General Le Minh Dao met with the foreign media and stated, “I am determined to hold Xuan Loc. I don’t care how many divisions the Communists send against me; I will smash them all! The world shall see the strength and skill of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.”

  Yet the truth was far more different than his version of reality.

  Jesse met with the Tiger Force Rangers' unit leader, Captain Le Quang Hung. He was a resilient veteran who had been fighting the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army for over ten years. Captain Hung had been in the ARVN Special Forces for over six years and spoke excellent English. The CIA had trained him in intelligence gathering, sabotage, and psychological operations in the United States. Hung had been captured and tortured for two weeks by the Vietcong before he escaped and made his way south to freedom. The man was a very tough and capable soldier who had been wounded and decorated many times. Jesse walked up to the Captain and placed his arm around his shoulders.

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  Towering over the much shorter man, Jesse said, “Captain, Shawn, and I will be joining you today if you will honor us with your company.”

  Hung smiled, “The honor is mine, Sargent. I understand Colonel Bennett gave you two slackers a pass, and yet you two want to do a little humping in the bush? You two might want to have your heads examined when you get back to Saigon.”

  “Well, Captain, no one said the Shawn and yours truly were all that bright.”

  Captain Hung laughed before saying, “Quite the opposite, Sargent; you two are fearless and intelligent.”

  “Well, sometimes I think bravery is associated with stupidity.”

  The Captain thought about that statement. “You might have something there, Jesse. If you two clowns aren’t at the chopper pad at fifteen hundred hours, we will leave without you.”

  “We’ll be there, Captain,” Jesse replied quickly with a grin.