The reader's great Uncle, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, told him about the Rock Ape and other strange anomalies in the jungle, including goblins or elf-like beings.
I received the following information:
"Hello, Lon. I wanted to write for a while. I thought that you'd find this interesting. One of my Great Uncles was a 'tunnel rat' with the US Army during the Vietnam War. His job was going into the tunnels after they'd been cleared and setting demolition charges. So if the VK retook an area, they couldn't reuse the tunnels. Most folks who've been there will tell you it's one of the most dangerous jobs you could do.
He told me stories about the 'Wild Men in the Jungles.' They would be in the tunnels too. The VK knew of them and took many steps to avoid them and warn each other when they were around.
The VK used a different variety of warning systems and booby traps. The corps would have to find them and dismantle them before demolition. He said they would find them in areas that went deeper in the caves, where they knew there wasn't a close logical entry/exit point. So they clearly were afraid and cautious of "something" other than the opposing military forces getting the drop on them.
Some of these deeper cave areas were set up like native camps with things constructed from natural materials. Clearly not military. Makes you wonder if the VK took these areas over from the 'Rock Apes' and expanded them for military use in some places?
All I clearly recall of this particular story is him talking about native camps and Wild Men. Again, these were places where the VK were cleared out and it was the corps' job to dismantle, destroy, or re-appropriate military infrastructure.
Besides the tunnels, he talked a lot of the stranger weirder things he'd seen. Besides his group being followed around by these unseen Wild Men, the villagers would talk about these goblin/elf-like creatures (there's a name for them in Vietnamese but I can't recall what it is) that live near rivers. Also, they would see strange lights and things moving across the rice fields and through the jungles while out on patrol. Just strange and supernatural paranormal things.
He never talked about actual war and fighting. He stayed pretty stoic about those things. But he loved talking about the other stuff. He wasn't prone to wild stories or exaggerated tales. Just really matter of fact "this weird stuff happened" and how there's a lot in this world we don't understand. He died a few years back, but he instilled in me a love for the weird and supernatural and inspired me." M
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