Rounds fly inches above your head. You lay still, gripping your M16. Minutes later, the battle ends as quickly as it began. You and few others slowly get up and slip into nearby rice paddies. You wade through hip-high water, and head back to camp. You’re soaked to the skin. As you remove your boots in your hooch, you fear that you might come down with trench foot. You crawl into your cot, exhausted.

You fall asleep as helicopters fly over head