Distinctly Montana Magazine

27 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m twelve more belted around my waist, and a twenty-five- pound machine gun balanced across my shoulder. If intel had reported enemy troop movements in the area, or the night crackled with nameless sounds, it set the nerve end- ings on high alert. On the flip side, it was the one occasion when I had unin- terrupted time—time to think about home, and those things that mattered most, and what I'd do if I made it out alive. If there was moonlight, I'd sometimes scribble letters to family and friends. That familial connection and quiet introspection helped maintain perspective, and sanity. That night, somewhere in the middle of Vietnam's no- where, I was writing to my parents. The full moon seemed so close that with a poke of my pencil, I took a stab at adjusting the old man's smile. Moonlight was my ally, increasing the chances of spying Charlie's approach on silent feet. But it also illuminated my silhouette as I sat on the edge of the fox- hole with the M60 resting across my lap. The jungle was soundless. No wind to rustle leaves. No twigs snapping from who knows what. And no birds an- nouncing daybreak at zero-dark-thirty. My mind had drifted to Michigan, and friends, and cars, and college one day in Montana. Then I was snapped back to this foreign and un- nerving place. Somewhere in the jungle I heard it once, and then twice more. A roar. The roar of a tiger announcing his presence to others. His territorial trademark resonated through the jun- gle and brought to attention the hair on my neck. Then just silence. I did hear it, I told myself—something I confirmed later with others who'd been on watch at other positions. Noth- ing else that lived in this jungle could make that sound. That roar was confirmation. This was wild land still alive with fierce wild creatures, despite what years of carpet bomb- ing, napalming, Agent Orange defoliation, and two million American forces had done to diminish that. That feeling of being immersed in something that's primor- dial, enduring, and unrestrained, that's what captures the imagination of those of us who cannot live without wild plac- es. Like its towering mountains, ancient forests, free-flowing rivers, and solitude, lightning and the call of wild creatures remind us that nature is reluctant to relinquish its rule over wildlands. Decades later, the jungle has reclaimed the denuded and bomb-cratered landscape. I find humility and comfort in that. In war-torn Vietnam, the roar of a tiger creased a smile upon my face. THEN IN AN INSTANT, THE MASS OF CLOUDS SWEPT UPWARD LIKE A FURIOUS BEAST. THE STORM OVERTOOK ME, MY UNIT, AND THE MOUNTAIN. 40 Spanish Peak Drive Four Corners Bozeman 406.582.8200 blacktimberfurniture.com B e s t F u r n i t u r e s t o r e B e s t C u s t o m F u r n i t u r e m a d e i n M o n t a n a . Designed and Hand-crafted in the Gallatin Valley by Todd Fullerton and his team for your Montana lifestyle. B E S T O F M O N TA N A B M D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A ' S 2023 N O m i n a t e u s

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