The Lucky Ones

CHAPTER 4

The Unit

If I were to decline the proposition, the agents informed me that the interview never occurred.  The agents mentioned that they were seeking men of my size, weight, and ability, with the kind of luck that I had.  I asked, “What kind of luck do you mean?”  The agents said “the kind that you have.”  The agents were recruiting an elite group of eight men for a mission in Vietnam.  Other than myself, I’m not sure if there is anyone alive that can tell you about the unit that was being assembled.  Any information about the elite unit perished in the second Twin Tower, during the terrorist attack, on September 11, 2001.

The agreement was we would receive Colonel’s pay if we did this job and helped or receive money for the rest of our lives.  This operation has stopped since 9/11 happened.

When I was discharged from the Air Force, I started working for Allstate Insurance Company (West branch) in Redford, Michigan, right outside of Detroit.  For my first two weeks working for Allstate, I rode around with an auto claims adjustor.  For my second two weeks, I suppose to be attending school in Chicago to learn more about estimating automobile damage.  Instead, I was in training for the new unit that the government had created.  I met with the other seven men.  We only knew each other by Alpha numbers instead of by names.  The Alpha numbers were 1 – 8 and my number was Alpha 5.  Our orders did not contain our real names or any personal information, just our Alpha number.  That was cold but we complied.

The suits we were issued were nothing like we had ever seen.  The suits were a black-green color that would cover our body like a second skin including our head, eyes, and mouth.  The suit would keep us fifteen to twenty degrees cooler than the outside temperature.  This was ideal since the temperature in Vietnam was around 100 degrees.  The suit also would prevent us from sweating and provide us with a lot of protection.  The suit could not be punctured, but you could be killed if you were hit point blank by an AK47 round.   Neither snakes, scorpions, nor knifes could not hurt us.

The eye covers gave us 50% more visibility in a pitch-black night.  We would see a light blue glow for the eight of us, a light green glow for the troop, and a red glow for the Vietcong.  How the eye covers worked, I do not have a clue.

The suit made us almost invisible in the jungle, day or night, including the additional protection from smell or from the sound of heavy breathing.  The mouth cover cooled the air and filtered it for us.  The cover was designed to not allow any smells out so, if you had bad breath that day, the Vietcong would not be able to smell you.

The shoes were another thing altogether.  The shoes had a thin rubbery sole that were also puncture proof like the suit and the shoes made your feet highly sensitive to what you were walking on.  We learned how to move without making a sound.

The rest of our equipment consisted of a four food pouches, four 3 ounce water pouches, one 8” bladed knife and a 9mm automatic gun with a silencer.

The training consisted of tactics and team work.  Once the training was completed, somehow I was selected to be the squad leader.  We were all so much alike – approximately six foot tall, weighing between 145 to 155 pounds, and same type of abilities.  If you were heavier or lighter then the suggested weight, the suit would not function properly.  Someone went through a great deal work and research to find us.  Then we were sent back home to our so-called jobs and waited for orders.  My wife until this day did not know of my secret life.