The Pagoda

submitted by: Alva Leon Matheson

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Been listening to some tapes that I made over there, and came across one in which I reported to Nancy, my wife, that I heard a FAC directing an airstrike with a VNAF flight of three. The strike was against a small village that had a pagoda in the center at the main crossroad. The FAC advised the strike pilots of the pagoda and asked that they identify it and acknowledge that it was not to be struck. Everything else was fair game. All acknowledged that they had identified the proper target and would not hit the pagoda. Next, the FAC cleared the VNAF strike pilots hot, once again telling them not to hit the pagoda. Once again they acknowledged their instructions and identified the pagoda. The lead VNAF dropped his nape, and the FAC was heard to shout – “Jesus Christ, you hit the god- damned pagoda!”