Now They Have Drones

By Frank Tracy

Magic Bullets is a book based on a true life experience. It is the story of a young man who while in the military was by coincidence trained in a series of schools
that later on in life gave him everything he would need to accomplish what he was asked to do for his country. By coincidence he even had the perfect job.
He shares several of these things with us in a way he hopes the reader will understand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Tracy
• Release date: Feb 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311154682

Frank Tracy

Hi My name is Frank Tracy, I am 73 and still in pretty good shape. I live in Middle Georgia, just a little north of where I did most of my growing up, Waycross Georgia. I am a missionary for Child Evangelism Fellowship here in Middle Georgia. and I love what I do. I get to tell hundreds, no, thousands of children about Jesus; how He wants them to do what is right according to His word, and how much He loves them. I have been doing this for the last 36 years. At the same time I worked with National, Pan Am and SATO for 36 years. I didn't change jobs, the company names changed. I have had what others call an interesting life, I hope you will enjoy reading about some of it.

Book preview

NOW THEY HAVE DRONES

By

Frank Tracy

Copyright © 2015 by Frank L Tracy

All rights reserved

Distributed by Smashwords

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or means, electronic. Mechanical, photographic (photocopy), recording or otherwise without the prior permission in writing from the author.

All scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Ebook Formatting by LK Ebook Formatting Service.

ISBN 9781311154682

Order additional copies at [e-mail]

Or contact the author at

P O Box 896 Byron, Georgia 31008

This book is for you, Hammer.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

Hammer and I were running as best we could. Crashing through the underbrush and vines. It was hot and we were tired, beat up, and every bone in our body hurt. We had been lashed to a tree limb for the last nine days with our feet barely touching the ground and sometimes beaten with bamboo rods across the back and legs. What we had been fed was a concoction of filthy rice and dead fish. But now, we thought we were going to make it back home. I could hear Hammer gasping, or maybe it was me. I’m not sure, but we both knew we had to keep moving. There was no telling when our captors’ main group would return and come after us. I tripped on a vine and Hammer quickly helped me get up. We just kept moving as fast as we could.

Suddenly there was a lightning like flash, and a deafening crash. I don’t know how long I was out, I’m sure it was at least several minutes. Then I began to get myself together, shake off the fog, quiet the ringing in my ears and was able to sit up and look around. The first thing I saw was Hammer’s torn and bleeding body lying about six feet away from me. He had tripped a booby-trap mine. It is impossible to explain the emotions that were flying through me. My whole body was shaking and I thought it would never stop. Finally, I was able to get back in control oblivious to the pain of my cuts and bruises. Hammer was my best friend. He had been assigned my spotter only seven months earlier, but it was one of those relationships that worked great from the beginning. We had come to respect and enjoy working together. Now he was lying next to me, his body torn and lifeless. I could not control my tears. How did we get to this point? Why were we even here? I was only nineteen, but I felt so old, so tired, and so worn out. I realized that even the reason I was here was a long story. I sat there in shock, and for some reason my mind raced back in time. It’s like I became disconnected.

CHAPTER 1

My name is Bill. I had grown up differently than a lot of other kids. My parents had not gotten along and my father had left my two brothers, my sister and myself when I was six. Then my mother abandoned us when I was eight. I became determined to keep us together. The sobs, the fear, and anguish of my siblings made the idea of giving them hope that they still had a family very important to me.

We found a shack on the Mississippi River and we were able to make it our home for almost three years. It wasn’t easy, we were fine until we were found out. The authorities were not very sympathetic, and definitely not kind. Because I had tried a couple of times to get free by fighting them, and because my little brother and I escaped from the jail they had put us in, I was considered a juvenile delinquent and sent to a reform school. From there, I tried one more time to escape, my idea was simply to find my brothers and sister and get us back together again. But everything I tried failed. I felt I had betrayed my siblings. All I managed to do was get caught and put into solitary confinement for a long time.¬

A cousin of mine found out what had happened and came up from Georgia to see if he could help me. The result was that I was allowed to go home with him. They were a great family and my life with them was wonderful. I came to love them and their children as if they were my own family. I did, however, have this crazy idea that I was a tremendous financial hardship to them and I proposed to relieve them of that burden as soon as I could. I had come to love them so much. So, at age eighteen I foolishly joined the Army.

I did not realize it at the time but deep down inside, because of my early life, I had very low self-esteem. I only realized later how wrong I was. But at the time I joined the Army I had to prove it to myself. Because of this mentality, I joined what I thought was the toughest branch of service, Airborne Rangers. It was rough and I ¬wondered sometimes if I would make it through training, but I was determined and I made it. I didn’t think about it at all at the time, but during training on the rifle range I was outstanding. My training cadre, however did notice and put it in my records and I got cited for excellence on the firing range.

After Airborne Ranger school I was sent to Fort Bragg where I was assigned to a Special Forces unit. Once there I was selected for HALO training. HALO stands for high altitude-low opening; a parachutist opens his parachute at a low altitude after free falling for a period of time from a very high altitude. I didn’t realize it but the Army already had been planning my career. After HALO training I was picked to be a part of an international exchange program with England. I was sent to a small town south of London to be trained at what was considered one of the best sniper schools in the world. I was flattered and really enjoyed my time there. I learned to love and respect the English people making some lifelong friendships...

Shortly after I returned to the USA I was reassigned to the First Calvary Division in Korea. From that unit, I was given various assignments, this was one of them.

Hammer and I had been flown to Southeast Asia where a group of French and Vietnamese soldiers were camped in the boondocks. We were parachuted in along with fifty M-14 rifles. Our orders were to deliver them and train that group in their use. It seemed like a simple enough assignment. Having had a long day, it was agreed that we would start training in the morning. The next thing we knew we were very rudely awakened. We were looking into gun barrels of a group that called themselves the People’s Army, the Khmers. The French and Vietnamese soldiers had left us behind in their hurry to get away.

Our captors were brutal. They tied us up to a tree limb next to each other. We were very well trained so we fell back on that training. We went along as much as we could with our captors, trying our best to just stay alive. They didn’t know much about Americans but they knew that they didn’t like us. Every time we did something that they didn’t like they hit us with the bamboo rods. Believe me there was a lot they didn’t like. They did a lot to try and degrade us and break us down. Every time one would walk by they would spit on us. They didn’t allow us to clean or bathe ourselves. Those nine days seemed like a hundred years. It may seem crazy to you but I used mashed potatoes and gravy as a visual to stay sane. However, on the 9th day they made their mistake. Most of their group left and only twelve stayed behind. That certainly made the odds a lot better. Hammer and I worked out a plan. They always untied us one at a time, once a day to eat the slop that they fed us. Because they were down to a few there were only two soldiers assigned to guard us while we ate. They untied me first. I needed a Herculean effort but I was able to take them both out and cut Hammer loose. Now we were both armed. That left only ten. I won’t go into those details. Suffice to say we did escape. Before we left we were able to locate and destroy the M-14’s that we had brought with us so that they could not be used by the Khmers.

CHAPTER 2

Suddenly, like getting hit in the head with a club, reality began to return. There I was next to the torn and bleeding body of my best friend.

What do I do now? I realized that I needed to get moving, I had to get as far away from that camp as possible. There was no way of telling when the main body would return and come after us. They may have heard the explosion and be on their way right now. At that time and even now, there was an unwritten code, no one gets left behind. Especially not my best friend. I rigged up a sled like device with some broken limbs, put Hammer on it, and headed towards what I hoped was home. Hammer was a big man but there was no way I would leave him behind. It was sometimes excruciating pain dragging that sled but I never even thought of leaving it. It seemed like a dream as the first night came upon me. Even after dark I kept going until I believe I passed out from pain and fatigue. I woke in the morning and began again. This must be a bad dream, I sometimes thought.

I really was filthy and needed a bath. I came upon a small stream and after a long drink of water I took a sort of bath with my clothes on. I was afraid to stop and wash clothes or certainly take the time to let them dry. That quick bath however did wonders for me. I felt somewhat renewed. I guess you could say, almost human.

It was two days after we had escaped when I heard the voices. All I could speak in their language was a few words we had picked up while captives, so I had no idea who they were or most of what they were saying. I moved as quickly as I could into some heavy brush to hide both of us. As I laid in the bushes I watched and prayed that they would not see us. As they came nearer I could see that they were not soldiers. They were a family and appeared harmless. They were carrying a lot of stuff on their backs. Suddenly I realized I had not had food for over two days. I could sure use something to eat. Should I approach them or not? I was so desperately hungry I took a chance and came out of hiding and asked them for something to eat. I was as careful as I could be, I didn’t want to scare them away. I walked out as slowly as I could, cautiously saying, CHAO BAN. I hoped it was hello in their language. I could tell that they were frightened but they didn’t run. I heard the word American several times. It took some painstaking translating and a lot in sign language, but it turned out that word had been spread that two Americans were out here somewhere and that they were to be reported if seen. It also turned out that this family hated the People’s Army. Thank you, Lord.

I was able to let them know I needed food. I again hoped I had the word right, Do an. I said, Do an. They must have understood because they shared some of what they had. I really felt a lot better after I had eaten. Then as best they could they gave me instructions on the quickest route to get to a village that turned out to be about 25 miles farther away. There, they said, I could find help. They also gave me a small bag of rice. That rice and water from a few streams, got me through. They also promised that they would tell no one that they had seen me. I will never forget that wonderful family. To this day, I mention them in my prayers asking God to protect them.

I struggled along through the jungle, afraid to follow a path or trail and be spotted, for three and a half, mostly uneventful days, which seemed like years, until I finally reached the village they had described. I believe my mind played tricks on me sometimes. I very often thought that I heard voices and would sometimes scramble under cover. However, I never saw another living soul until I reached the village.

The people in that village were wonderful. They fed me, gave me some decent clothing and I was able to take a well needed bath. For the first time, in what seemed like years, I felt like a human being. They helped me get word to my command and my command sent a helicopter to pick us up. Hammer was put into a body bag. As I watched I could not control the tears and the sobs that unexpectedly rushed from somewhere deep inside of me. I cannot and will not ever forget my friend. Its 55 years later and I still have an occasional nightmare. You might ask, how someone can make it through all of this. My answer would be, Without God, no one. I prayed a lot and God answered a lot. This I know beyond any doubt. Thank you, Jesus.

CHAPTER 3

After I was released from the Army hospital in Seoul, I was reassigned to the good ole USA. It was explained to me that that what we had just done, never happened, as we were not ever supposed to be involved in that area. I was told that Hammer had died in a training accident saving the lives of myself and two other soldiers and that he would receive the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star medal posthumously. I didn’t like it, but I felt as if I had no choice. To this day, I wish his family could know the truth. But then maybe they were better off not knowing.

My luck. At the time, I was to return to the States, there was a troop ship loading up at Inchon. As I said, lucky me. I spent a little over two weeks on that ship crossing the Pacific to the Oakland Army terminal. I shouldn’t complain, I was just happy to be back.

I was reassigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where I was to be part of the reactivation team for the Second Infantry Division. I was the first person to arrive at Fort Benning. Oh well, out of one mess, into another. Somehow, though, all this I felt as if I was being hid out of sight for a while. Just paranoia, I’m sure.

At Fort Benning, we took raw recruits and turned them into soldiers. I don’t