Rescuing a Downed Chopper Crew in Vietnam (Scenario Playtest)

    Pfc. Carter of the Big Red One searches a patch of jungle for the missing & injured helicopter crew

After the flurry of playtests of Surviving 'Nam in November, things have been kind of quiet here on my blog about Vietnam. I have been busy writing the campaign rules section, as well as researching the squad organization for the various nationalities that helped South Vietnam resist its communist insurgency. However, I still need to get some scenarios play tested, so it was time for another solo game. I had been wanting to get the Big Red One back out into the field for awhile, and see how Cpl. Frey and the boys are progressing in their year-long tour.

    In the 'Downed Airmen' scenario, two wounded crewmen are in one of the six interior terrain pieces

With the loss of Lt. Cooper and Cpl. Kern in the Perfect Ambush scenario last month, the platoon needed some reorganization in leadership. A new "butterbar" lieutenant, 2nd Lt. Fickell, was given the platoon, while Pfc. Griffin was promoted to corporal and given charge of Cpl. Kern's fire team. They also received a new "cherry" from stateside in the form of Pvt. Elliott to bolster the squad's ranks. It was none to soon, as Lt. Col Meyer called Fickell and his NCOs together with an urgent mission for the squad. A helicopter had gone down in their operational area due to enemy fire. Weather had closed in soon afterwards, and the aerial rescue had to be scrubbed. It was up to the Big Red One to truck it out there, as close as the roads could get them, and beat the bushes to try and find any surviving crew.

    My 'chopper down' terrain piece I created for my post-apocalyptic games stood in well for this game

The scenario called for a heavily-wooded board. In the center, I placed a crashed chopper model I'd created for my post-apocalyptic games. The wounded crew would be either in that terrain piece or one of the other five on the interior of the board. It would be a race against time, though, as the V.C. were assumed to be actively searching for them, too, wanting to take them prisoner. "Keep your asses moving, Fickell - you understand?" Lt. Meyer stared at the new lieutenant, then at each of the team leaders. They all chorused affirmatives or "Yes, sir!" Cpl. Frey took Fickell under his wing and suggested parceling out the M60 team to his team, and that he and his radioman, along with the medic Specialist 4 Frank, go with Cpl. Griffin -- the newly promoted leader for the other fire team. 

    Cpl. Frey (center) moves his fire team up quickly through the clearings in the thick jungle tabletop

Frey and his men deployed in the gap between wooded sections on the left while Griffin and his group did the same on the right. Each sent a point man quickly forward, with the rest following behind slightly more cautiously and grabbing cover where they could. Frey motioned Pfc. Carter towards a patch of jungle giving hand signals to move fast. Carter nodded and jogged towards the trees. Frey motioned his bloop gunner Cpl. Janowicz to take cover in the trees to their left, while the machine gun team of Boston and Warfield were sent into the trees to the right. The FNG Elliott stood staring wide-eyed into the dense undergrowth. "Elliott!" Frey hissed. "Go with Carter." The terrified soldier nodded, his eyes wide, and moved off slowly after Elliott.

    As Pfc. Carter prepares to search a patch of woods, Frey positions his fire team in cover

On the other side, Griffin sent Pfc. Tatum and his M79 bloop gunner Pfc. Cassidy into the patch of woods to their front. He followed behind, while motioning the C.O., his radioman, and the medic into the trees to their left. "No use all of us getting gunned down in an ambush," Griffin thought, and then followed his two point men. He had been reluctant to take on leadership of the team when Kern got injured. However, the platoon sergeant told him that, before he was medevaced out for his "Da Nang Holiday," Kern had recommended him for the spot. Griffin shook his head. He guessed it was the least he could do for Kern, who had always treated him as a valuable member of the fire team. Griffin scanned the trees ahead. "Come on, flyboys, where are you? Let us find you and get the Hell out of here!" he whispered.

    In a stroke of luck, Carter finds the two wounded crewmen in the first patch of jungle he searches!

Frey's head jerked up when he heard Carter's voice from the trees ahead, "Jackpot -- got 'em! They're injured, but okay." The corporal mouthed a silent "Holy Shit!" How could they be so lucky as to find them in the first patch of woods they searched? Sure enough, the injured crew chief had seen Carter coming and called out to him quietly. He was crouching over one of the pilots, who was in obvious pain and would need help going anywhere. The crew chief looked like he might be able to limp out on his own. He told Carter to bring the pilot out and motioned to the crew chief to come towards him. He frowned as he saw the crew chief wincing with every step -- his back probably got badly wrenched on impact. Frey motioned the FNG Elliott to help Carter with the pilot.

    As luck would have it, the Viet Cong squad arrives in a nearby stand of trees just as we find the crew

"Heads up," Janowicz whispered from beside him, "we got company." Frey heard them too, now. At least a squad of V.C. were moving through the vegetation in the woods up ahead and to the left. Frey stayed in cover instead of moving to help the crew chief, and crouched surveying the woods. He saw movement -- there they were! He could tell by the excited chatter that Charlie had been seen his men, too. Frey aimed at a shadowy figure and fired off a 3-round burst. There was a scream and he saw the shadow fall. Beside him, Janowicz snapped his bloop gun's barrel shut, sighted, and pulled the trigger. While the grenade was on the way, the handy Janowicz was loading another, raising it, and firing it off, as well. Two flashes of orange brightened the jungle and more screams indicated he was on target -- as usual, Frey thought. Janowicz had probably bagged more V.C. than anyone else in the platoon. He was glad he had him on his fire team! 

    Another V.C. squad and rifleman arrive fortuitously on the far edge of the table

The V.C. in the woods began to fire back, wildly, obviously shaken by the sudden deaths of their companions. Suddenly, another burst of AK-47 fire rang out, but from behind and to the left of he and Janowicz. More and more bursts rang out and he could hear the angry bees of their rounds in the trees over his head. Both he and Janowicz hit the dirt, looking over their shoulder trying to locate the new enemy that had outflanked them. Just as he was about to yell for Boston, he heard the rhythmic bursts of his M60 gun, hosing down the patch of woods where the AK-47 fire was coming from. Their shooting stopped momentarily, but soon started up again. Janowicz yelped in pain and mouthed, "Muthaf -- ow! I'm hit!!" Frey raised up to shoot again at the first batch of V.C. Boston probably couldn't see them with the a thick cluster of trees in his way. He hoped the M60 gunner and his assistant could keep the new V.C. off of his and Janowicz's backs. He shouted for the medic, not exactly sure where Spec4 Frank was in all of this mess.

    The V.C. are also hunting for the downed crew and would come running when the shooting started

Tracers streaked through the woods, both from the squad and returning fire from the V.C. He heard more gunfire coming from where Griffin's team was, also. What had looked like a cake walk was fast becoming a snafu. A bullet smacked into the tree just about the corporal's head and he ducked. Looking up, Frey saw Pfc. Otis race through the clearing to Carter's side. Together, they began moving the pilot more quickly back towards the shelter of the woods while sniper rounds whistled through the vegetation around them. He saw the crew chief still standing there, wincing, and Frey yelled at him to get a move on. The trooper began to slowly hobble after Carter and Otis. Frey squeezed off a 3-round burst and saw another V.C. fall. There was the whistle of incoming mortar rounds overhead and several flashes as they impacted in the V.C.'s woods. "Get some, L.T.!" Kern whispered.

    An overhead table view showing our positions and where the V.C. arrived just as we found the crew

There was a rustle of vegetation to his right as Spec4 Frank darted up to take a look at Janowicz's wound. He bandaged the cursing bloop gunner's thigh. When he tied it off, he tapped him on the helmet. "You should be good, now," the medic said. Janowicz nodded, grimaced, and let Frank help him to his feet. Together they two began to shuffle back towards the rear. "BOOM!" What the Hell? Frey cursed and turned around. Both the medic and Janowicz were down. One of them must have tripped a booby trap. There was another whistle and a mortar round impacted near Frey, showering him with dirt and leaves, but luckily no shrapnel. 

    Frey watches as Carter carries the wounded pilot from the woods, with the crew chief limping along

"Warfield," Kern yelled to Boston's assistant, "I need some help here -- both Frank and Janowicz are down!" Bandoliers of M60 ammo jangling, Warfield sprinted to the medic's side. He shook him, and turned him over, then started to chuckle. "Man, you are the luckiest SOB ever, Doc! You ain't hit at all...again! You just got your bell rung!" Frank shook his head to clear it, and checked each of his limbs to confirm it was true. Once he realized he was unhurt, he turned to Janowicz. He turned him over, eliciting a yelp from the bloop gunner.

    Hearing that Frey's team has found the airmen, Cpl. Griffin (right) sets up in woods to cover them

"Doc, did you really step on another tripwire?" Janowicz groused. "What is that, three missions in a row?" he tried to laugh but it turned into a hiss of pain. "Get me up and let's get out of here!" The two once again struggled to their feet, though Janowicz seemed to be in more pain than before. He leaned on the medic who directed him to the rear. Frey gave a thumbs up to Warfield, who sprinted back to Boston. Frey stood and jogged to the limping crew chief and took one of his arms and threw it over his shoulder. "Let's go, buddy. Let's get you guys back to base!"

    A V.C. sniper pops up due to an event cards drawn in response to my soldiers' activation failures

Firing had died down as the V.C. in close proximity had all been killed or suppressed. He could hear shouts in the distance, which meant more were on the way, though. Yeah, it was definitely time to go! As they moved back down the trail towards where the truck had dropped them, he did a quick head count. Everyone was there, but Griffin appeared to be hurt, too. He was being supported between two of his team members, and didn't seem to be conscious. His head lolled with each step Cassidy and Tatum took. So, Janowicz and Griffin appeared to be the only wounded besides the helicopter crew. They'd had worse missions, sure. But god, he hoped those two would be okay! They were squared away soldiers, and their loss would hurt the platoon seriously.

    Bloop gunner Cpl. Janowicz is right on target, as usual, with his aim against these two V.C.

This game was relatively short compared to some of my other play tests. The Big Red One was very lucky to find the helicopter crew in the very first of six patches of woods they had to search. I also rolled well to get them three Countdown to Contact turns before the Viet Cong arrived. As soon as we found the helicopter crew, though, the doo-doo seriously hit the fan. Still, my die rolls in general were good. The M60 gunner Boston probably took longer than he should have to suppress and kill the V.C. that outflanked us. Lt. Fickell had himself a hell of a first mission, though. He shot and killed two V.C. riflemen and then accounted for two more with a Fire Mission. Griffin was out of action and looked "messed up" early in the shooting on his flank. Luckily, Cassidy (whose bloop gun had quickly accounted for a V.C. sniper that was troubling Frey's team) and Tatum were on hand to drag their new team leader back to the rear.

    Holy crap! An outflanking V.C. squad appears in the same patch of jungle as both Janowicz & Frey

Now, would my luck hold for two more rolls? I needed to roll for the recovery of the wounded Griffin and Janowicz. First, I rolled for Janowicz. "Lightly wounded" is +4 and "Made it off table" is another +1 (you want high on the roll). I picked up the 20-sided die and rolled a one! Noooo! Janowicz scored a "Million Dollar Wound." That leg must have been worse than it looked. The squad will miss Janowicz big time as he was flown back to the States to recuperate from his wound. They were called "million dollar" because they were bad enough to keep you out of Vietnam for the rest of your tour, but caused no debilating permanent injury. I rolled low for Griffin, too, who "Lost a Limb." Crap! All those good rolls throughout most of the game and suddenly my dice go cold right when it matters! That was two squad members gone for good!

    INCOMING! V.C. mortar round lands perilously between a half dozen U.S. soldiers

Lt. Fickell and the platoon sergeant would have to put their heads together and figure out how to piece things back together in time for the next mission. There was definitely going to be some promoting to do to fill out the ranks. And speaking of which, all of the original survivors who hadn't missed any missions due to injuries would be promoted to Veterans after this game. That means they activate on 7+ instead of 8+ for each action. They would also receive a second roll on the Trait chart (which are positive bonuses to accomplishing certain tasks). So, even though the squad lost its deadliest shooter in Janowicz, they should see an increase in effectiveness. 

    The badly wounded pilot has almost been carried to safety by Pfc. Carter and Pvt. Elliott

The mission was a lot of fun to play. The idea came from Bob, one of my U.K. play testers. I made some tweaks to it and will make a couple more after this play through. Surviving 'Nam continues to be fast, fluid, and full of unexpected twists and turns. I'm having a good time following the adventures of Cpl. Frey and the boys. The rules seem to flow well and provide an entertaining game that creates believable results. I am going to keep playing through scenarios (and hope my play testers do, as well) and give it that final push to write the last of the rules. Then it will be time for editing and proofreading.

    Spec4 Frank, the medic, has been a magnet for booby traps -- here he triggers another one!

Stay tuned to see what's next for the Big Red One's fifth mission in their year in Vietnam!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 6
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 6

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 2

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 0
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 4 

    Cpl. Griffin, in his first mission as fire team leader, is carried off the battlefield unconscious

    The squad exfiltrates through the elephant grass and has almost reached safety of the board edge