Page 255 - Thorn In The Heart

Chinh Nguyên

The anti-aircraft Katyushas 16 barrels had continued firing
up to threaten the pilot lives, made them flying in high attitude
and paid attention at the explosive smokes all over around them.

At 9 AM Katyushas shot down two Air Force warplanes
after they were sloping in low attitude, dropped the bombs at
Vietminh positions on surrounding hills and took a J up to the
sky. One exploded like a fireball, gave the ion pieces flying in
the air, and dropped on the ground closing the French camps in
suddenly. Another had lost control with the black smoke at its
engine, quickly scratched on another side hill, and the smoke
column rose up from the thick forest.

Few minutes late, a Navy warplane was flying out its
mission, directed to the North Vietnam bay, and tried to fly back
the Arromanches carrier. It seemed a pilot could not bring his
airplane flying home, he jumped out of a plane and was a target
for Vietminh machine guns while he was dangling in the air.

Bach-Mai Air-Base 10:30 AM, few Air Force warplanes
with full bombs under the wings took off and appeared on the
sky of Dien-Bien-Phu. The pilots dropped the napalms all over
surrounding hills closed the French camps to make the able
safety zones around French camps. They used machine guns to
shoot at the Vietminh soldiers coming out from the edge of the
forest and supported the C-47 cargo planes dropping the
paratroopers on the camps for reinforcing.

The fence of napalms and machine guns did not stop the
Vietminh waves, who walked out of the forest, hold all kind of
the rifles, and carried the hate in their souls. They were shooting
at French paratroopers as they were practicing at the hanging
targets, and rushing into the French camps to kill or be killed.

French paratroopers had taken the risks of their lives in the
air with the hundred soldiers were dead and wounded by the
Vietminh machine guns. French paratroopers tried landing into

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