In Fury, starring Brad Pitt and Shia leBeouf, we follow the story of five American soldiers, a crew serving in one tank in Germany, 1945. There is no civilian occupations that are the direct equivalent of an Army Infantryman MOS 11B. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. You have to earn it, so hard work during your education and training is extremely important. We took fire all the time and responded. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. In the absence of hard information, speculation and rumors spread, and the experienced infantryman learned to ignore the rumors and keep his mind on his job. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. They were marched or trucked to holding areas, where they encamped in accordance with their division procedures to await the arrival of their heavy equipment and logistics facilities. Those who were killed in combat were identified by their dog tags, and buried by special details for the most part, although it was not uncommon for infantrymen to bury the dead of their units while on patrol, marking the location with a dog tag. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. There must have been a real mathematician to come up with those calculations. Our Aussie Dust off choppers had door gunners, we worked on the theory if the Noggies would shot at Red Cross choppers, we would return fire, Aussie grunt, 60000 00 Aussies fought in Vietnam, Up the Old Red Rooster and more beer. The infantryman of World War II had a much better chance of surviving some wounds which would have been fatal during previous wars. The infantrymans first encounter with the French or Italians usually took place near these camps. He said fighting was especially deadly in the war-torn city of Bakhmut, dubbed "the meat. Comments were more interesting than the article it self. Regardless, several civilian jobs are comparable such as: Soldiers should consider enrolling in the Army PaYS program following retirement. However, Infantrymen may be eligible for bonuses, including an enlistment incentive of up to $41,000. Either way, thats a lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, male and female that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and there are still people dying as a result of their wounds receiver so very long ago in a place called Vietnam. Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. Their war was what they encountered. LUCK pure LUCK. 10 1/2 months in the bush. THE MAN I INHERITED THE GUN FROM WASNT SO LUCKY. They served in squads, led by a junior officer and experienced sergeants, slogged through and slept in mud and snow, maintaining contact with the enemy, taking and holding ground. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. Helicopters, F4 fighters. US Army. Axes were useful, but not all men in the squad needed to carry one. I also was 2/327 B company. When you assist in reconnaissance operations you can expect to employ, fire, and recover anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, locate and neutralize mines, operate, mount/dismount, zero, and engage targets using night vision sight. I was a cmbt engr demolition specialist carried a 45 auto and an M70 grenade launcher in addition to the C-4 and Det Cord. The most common trade items were cigarettes and chocolate, both of which Americans were amply supplied with, and the French civilians were not. Thus they were deployed without artillery of their own. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! A radio operator carried the normal load for a rifleman, as well as a radio which weighed nearly forty pounds. Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. They were a great bunch. The special military bonus is reserved for particular in-demand, or highly-dangerous positions. S/F, There were no door gunners on dustoffs. Learn more about 11B MOS, including what the requirements are, the training, day to day life, and more. On the march, they saw first-hand the horrors of the war they were fighting, dead and maimed bodies of Allies and the enemy, many of them scarcely recognizable as human. It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. Dont know why, but generally, their aircraft were not armed (door gunners, etc.). NFS. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. Welcome home brothers and sisters. My good friend who was a RTO was killed. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. An interesting comment I had. In the last 5 years the symptoms of PTSD and AO are starting getting worse in me. Lived too tell about it. It doesnt make any sense statistically/mathematically it is impossible. News about the war was disseminated in newspapers such as Stars and Stripes, but few found their way to the front, and when they did they were often several weeks old. I am one lucky SOB. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. US Army. Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. I carried the proc 26 radio after I was asked by my field 1st ( E 7 ) if I would for my platoon . My dog and I walked point my whole tour in Vietnam. Life was seemingly grand for Napoleon's army, but reality told a far different story. Altogether his burden was over eighty pounds. Whenever and wherever possible, infantrymen in France traded with the civilians for food such as eggs and vegetables. Loaded 0%. Here is an 18 An infantryman carried on his back and in equipment bags and pockets everything he needed to survive in the field during a patrol or while en route to an ordered destination. During some periods of intense combat more than a month could go by without clean clothes or a shower. Some gave all. Forget the statistics, we all had a job to do, we went where we were told. 10 Answers Out of thousands of men that invaded that town in southern Afghanistan, we have lost 19. I think the number of Army and Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corp was very high, with the ratio of the number of them over there. Basic training and advanced job training are combined into a single course. An American infantryman inspects the body of a dead German in July 1944, near St. All the comments and replies are of absolute truth, I was only 18 when I got to Nam ,Im a country boy from NC so here I am I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. Few of them talked about the horrors they endured until much later in their lives, focusing, as they had during the war, on what was ahead of them instead of what was behind. Walking wounded were usually treated at aid stations manned by the medical personnel of their own unit. In some instances, American troops received a type of chocolate which had been made for use in the tropical climate of the South Pacific, and which due to a typical Army error in administration ended up in Europe. Men in the field soon learned to carry as many extras as they could, frequently stuffing them under their shirts and in empty pockets. Some were constantly exposed to combat, some not so often. Lucky you. I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. Additionally, soldiers might record operational information on maps. He encountered the open fields and farmlands of France, the dense woods of the Ardennes, the mountainous terrain in Italy, Les Voges, and Alsace, in all weather conditions. As they approached and entered the Alsace region this welcome became less enthusiastic. I was an O5C-20 in Vietnam. The Browning Automatic Rifle, of which each infantry rifle squad had one (and which was incidentally a favored weapon of Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde fame) was also a .30 caliber weapon. Others were encampments such as Camp Myles Standish, outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Housing: Allowances for living expenses, utilities, and maintenance. The course is intended to provide an intermediate step between the buddy aid -style basic life support taught to every soldier and the advanced life support skills that are taught to US Army Combat Medics and to US Army . What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during World War 2? Your email address will not be published. I am proud to have fought alongside of them. I loved it. The system made the success of American infantry operations almost wholly dependent on the ability of the squad leaders to direct their men in the field. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. BS but ia a way you are correct. The young Americans soon learned the essential words in French to address their immediate concerns, such as mademoiselle, vin, biere, and other useful phrases and terms. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. approaching a village and a firefight starts). It was mostly used by specialty units rather than infantry. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans were estimated to live 21.4 and 26.1 life-years, 1.4 and 0.3 more life-years for Korean Conflict Veterans, and 3 and 1.5 more life-years for Vietnam Era Veterans for male and female, respectively. US Army. The squad became the infantrymans family, social system, and workgroup. There were instances when some men used grenades to try to blast the frozen soil, a practice which was quickly stopped by the sergeants. Joe Medicine Crow, the last war chief of the Crow Tribe of Montana is profiled in The War, a film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Artillery, and ground forces. I knew some of this, but certainly not all. Education: Army members can earn full-tuition, merit-based scholarships, allowances for books and fees, plus annual stipend for living expenses. Nor was treating wounded their only duty, they were responsible for the overall health of the men in their company, treating them for dysentery, routine illnesses such as colds and flu, blisters, sprains and broken bones, and other miseries encountered by the men. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. Be glad you served with a soldiers soldier like LTC Herbert. After heavy fighting across France and the Low Countries, it was believed by the Allied High Command that the Germans lacked the ability or the will to launch an assault in the Ardennes, and the troops were there to rest through Christmas. Now, the wisdom of this soldier tough but humanly compassionate warrior ethos can be assessed through the 2d Bn recordNO complaints about mistreatment of prisonerswhile achieving the most combat SUCCESSES IN THE BRIGADE. For all the men given a brief respite from the fighting, the possibility of the period being abruptly cut short was ever-present, as activities at the front demanded their immediate return to the battle line. A wounded American soldier is loaded into a halftrack converted to serve as an ambulance in Germany in early 1945. Needless too say I depended on Sgt. I flew Dustoff and our unit did not have M60s for protection, nor did any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of. I served in A Company 3/22 of the 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry 12/66, then Hq Co 2/12 of the 3rd Brigade 25th Inf until the night of the TET offensive end of January 1968 and returned home July 18 1968. During combat, soldiers need to request, observe, and adjust direct supporting fire. National Archives. We had one RTO killed because he was too close to a 2ND Lt, same thing happened to another RTO. Different type units, different locations, different opinions on dangers. In a strange country scared shitless .I was a minesweeper.My first time out on a mission they put me on the drag line fifty yards from the road which was route 1, Then all hell broke lose He was not the type to hump a radio. Theres 58,276. The ASVAB is short for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery which is a series of tests that help you better understand your strengths in the U.S. Military. I look over to I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. As an infantry platoon Sgt of a platoon made up of all draftees my age 21 plus or minus a year We fought the largest single one day battle of the war March 21, 1967 known as the Battle of Soui Tre, fire support base Gold operation Junction City, that base was commanded by LtCol John Vessey of the 2/77 FA Vessey was a 25 year veteran of WWII fame with a DSC at Anzio, and on this day he was looking at the end of his career after that tour in Vietnam. Sore feet and sore backs were part of life. Our home base was Quang Tri fire Base, But I spent about 6 months out at Mai Loc with the rig. I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. I spent 10 1/2 months in the jungles of Vietnam. As an Army Infantryman, you will likely see time in combat. These included cold beer, which was provided by American brewers, mandated by war regulations. The M1 was a semi-automatic rifle, allowing its operator to fire an entire eight-round clip simply by squeezing the trigger for each shot, without having to operate the bolt manually to chamber the next round. wias. Copyright 2023 www.OperationMilitaryKids.org. We were like sitting Ducks. Infantrymen in the Second World War quickly learned that everything they needed to know to survive in the field was not part of the training curriculum in basic infantry school. In your rucksack . However, you do receive added pay bonuses for rank and years of service. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! Look at the armament options in this article---those are all LRPF guns from .50cal to 30mm to 105-120mm cannon---and no "area saturation," "area destruction," and "mass fire" that China and Russia have. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thank you for both articles: (1)Going up river to port and (2) the flight from Italy back to Nam. II The Thompson .45 caliber submachine gun was sometimes carried by a non-com to give a squad more firepower in the field, but it was not deployed as heavily as films and television depict due to its poor penetrating power and its weight. There is a demand to know how to operate in an NBC contaminated area as well as construct field expedient firing aids.
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