Battlefield Korea

Basement Dwellers

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Lisa Kowalski was overwhelmed by the continued screaming of the air-raid sirens, which continued to wail all around her. Another wave of Chinese bombers began to hit strategic areas around the city. Several bombs landed close enough to the Embassy that it caused the building to shake violently, even from Lisa’s vantage point in the basement. Fortunately, the reinforced bulletproof windows were holding so far, and none of them had burst from the impacts.

As Lisa looked around the basement of the Embassy, she could see fear written across the faces of those huddled under the various tables and desks. Like her, the CIA station chief sat in a chair, trying to read a book and wait out the bombing. Others looked at them like they were crazy for not trying to hide and take further shelter.

The CIA guy got tired of the looks and asked, “Do you really think a table or desk is going to save you if the floor above us collapses?” Then he went right back to reading his book.

Lisa giggled at the interaction. She had been deployed several times to Iraq and Afghanistan during the height of the war, so she remembered what it was like to wait out a bombing. There really wasn’t much point to hiding under a table or desk if the multi-ton floor above you collapsed; it was just as likely to kill you if you were under a desk or sitting in a chair reading a book.

The Embassy had been warned by the DIA about forty-eight hours ago that the Chinese might attack Vietnam. The State Department, however, insisted that China was just making a show of force along the border, that they would not invade.

Two hours ago, when the first bombs and missiles began to hit the capital city of Hanoi, the Ambassador sent an urgent message to headquarters asking what to do. They had been directed to get all non-essential personnel out of the country as best they could and to hunker down in the basement of the Embassy. Supposedly, headquarters was working on coordinating things with the Chinese government to make sure the Embassy and its staff were not targeted by whatever the Chinese were currently doing, but that brought little comfort to those hunkered down with Lisa in the basement. There wasn’t anything to do but wait, however, whether nervously or curled up with a book.