The Storm

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mission Details At Last

N ext, Henry said, “The well -dressed man spoke: 'Captain Forester, I am Agent Grisham, and I am here to brief you on your first mission. As you can see from these maps, you and your men will be inserted into North Vietnam, past the demilitarized zone. We are not supposed to be here. We have received intel that there is a large force amassing for the New Year of what we call the Tet Offensive.'" Henry continued, 'The man walked towards the maps and what appeared to be surveillance photos from recon aircraft. I could not believe the detail and imaging of the photos and the topographical charts that I was seein'. I knew about the SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, and I thought that, what I was seein' was representative of its stealth ability and the capability of its cameras. I was impressed and proud at the same time. Each buildin', village, and city was clearly defined. Even the jungle canopy was clearly defined and focused to where you could see the individual trees and leaves. Jungle trails, boundaries, waterways, and lakes, along with newly dozed out roadways, stood out. Clear photos showed clearly definable military equipment staged at various sites. I could even see the Vietcong troops at each location. There were photos of individuals, houses, and groups of people. And there were close-up photographs. I knew that someone had risked their life to smuggle these out. Probably some North or South Vietnamese spy sent in by the CIA. This all became very real to me at this time."

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