The Colonel is shouting into a field pack radio held by a terrified-looking younger Marine. The two repeatedly duck their heads into the water-filled ditch as shells land around them. The Colonel has contacted the approaching helicopters coming in from carriers off the coast in the South China Sea. Suddenly, his words are drowned out by the roar of diving jets. Navy F4s dip and wheel overhead, spewing rockets and bombs.
Fireballs erupt just outside the compound.
The Colonel looks up and sees me taking his picture. With a big smile he points at the abandoned theater. Marines dash into the center of the compound as clouds of yellow smoke billow up into the gray sky. Skimming low over the horizon, the lead Sea Stallion helicopter fills the sky, followed by another. The two helos settle to earth inside the compound, their rotors continuously turning at full pitch.