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On the night of 13 April, Norris didn't dare take the two ARVN soldiers who had faltered the night before.[26] He was prepared to go alone when Petty Officer Third Class Nguyễn Văn Kiệt[14] volunteered to go with him.[5] Norris bluntly told Nguyễn that he wasn't sure either one of them would return. They worked their way slowly upriver until they came upon an empty, destroyed village.[33] They found clothing and an abandoned sampan. Nguyễn and Norris, who was slightly built, donned Vietnamese clothing and disguised themselves as fishermen.[26] They rowed quietly up river, but even in the pitch dark and dense fog they could see large numbers of North Vietnamese soldiers and tanks on the shoreline. Stopping to check his map at one point, Norris suddenly realized that two NVA soldiers were sitting about 10 meters (33 ft) away. However, they were asleep. Traveling upriver in the sampan, they broke out of the heavy fog and found themselves about 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) from their starting point, under the Cam Lo bridge. They had passed Hambleton's position more than 30 minutes ago. Turning around, they worked their way south before putting ashore and began to search for Hambleton.[26] They finally found him sitting in a clump of bushes, alive but partly delirious and extremely weakened, having eaten only four small ears of corn in 12 days and having lost 45 pounds (20 kg) since his plane was shot down.[26] He weighed only 128 pounds (58 kg). Sunrise was coming, and although Norris thought it best to wait until dark to return downriver, Hambleton needed to be evacuated immediately. Despite the risk, Norris and Nguyễn hid Hambleton in the bottom of the sampan, covered him with bamboo, and started downriver.[14
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