Assassin

Some of you many know American Indians.  I have known two in my life.  The first was David who I met while working in Houston's Petrochemical Refineries during college.  David was also a college student.  I don't remember what lead to the discussion but David told me that Apaches had a keener sense of smell than anyone in the world.  For example he told me that many Apaches that he knew including himself could tell when a woman was on her menstrual cycle.  Fifteen years later, when I got to know Scott, I asked him about it and he confirmed what David had told me.  Scott further told me that his keen sense of smell saved his life many, many times.   Scott went further to say that Apaches often had far greater eye sight than most people.   All of this is germane to the stories about Scott.

Contrary to many Hollywood Movies which portray military assassins or snipers as going after their kill and taking one shot and one shot only, they took as many shots as necessary.  Tom Beringer's movie, Sniper, was partially correct except for the one shot, one kill aspect.  Historical documentaries on snipers have shed more light on the sniper in Vietnam which filled in more of the amazing stories that I have heard from Scott.

The army created a special assassin school where they picked only those who could perform marksmanship well beyond normal people.  I can't remember the exact distance but Scott met the distance.  The school gave their students rifles which could shoot someone at a distance of 2 miles and they practiced doing so.  

On his tours he often went out with a group of soldiers and then later he would break from them with two or three at the most to go to his target(s).  At the destination, the other soldiers would stay behind in radio silence and Scott would be a few miles away waiting or searching for his kills.  Sometimes, it would take days and others, only hours.  

On many occasions, he would know he was near an enemy camp or soldiers by the way they smelled.  The Vietnamese loved to eat their meals with a fishy paste that was aged.  The smell and taste was something that can only be describe as acquired for which I have smelt and tasted in Vietnamese restaurants here in the USA.  (I know the name but have forgotten the spelling.)  Scott said he would be waiting for his targets and then he could smell them coming before he heard them or he could smell them when they were hiding.  He told many times how that fishy smell alerted him when he was near the enemy.

I've been deer hunting in Arkansas once with Scott on a wet, cold day in late November.  After 12 hours sitting in a deer stand with Scott in another deer stand a quarter of a mile away, Scott made a shot at a deer in the distance.  It sounded as if the gun was shot next to my head and as if the bullet went right by me.  I was amazed during the waiting how acute my senses became when there was nothing but quite and the forest.  I can imagine this is what it must be like for a sniper in the forests of Vietnam and if that sniper had a keener sense of smell and sight then how much of an edge could that could have been.  

After the war was over, Scott said he had the second highest number of confirmed sniper kills based on targets from missions.  He said there were others who had more kills but they were not based on mission targets.  He said the worst feeling after leaving was the realization that while he was there, he felt no sense of value of life.  It became a joke to cut off the ear of a kill and collect them,  (Note: I am sorry if this offends any one and I don't write this to give glory but to reflect the horror of war)  as many other snipers did.  A another shock to me was that the snipers were issued "Black Molleys" a pill similar to illegal speed which was designed to eliminate the need for sleep.  Scott said he would take these pills and stay up for three days straight and the other effect was a sense of invincibility.  Lastly, Scott also got Malaria while in Vietnam.