When I went back to the frontlines during the operation year, the whole battalion had to go to Lawn Mu Palaw – Saw Mu Palaw. The goal was to protect the supply route during the summer. As usual, we had to do extra work apart from the main duty. We had to build roads, carry supplies, build bridges and whatever occasion arises.
The whole battalion had to go but we divided into two columns and two companies on each part of the road. They had to take responsibility for whatever happened on their part. Our company were assigned the part before Lwal Mu. There exists a wetland with no solid ground and just sand. That place is always saturated with water and never dry. It is approximately 400 meters in length. Trucks can’t drive through. So, our commander ordered us, “We need to fix this place for trucks to pass. We will have to cover it with bamboo and driftwood. Then peg it. Then we will cover it will bamboo floor. In that way, the trucks can move. We don’t have much time. Finished it in a week.” The company commanders had to comply and started working immediately.
Every morning, we divided our group into teams for cutting wood, carrying, making bamboo floors and started working. We didn’t have free time since we had to complete it in a short time. We had to report our progress back to the battalion commander at the end of the day. He came and oversee the project personally. He was never satisfied with the work we were doing and always scold us. Every time we heard he was coming, everyone panicked and started doing random things. Some go and grab the chopper, some cut the bamboo and so on. One day, someone alerted, “The commander is coming.” As usual, people started doing things in a rush state. There, one stepped on a mine. The commander was angry when that happened. “You officers can’t manage anything. Why don’t you order your men properly? I don’t even dare to let you guys work on a project. Something bad always happens. All the officers and commanders are useless. I will bring action against all of you,” he scolded all of us. We treat the wounded soldier and send him back for medical care.
I think the commander realized this happened because he rushed the project. He didn’t order us to work faster anymore and the soldiers were more careful after that. But it wasn’t worth it for a soldier to lose a leg so that the group get normal rest and work time. I learned that allocating enough time and proper management is crucial to complete a task successfully. After the roads were finished, the trucks could go to their destination smoothly. Our battalion took security on that road. We rise early and clear the road for mine before the trucks come. We inspect whether the ground is normal or not. We also look at whether trees have fallen onto the road or the ground has collapsed. If everything was fine, we reported back that everything is normal. Only then, the trucks came onto the road. We returned to our place and rested after the trucks successfully came and went. In the night, we were ordered by the radio what to do the next day.
One night, the soldier from the communication duty told me, “Bogyi. We can rest tomorrow. There is no convoy. The commander told us to stay in our place, carry out the regular duty, and take care of security.” “Really? That’s good. We can rest for the day.” I replied. “Bogyi, since we are free tomorrow, shall we go catch fish in the brook at the back?”, he asked. “Ok, we will go. Even if we don’t catch any fish, we can wash,” I said. In the morning, we took three other soldiers and went to the brook. “Bogyi, it is quite deep. Maybe there are big fish down there. What do you want to do? Should I gun them down?”, one asked me. “Do it. We’ll see.” As soon as I said that, he shot bullets into the water. But we didn’t see any fish floating up to the surface. What we meant by shooting into the water is to point the gun almost touching the water’s surface and shooting at the rock floor. It is like making an explosion underwater and dead fish float up to the surface. We just need to collect those dead fish. Since he isn’t making any progress, I took the gun and tried it myself. Still, nothing. So, he became impatient and said, “Sir, it is not making any difference. Let’s throw our grenades.” What he wanted to do it the same as the gun. The grenade explodes after four or five seconds of priming. We count the seconds like “Ta htaut, Nha htaut” after priming. We hold it for about 2 seconds after removing the pin as we want it to explode on the surface. Then we drop it into the water. The grenade exploded after “Htaut Thone, Htaut Lay”. After exploding, much dead fish rise to the surface. Then we can collect them with ease. We got a lot of fish just with one grenade. We wanted to give them to other companies and columns. So, we also did the same with the others’ grenades. We used four grenades and got countless fish. People from the base heard the explosions and came to check. When they see the fish, they also got into the water and collect them joyfully. Then, one said, “Sir, big fish don’t rise to the surface even if they are dead. We need to dive for them.” “Ha, really? If so, those who can dive well should get them,” I said. Everyone dove into the water as they wanted the big ones. It was true. One got back up with “Ta Taung” fish (one and a half feet fish). “Ha, nice.” We dove and got more fish. We returned happily as we got a lot of fish and took a bath. The commander was waiting for us back at the camp. As soon as he found out about what happened, his scolding could be heard throughout the whole mountain range. All the nearby devas would leave after hearing his swearing. He didn’t hit us since I told him it was for everyone’s good. But after he left, he took about thirty of the biggest fish. I had to pay for the four grenades we used. I could have put it in the battle’s usage if there was a battle. But it is worth it since everyone can eat well when we have nothing to eat. We fried, grilled and cook the fish in many ways. It was very fun.
After our security duty, we had to move to another place. The forces at the front could eat more but lack meat or fish than the stationary forces. We always crave meat at the front. We also find ways to get meat. But the commander forbade us from hunting since the area was filled with mines. One day, our group was assigned to point defence. As we moved forward, we saw something among the bamboo plants. We only saw its behind and didn’t know what it was. The one beside me said, “Be quiet Bogyi. We gonna eat meat,” and pointed his gun toward it. “Ah, are you sure? We can’t see well. We would have to pay for it if someone owns it.” I replied. “I know for sure Boyi. It is a gaur or a bovine. It is very big,” he said and fired at it repeatedly. After a few shots, we saw the animal fell. The column commander came near me and asked, “What happened? What did you see?.” So, we went to the fallen animal. As I thought, it was a buffalo. I wanted to cry looking at it since I would have to pay for it. The column commander said to me, “Well, it already happened. We can’t do anything except pay for it. You put in more.” We gathered our money which was around 4 lakhs and gave it to the owner. Our forces could eat the meat tho. So, I went to the one who shot the buffalo. “Mister, you are already this old. Can’t you differentiate between a guar and a buffalo?” “Bogyi, of course, I can. I worked on the farm before getting into the military,” he said. “Then why did you shoot it?” I asked. “Well, it was intentional. Even if we wanted to buy it, the owner wouldn’t sell it. Our forces were craving meat. So, I told you it was a gaur and shot it so we could eat,” he replied. “Ha, how wrong I was. If you do it again, I will put you in jail,” I told him as he laughed. “Well, we would never be able to buy it. But now, we can eat all of it. Here,” he gave me a stick of grilled buffalo laughing.
It was very tiring operating at the front line. We couldn’t stay in a place for a long time. They send us to places with no information. We had to carry a lot of stuff, too. We had to carry our personal ammunition. We also had to carry our part of the ratio and the ammunition of the whole force. In extra, we had our personal belongings. A soldier can’t walk well after carrying everything. So, the soldiers longed for a battle. Because they can reduce their load by shooting the ammunition and grenades since they can’t eat those or throw them away. They refilled it after the battle. Once, we camped for the night in the area we were operating. There was a forest fire a little further from our camp. Since it was nothing out of the ordinary, we were told just to look out for the fire. Around midnight, we heard two explosions. So, as their habits, the soldiers returned fire thinking they were under attack. It was very loud since they used a lot of their weapons. The column commander understood the situation but he couldn’t stop them for quite a while. “Stop. No one is firing at you. The mines exploded because of the fire.” Some of the soldiers knew it. They wanted to waste their ammo to reduce weight. Even the commander couldn’t stop them.
So, we reported back about the ammo usage. But they didn’t accept it as battle usage since the report made clear that there was no battle. So, the whole column had to pay for the ammunition they fired. I was among them. I fired a whole box of bullets. Everyone else also had to pay like me.
After that, I was rendered speechless by the reparations I had to pay. My salary would be reduced to ash by the ammo, the grenades and the buffalo payments. I suffered a lot from my own and my subordinate’s misconduct.
Yours respectfully,
Htet Myat