The+Vietnam+Soldier

-used helicopters to drop platoons into enemy land-often times under enemy fire -sent on S and D missions (search and destroy) -most of the time the US was going after the enemy (Vietnam) -the soldiers called the new people Cherries -Grunts-the soldiers who have been fighting for a while -it was jungle warfare-enemy fire, booby traps, large snakes, elephant grass, sweltering heat, dust, rainy, steamy, poisonous punji stakes, one misstep and you either die or are forever disabled -many fell because of dehydration -soldiers set the houses on fire (Vietnam Houses) -AO-area of operation -DMZ-demilitarized zone -Huey-helicopter -hot LZ-landing zone under hot enemy fire -humping the boonies-it prepares to go out -point man-leading the way -buku exposed-facing dangerous conditions -suspected of aiding the VC-enemy village -zippoed the hooches-set the houses on fire -from a spider hole-Viet Cong sniper million-dollar wound--serious enough wound to get him sent home -the world-return to the US -two step snake-you step on the snake and 2 steps later you die! -enemy was EVERYWHERE! You were constantly scared for your life -counting down the says until you go home-literally -Ground Pounders-people who were out in the battlefield -How did you become a Grunt?-normally you were a white male, rural/small town, 21-22 years old, 10-12% of soldiers were African Americans -people trained in boot camps in Georgia and North Carolina, then they were brought to Vietnam in air-conditioned planes. When they got off they were overwhelmed by the heat and humidity -smelled AWFUL -the first impression of Vietnam "hit you like a brick" -you spent most of your time, when you weren't on the battlefield "in the bush"-large camp. From here you were taken by airplane, platoon, etc to the battlefield for long periods of time -RTO-radio telephonic operator -1 or 2 grunts were trained with the RTO and they were almost as important as the lieutenant-became a goal of the enemy to kill them -the packs that the grunts carried around were 35-70lbs (books, pictures, weapons-normally an M-16 rifle or machine gun, rope, extra socks, salt tablets, water, food, etc) -other weapons were grenades and Claymore-explosive the projected 700 steel balls and could shred almost anything within 55 yards -measured there progress in clicks-one click=1,000 meters -humps-hills -every hump was covered with dangerous traps and things that were set out to kill the US soldiers with, they were almost always hidden -took a VERY long time to go over the humps-had to be careful of traps and they are in a jungle-very hard to walk through -animals like snakes, tigers and sometimes even elephants were very harmful to the soldiers -the scariest and biggest danger was what they were on the humps for-the enemy. Guerrilla warfare is very brutal. The enemy strikes quickly and the soldiers often didn't have a clue where the bullet came from -VC used elaborate tunnels underground -VC was AAMMAAZZIINNGG at disguising the booby traps -souvenirs included cutting off the ear of the enemy once they were dead and things like that. -war score-counted how many US soldiers were killed/missing and the number of VC killed-kept a ratio -US soldiers were soooo happy when the heard the helicopters above to take them back to camp so they could rest