"Joe Haldeman - 1968" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haldeman Joe)

maybe it was all a horrible mistake and they were going to run into an ambush and die.

He resumed his study of the ground.

Mines and boobytraps
Boobytraps would eventually account for 11 percent of American deaths in Vietnam (as opposed to 3
percent in World War II). They would account for 17 percent of wounds, and many of the wounds were
terrible.

American soldiers were cautioned against littering in the field, because rubbish could come back in fatal
form. The largest C-ration can-the type that held Frankfurters and Beans or Spaghetti with Meat
Sauce-was just the right size to hold a Mark 2 hand grenade, restraining the safety lever from popping
away. So an enemy soldier could attach a thin wire to the grenade, slip it into the can, pull the pin, and
then carefully arrange the assembly so the can-conveniently dark green-was hidden from view and the
just-taut wire crossed a trail at ankle height. A careless American would snag the wire and pull the
grenade out of the can. He would certainly hear the safety lever pop away, even if he hadn't noticed the
trip wire, but he might not react in time to save his life or limbs. The person behind him might be killed or
mutilated as well, or even someone much farther away. The base plug of an M-2, a solid chunk of metal,
could be flung as far as two hundred yards.

The Vietnamese made boobytraps out of all kinds of salvaged and stolen ordnance, from single rifle
rounds to dud 500-pound bombs. The most dangerous and effective ones were "command-detonated,"
an observer watching from a safe distance with an electrical switch or a radio-frequency detonator. That
way he could wait and pop the boobytrap when the RTO walked over it, or blow a specific vehicle off
the road.

The enemy also employed non-explosive boobytraps, which were effective both as psychological and
tactical weapons. The most common was the punji stake, a spike of hardened bamboo smeared with
human excrement and buried in a shallow hole, pointing up at a slight angle, camouflaged with brush. If a
soldier put his weight on it, the spike could punch through the sole of his boot, penetrate the entire foot,
and come out the top. The pain was indescribable. Even with quick evacuation, the infection spread by
the excrement could lead to amputation or death. The weapon didn't cost a nickel and it would stop a
column just as surely as a frontal assault.

There were also tiger pits, deep holes filled with punji stakes and camouflaged. The most bizarre use of
the punji stake, though, was a device called the killerball. This was a ball of hardened clay or concrete,
bristling with punji stakes, suspended at the end of a rope tied to a stout tree branch. The heavy ball was
pulled back like a swing or suspended pendulum, and released at the proper moment, to whip down a
jungle trail at waist level and impale one or several Americans. Killerballs were rarely seen but often
discussed.

Walking Point

After an hour or so of walking, the word came up to shift positions. Killer stood aside to wait for the end
of the line, Spider moving up to point.

Killer removed the magazine from his rifle, jacked the round out of the chamber and slid it into the top of
the magazine. Only the point men were supposed to carry a round in the chamber. "Lock and load," he
said to Spider, clicking the magazine back into place. "Keep it on safety."