually a good man that comes to the war, however I was to find out that this man was a low life!

I started to hear rumors that when we went through villages, that Doan tended to prowl around by himself, prowling for young girls and force himself on them. Sometimes at gun point.

I wasn't happy to hear this, for if it got out, I would be held responsible. Besides, if this was true I would have to report him, testify at his court martial. if I found out and didn'T report him, I would be court martialed.

So on patrol, I was exceptionally vigilant on Doan's movements, and activities when we were in hamlets or villages. This particular patrol, was a search and destroy mission, which is search and find the enemy and destroy him or his support system, or both.

It was common on a search that the men would have different areas of search patterns, some going in different directions to cover more of an area. Doan wandered off as we were going though this hamlet, so at first I didn't have time to look for him, however J J came up to me and said,

"Check out Doan, three hooches west of here."

"Why?" I asked, "What's he up too?"

"Well, you said keep a look out for this asshole, and what he was up too! looks like what the others are saying is the real deal."

"Shit!"
I was not going to tolerate this horse shit, if this was true, it was going to end quickly, and maybe bloody!

I walked around the three hooches J J spoke of, but heard cryings and low screams before I got there! When I got there, I spotted Doan's white naked ass, trousers down to his ankles receiving a blow job from some little Vietnamese girl.

"That's enough!" I ordered, " Pull up your pants, you fucking asshole!"

As he did, the little girl took off running to one of the hooches.

"What the fuck Sarge! It an't shit to skull fuck one of these gooks!"

I didn't respond, I just shot him with my M -16 rifle center mass, yelling at the same time,

"Incoming!!!!"

As the remainder of the squad arrived, I was shooting into the nearby jungle, yelling directions of the field of fire. After about 30 seconds, I yelled,

"Cease fire!"

When we heard no more shooting from the imaginary enemy in the nearby jungle, I ordered,

"Bag that shit bird! " Then to my radio operator, I ordered a medic For Johnny Doan's body.

I knew it wouldn't be a problem for a man to have been shot with an M-16 rifle, for the Viet Cong were known to carry seized weapons from our American soldiers killed in action or the South Vietnamese troops.

As they were bagging Doan, I looked over to J J, and said,

"It had to be done."

"You got that right! " J J said, "The fucker had it coming."

This was my first killing outside of combat, and for some reason it didn't t seem to bother me. I wondered about that, and if I was rationalizing that this was different from the killing of the VIet Cong soldiers. but I knew one thing it was getting easier and easier.

~


The Second Time

A Rightest Kill

(C) James J Alonzo

Looking back in life, I can hardly understand the horror of it all. How could I do some of the things I did?  This guilt, it tears at me every day. 

As a squad leader in Viet Nam, I was responsible for my men and their actions. If we were in the jungle with other units, it was easy to get caught up with the mood of others. I broke my ass to keep my men in line, and they knew there were iron clad rules that I would not tolerate being broken. When I spoke of the war, to friends that were not in war, I generally told them the funny stories of the war, and skipped the blood and gore.
 
I never liked to speak of the real War, combat events, or what happened that awful morning in February. It was the tail end of the 1967-68 TET offensive. A lot of American soldiers were killed during this massive battle period. A lot of Vietnamese died too. Some were the enemy, some were innocent, and some we weren't sure, but, still taking no chances, they died too. However, I will speak about the Americans and how some died.  Yes, they weren't Viet Cong, but people won't understand what we went through over there, except it was hell, absolute hell.

Still, that doesn't really excuse what happened. Two of my men had to be punished. Maybe it is not a fair price to pay for saving young VIetnamese girls. The American soldiers in my unit had been forewarned, rape would not be tolerated! 

"So if I catch you raping any women," I told them, "justice will be swift!"

 I should have said something like J J  suggested, and just reported these men to higher ups. However if I had reported them, it would have placed a target on my back and I would of been "Fragged!" 

Instead, that day, I took it on myself to be judge, jury and executioner. What I've reduced myself too for killing people in war is one thing, but killing Americans was another thing. I  thought at the time, that I was justified, therefore guiltless.  I was wrong. I never thought there would be a penance to pay for my actions. It cuts through my heart just to write those words Yet, I must tell what I saw, and did there, it's the only way I will have peace when I leave this wretched earth.

I was just twenty years old, a short temper, and there was a fire in me, a drive to lash out at authority. I was mad, I had heard, on January 31, 1968, at the beginning of the TET offensive, that my Vietnamese girlfriend and her family had been killed by the Viet Cong! 

I was also mad for I got a letter from my wife Nanci that her cousin Ken was critically wound at Khe Sanh, and they didn't know if he would survive. Added to that was the fact we lost many Americans in our Division, even though that was to be expected for we were the 101rst Airborne Division. 

Regardless, I have always had my own code of conduct, right from wrong, good from bad, fair and unfair. Besides having these rules, I had a gun and the right to do whatever the hell I felt like. At least, that was the attitude my military training had given me. 

When TET hit we learned that every city in the country was attacked at the same time by the communists. Communists that hid and worked among the general populace. Some even worked at American base camps through out the country.

The Vietnamese were not to be trusted, we were told. The Viet Cong were blending in with the populace so no one was truly "innocent". And throughout the many battles and firefights of TET, all of our American troopers were exhausted and wanted revenge. 

This day came and it would be the day I could use all this power and anger. My squad was on a company mission, and was called up on a search and destroy mission at this village near Cu Chi in the iron Triangle.

Another mission, another firefight and a chance to get revenge for the people we lost in this war.

 The Captain wanted a search & destroy mission on this particular village and we were going to answer this assignment. (Search & Destroy is the mission of search out the enemy and their supporters, then destroy their supporters, their food caches, and any weapons.) 

 We were ready to follow his orders. We had already been told that the villagers would be gone to market and any remaining people were NLF and VC sympathizers. With that information, we went into the Village area, guns ready. Suddenly we received small arms fire for we drew AK-47 rifle fire! 

All I recall is a pulled trigger and the sound of M16 rifle fire, and the shouting of commands.  We were ordered to fire and fire we did. The chaos around me happened in an instant, and the bulk of firefight was over in a 20 minutes. 

As the fire fight was ending into sporadic fire, i noticed two of my platoon members sneaking off with some women to group of huts to do God knows what. While my actions are unforgivable, I swear to you I have never tolerated rape of anyone. However I would murder anyone who tried to rape.  

After the noise died there was only the stench of cordite, cartridge shells and blood-soaked mud. It was awfully clear that there were no more alive NVA soldiers, Viet Cong or VC operatives. 

The remainder of the Vietnamese were women and children, elderly all huddle in one area, knowing we were going to destroy and burn their village, and transport them to a relocation camp. Knowing what was going to happen, we could see that they had looks of anger on their faces.

We gathered up the weapons and checked the enemy bodies for written intelligence, their bloody bodies crumpled, now silenced. Once again we had sacrificed our humanity. Someone once told me there is no innocence in war I guess he was right. 

i tracked down the two American soldiers, by locating them from the young cries and screams coming from one of the huts. I had found them raping these young girls. As I entreated the hut, I pointed my M-16 at them and ordered them off the tearful girls.  

After the crying girls got up off the ground, clutching their torn clothing, they stood holding each other.  

"You stupid mother fuckers!", I started to chew the soldiers out, but they chose to stand there together, grinning, and cut me off with some smart mouth talk. 

"Hey fuck you sarge," said Jimmy Doyle proudly, " we're just getting ours!"

At that point my patience was over and I pulled the trigger, firing two bursts of three shots into each of their chests!   As the the girls witness this action I knew they had their innocence taken when we exposed them to this brutality, and now these men's deaths.  

I cannot go back in time. I cannot undo the actions I unleashed that day. If only I had been stronger. Maybe something could have been done Maybe I could have been like J J and saved some Americans lives by reporting them, but I didn't though. I just mowed down these animals like they were one and the same as the enemy. 

In war, we used our anger, our fear and our tensions as a blank check to wantonly take life and death into our own hands. I only hope in time we can be forgiven. I hope that God will at least let me see Heaven before He casts me down to Hell, where I belong.