It was a cold january morning. Me and Two buddys sat waiting for a unit assiments. We had just finshed AIT school for God. The homeland. and Uncle Sam. Proud young men we where. If we only knew just what layed ahead for us. In a few months 1 of us would be dead 1 would be altered for life, and 1 would never forget.  We might have run away. No I am sure we would nt have. We where that sure of our selfs and the skills we had lurned over the last few months.
A few hours later we had our assiments. All set to go. Getty like school girls ready to explore the world. We shook hands and said we stay in touch. We headed out. I my way and Jeff his. and John set on his path. A few weeks later we we all meet once more on a far distant shore. I was working in a skill tasked for people of varyed intrust. I was lucky raised by poor people I knew the in and outs of mechinacle things and loved to drive. Jeff was a smart kid knew a few langs and was pretty handy with a torch. John was the odd man out no real skills with tools. Wasnt the good torch kid by any means, but for some damned reason he could read russin better than any one I ever knew.  Handy thing to know if your job is recovering and repair of Soveit Miltary Equment. 
A few months later in the hot sun the humidty so high you could nearly watch steel rust! We meet once more. I was still feel my way a round a job that still made little sence to a compony comander that was a by the book guy. Jeff lucked out a landed with a Spec unit that seamed to grasp the fun parts of the Job at hand. John had it the worst. Heavy Mech unit that saw him as nothing more than a wrench jocky. We all landed with rank a nice thing. Sepc 4 or 5s I dont rember any more. But a month or so we figered out the lay of the land and where able to get things set up pretty much as we had been tought in school. We lucked out and got pretty much the TO&E promised to do the job required The heavy equment came first. 3 brand new M-80s along with all the nessary gear. 
After long meeting with the local cheifs we had gathered enuff intell to know the "BAD GUYS" across the river had a Contolment area with a few prizes that the "HEADS" would love to have. After a long meet with the mucky mucks we broke camp and did what Unckle Sam was paying us to do. 
More later....  

Can't wait to hear the rest
Dragon

An ongoing biography...awesome!

Ride Free
Tweek

After working our way toward the river in a deep water crossing with Heavy Tracked Vec. and a Mech Inf unit as back up and 3 Arbems tanks P1 out fitted Or as we liked to call em GOD UNITS. And a few straglers a M-578 recovery vec 2 M-113 set up as ITVs and of course A Comand Track MOD M- 113s
The usal night crossing was required for stelth. No lights, risky but we had done it in pratic a 100 times. After about 2 hours we called for a head count. All acounted for. So it was figered we would brake in to 3 strike teams 1 M-80 1 GOD UNIT 1 group of Infantry and a 113 ITV out fit. A brake out unit would be left behind about 1 mile from the Ojective Thay would brake for the only bridge that crossed the river that could carry a M-80 draging a T-72 or better yet a T-82 at a full run about 40 mph. These guys would hold the bridge and cover our exit. After we crossed we would hold the frendly side and cover there retreat across the same bridge. Sence as far as any of us knew this was a first for any army group in nearly 40+ years Last time anthing like this was attemped was way back in 1944. And if didnt end up well. Or goal was to recover 3 tanks but we where willing to settle for 1. A KIS plan. (KEEP IT SIMPLE). Come in quite get as close as we could with 80 tons of V-12 thunder good over view of the GOD UNITs and the ITVs to bring the heavy if needed. Mech inf for ground fire and for poop and snoop Seamed to me we planed it out good. 3 hours later moving thur the sticky icky and tring not to bring down the world with us. We got our first look at the bad guys a small unit of 8 to 10 guys looking tired and draging ass thay moved past as at just over 150 yards. As we sat dead quite we raido checked with the Fire base. All was in the green. We moved in to the area as quitely as posable for 80 ton to do so. We spotted a row of what looked like brand new T-72s ready to pick up. Green was called and with every once of horse power the M-80s could provide we smashed thur the gates like line backers smelling a quarter back on the run. It was the only time I ever stoped to look any where other than my target. As A GOD unit droped a round in the barricks and it split apart like kindling for a fire. I could hear the Deep moaning cough of Ma Duce on one of the 113s pounding a watch tower. We set up for rear pick ups on the T-72s The side door opened on the M-80s and all the world truned to light and fire. The BAD GUYS hammered us with every form of light wepon thay could bring to bear. Out side crew called us to see if we needed a little punch. Hell yae bring on the rain. A few seconds later 120mm rounds pounded the ground not 200 yards from where we sat. The ground crew called in and said roll 1. Thats 1 foot foward. Called and lock. a few seconds later there called ready to move. We started to pull. The V-12 roared to life as the Monster clawed the ground I could hear the 2nd M-80 call out for some close fire suport to bring the heat to the rear of the track. I could see tracer rounds strike the back half of the track and bounce off like dead bees. We started to move foward The gunner called for extra rounds. The over watch called in the 3rd crew was rolling with package. 2nd crew was not going any where. thay looked like thay where in trouble. Smoke poored from the Main pack doors. There 50 gunner was down. And it still looked like the outside crew  was working the cables to eather hook and book or unhook
More Later....

You have me on the edge of my seat..... Keep the story coming!
Dragon

I am Sorry I am still working on this. As to the story. All is true. Jeffery Seafort Died 2 months later. In what was decribed to his parents as a training accdent. John Hoke lost an arm in a recovery of a US Marine corps M-60 A2.
This all hapened in Hondours in the late to mid 80s. Back when Ronnie Raygun was in office. The land of the bad guys was The naibouring country of Nic. For you floks that rember the days of Col Olively North and trading guns and parts for money. Yes I was there along with about 1300 close buddies. As we sat in the nasty jungles of central America and watched our leaders lie on TV. Let us never for get those that served in Hondours El Salvdor and Panama. Psychedelic 81st Beg 3/161 E compony. HHC plt Recovery Sp. Repair and Reuse Of Sovet Miltary Equment. Did my time 6 years AND I WAS DONE.