Concord - Nam Series 8001 - US Infantry Vietnam.pdf

(17945 KB) Pobierz
8001
(#({Iti}(#({1{/j(ll
PUBLICATIONS COMPANY
Kevin Lyles
Dedicated with thanks to:
Copyright
©
1996
by CONCORD PUBLICATIONS CO.
603-609 Castle Peak Road
Kong Nam Industrial Building
10/F, B1, Tsuen Wan
New Territories, Hong Kong
All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of
Concord Publications Co.
We welcome authors who can help
expand our range of books. If you
would like to submit material, please
feel free to contact us,
We are always on the look-out for new,
unpublished photos for this series.
If you have photos or slides or
information you feel may be useful to
future volumes, please send them to us
for possible future publication.
Full photo credits will be given upon
publication.
ISBN 962-361-606-6
Pinned down by a sniper, this 9th Infantry Division grenadier blends in
with the muck and ooze of the Mekong Delta, April 1968. He wears an
M1952 flak vest over his tropical coat - an uncomfortably restrictive
combination in the intense heat and humidity. 40mm rounds for his M79
grenade launcher are slung in cotton bandoliers holding six rounds a-piece.
A couple of days' worth of C-rations are hung in an o.d. boot-sock tied to the
equipment. In conditions such as these it was vital to keep weapons and
ammunition out of the mud as much as possible.
JOSEPH SAITTA
S/SGT., COMPANY B, 1ST
BATTALION, 2ND INFANTRY, 1ST
INFANTRY DIVISION.
Additional Research
by:
David Graham
Printed in Hong Kong
2
Introduction
The Vietnam War, contrary to popular belief,
was in essence an Infantryman's War. When all the
panoply of twentieth century firepower and
technologically-dependent supporting arms were
spent, it was left to the Infantryman, the "Grunt", to
close with the enemy. It has been estimated that of
the 30,591 Army troops killed in combat in itself 66
per cent of the total Vietnam casualties, the
majority were Infantrymen.
It is a currently held misconception that the war
in
Vietnam
was,
due
to
technological
developments, largely a mechanised and even a
computerised affair. While it is true that
advancements in weapons systems continued
apace during this period, the day to day life of the
Infantryman remained a hellish one.
The realities of survival in the 'bush' were as
intense as in any other conflict. Fear and tension
were ever present, which together with physical
exhaustion in time resulted in
an emotional
numbness.
Conditions in the field were extremely strenuous
and could sap the strength of even the most
physically fit. Partly due to the advances being
made in weapons systems the combat load of the
Infantryman in Vietnam was often greater than
that in previous conflicts. Food, water (and lots of it),
ammunition for personnel and squad weapons,
claymore mines, radios, fragmentation and smoke
grenades, flares and other essential items, had to
be carried or 'humped' into the bush. Add to these,
mortar rounds, spare radio batteries, engineer tools,
gas masks, body armour and the ubiquitous steel
helmet. Individual loads averaged between 50 and
60 pounds and often far exceeded these weights;
the term 'Grunt' has its basis in these figures.
Operations were conducted in dense jungle, on
steep hillsides and in flooded paddies. Battles and
firefights were fought in oppressive humidity and in
chilling monsoon rains. Malaria bearing mosquitoes
and other biting, stinging insects, jungle rot
immersion-foot, parasites, leeches and other day to
day realities of a hostile environment combined to
make the Infantryman's life miserable.
When in the comparative safety of an isolated
fire-base life became more tolerable but only
marginly so. The spartan existence of living below
ground in heavily sandbagged bunkers and fighting
holes, soon became as wearisome as 'humping the
boones' on an operation. Night time brought the
threat of enemy attack, often heralded by the
3
sounds of incoming mortars and rockets.
Enduring such conditions created a strong
feeling of camaraderie and brotherhood among
the 'Grunts', who were fully aware and proud of
their minority status. Of the many hundreds of
thousands of troops in-country at anyone given
time, only a small proportion were assigned to line
companies. These' 11 Bush's' (from the Military
occupational specialty designation 11 B), were
openly scornful of anyone who did not share the
hardship of their daily existence. The vast majority,
spared the rigours and realities of front-line service,
were
known
as
'REMF's'
(Rear
Echelon
Mother
!)
During the ten years of U.S. involvement in
Vietnam, steps were continually being taken to
improve and upgrade all items of clothing and
equipment. By 1972 when the last American troops
in-country went out on operations they were
clothed and equipped entirely differently from their
counter-parts of earlier years. Tough it might not
always have been obvious to the Grunts sweating
out their tours in jungles and paddies, the military
researchers were constantly looking for ways to
make his life more comfortable - if not easier. This
effort
stemmed less from a concern over the Grunt's
well-being, rather an attempt to enhance his
combat efficiency. The 'Tropical Combat Uniform'
was a rare example of military clothing and
development at it's best and has been the basis of
all subsequent U.S. combat uniforms.
The infantry war in Vietnam ended as it began -
with a single U.S. battalion patrolling the perimeter
of Da Nang airfield. On 5th August, 1972 a patrol of
the 21 st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade (Light)
struggled into their bulging rucksacks for the last
time. The area patrolled was eight miles west of Da
Nang, the same area to which Marines had been
restricted when they arrived in 1965. The patrol was
to be typical of the many hundreds of thousands
that had gone before. During the four day
operation no contact was made with the enemy,
though two soldiers were wounded by booby-traps
- the last U.S. infantry casualties of the Vietnam War.
The scope of this book has been limited to those
divisions and brigades who are listed in the Vietnam
order of battle as being Infantry units and whose
title includes the word Infantry. Other organisations
such as the Airborne and Airmobile Divisions, who
for the most part fought in Vietnam as infantry, are
covered in future titles in this series.
SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA: INFANTRY DIVISIONS.
Worn on the left sleeve of field and work uniforrns. Also
worn on the right sleeve to indicate a previous corn bat posting
to that unit - sometimes called a 'combat-patch'. The examples
shown are all Vietnamese made copies of the type available at
local tailor shops throughout the country. Note that the subdued
version of the First Infantry Division SSI is untypical of this unit
- most members retaining the full colour type.
4th Infantry Division
1st Infantry Division
9th Infantry Division
23rd Infantry Division (Americal)
25th Infantry Division
11 th Infantry Brigade (Light)
196th Infantry Brigade (Light)
1st Brigade, 5th
Infantry Division
(Mechanised)
SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA: INFANTRY BRIGADES.
Also worn on the upper left sleeve; the SSI of the 11th,
196th and 198th Brigades were occasionally worn as a pocket
patch when these units were serving as part of the Americal
Division. The examples shown are the standard U.S. made
'subdued twill' type with the exception of the 5th Infantry. Both
the 196th and 199th were also issued as solid black on green
twill.
198th Infantry Brigade (Light)
199th Infantry Brigade (Light)
4

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin