The+Vietnam+Soldier

Chasing Charlie:
 * AO, DMZ, LZ
 * "Humping the Boonies"
 * S and D mission- nail as many indians
 * "Tall elephant grass"
 * Many go down with dehydration because of weather and lack of hydration

A Grunts War:
 * Firefight
 * Two-steps snakes are very poisonous
 * Hidden soldiers about to attack, life-threatening


 * Unique War
 * WW I- "doughboys", WWII- GI's fought massive invasion battles in North Africa, Europe, and in the SOuth Pacific, Vietnam War- very different than the soldiers in WWI and WWII


 * Who Served?
 * Grunts- ground soldiers looking for enemy soldiers.
 * Average Grunt was white and came from rural or small-town America. Most were 20-22 years old. About 10-12 percent were African Americans.


 * First Impressions
 * New recruits trained in camps, such as Fort Benning, Georgia, or Fort Bragg.
 * Overwhelmed by the heat and humidity
 * Smells were very strong- almost breathless
 * Vietnamese spoke in a loud strange voices
 * Different sights sounds and smells.
 * First impression, a very sensory experience


 * Into the Bush
 * New Combat soldiers were taken by helicopter or truck to a base camp or firebase "in the bush"
 * From these camps, large helicopters dropped soldiers off in further
 * At least one grunt has medical training in the group
 * At least one grunt was trained as the radiotelephone operator
 * Without RTO (radio telephone operator) a platoon was unable to call for artillery support or air cover
 * Killing RTO became goal of enemy


 * Pack and Weapons
 * Typical grunts pack weighed 35-70 pounds
 * It included essential
 * Infantry grunts primary weapon was the M-16 rifle


 * Gungis and Cherries
 * Mixture of personalities, cherries and newbies
 * At least one gungis, thrived in the bush, too afraid of the nemy
 * Greatest fear for a veteran grunt was "buying the ranch" or "getting blown away" by a sniper's bullet or buried explosion
 * Charlie = Viet Cong


 * Humping
 * Platoons recieved their orders by pogues (officers).
 * Usually a S and D mission- Search and Destroy Mission
 * If a Hot LZ- landing zone, then soldiers began their assigned march or hump.
 * I click was 1000 meters


 * Dehydration, Pythons, and Rats
 * An easy hump was called a skate
 * Heat exhaustion, dehydration, and humidity all overwhelmed the soldiers.
 * Tigers and elephants were occasionally seen
 * Mostly, crawling creatures causing threats
 * Rats snacked on uneaten food and dead corpses


 * Ambushes
 * Guerrilla-style tactics were used by the VC and NVA. ENemy would attack suddenly and quickly
 * Chase were unsuccessful,