Even when out of combat their comforts were few. Got hit inside 15 minutes, first ambush we walked up too. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. Access to the field kitchens provided the men not engaged in combat with hot meals, though complaining about the food in all situations was a time-honored tradition, as in all armies. The US Army Combat Lifesaver Course is an official medical training course conducted by the US Army. In your rucksack . That means you lose five RTOs in 5 seconds. I would carry when on ambush. National Archives. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. These men were first loaded onto railcars from the French rolling stock which was called 40 and 8s. Infantrymen learned to survive without any creature comforts for the simple reason that anything that they kept they had to carry. I spent 10 1/2 months in the jungles of Vietnam. sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing Anyway I was wondering about the RTOs in a grunt platoon, was that their MOS or were they 11B that carried a PRC ? We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. 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. Found NVA bunker complex. Ha Ha always enjoyed being a volunteer! Roger Loves you too, Im sure. I have a fried Who is killed in Vietnam six months before I got there cause of death was other how would I find out since his parents are long gone, Do a search for his name n Coffeltdatabase.org, Sir, would you mind me translating this into Spanish and getting it posted in our blog? Infantrymen are universal and fearless soldiers who must be ready for any operation, which means that they can be sent to a hot spot at any time. The basics for every soldier, shown here, including hard tack. In winter this included wearing underwear, long johns, woolen pants and shirt, one or two heavy sweaters, woolen socks, an overcoat, a rain poncho, a woolen cap, a helmet and a liner, gloves, boots, and galoshes. The American army traveled to Europe by ship, and by a wide variety of ships including troop transports designed and built for the purpose, Liberty ships, converted freighters, and the great ocean liners of the Allies. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. The Luftwaffe was still a potent threat during the summer of 1944 as the Allies pushed across France. My dog and I walked point my whole tour in Vietnam. Troops were moved to the front to prepare for another offensive in the autumn of 1944, and then redeployed in response to the surprise German counteroffensive. Ed, I was in a Grunt Platoon in Vietnam 70-71. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. Prayers for all. Correctable vision must be 20/20 in one eye, and 20/100 in the other eye. As the war moved forward, an exhausted soldier often merely lay on his blanket at night in an effort to simplify his life and maximize periods of rest. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. Sleep was not a luxury but a necessity. Altogether his burden was over eighty pounds. Before you get started, it is important to determine right off the bat if you want to become a U.S. Army Infantryman 11B or Indirect Fire Infantryman 11C. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. Out of the 3,000,000 men and women in our armed forces and reserves, we have lost 4,500 in this 9 year war. The soldier spent a majority of his time in camp drilling, with . The higher the score on the ASVAB, the better your odds at becoming MOS 11B. Was Billeted near an Army medevac Unit and was offered a chance to lay on my stomach with an M16 and door gun for them I decided not a good Idea. Whenever and wherever possible, infantrymen in France traded with the civilians for food such as eggs and vegetables. Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. It was the infantry which carried the fight to the infantry of the enemy, battled the elements while out in the open, and carried on the grunt work of the advancing army. Fellow members soon learned the strengths and weaknesses of each other, who could be relied on and who would shirk his duties. Living in the ground led them to be filthy, and staying alive drove them to tolerate it, of themselves and their squadmates. Here are our sources: Company A, 276th Infantry in World War II, by Frank H. Lowry, 1991, Life in the Infantry, by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, The War, PBS online, 2007, Command Decisions: The 90 Division Gamble, by Maurice Matloff, Center for Military History, Department of the Army, 1960, online, The Infantry Organization for Combat, by Hugh Foster, April 26, 2000, online, The European Theater of Operations, ed. Life of the Civil War Soldier in the Army - American Battlefield Trust 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Care of his feet was paramount to the infantrymen since they were his primary means of conveyance. I also was 2/327 B company. They endured the monotonous rations, lack of hygiene, bombardment by the enemy, accidental bombardment by their own artillery, constant tension, and the constant loss of friends because they were there to protect themselves and their fellow squad members, finish the job and go home. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. Your email address will not be published. Sometimes walkie-talkie sets were substituted, they weighed far less but offered a more limited range. Tony told me that either he or I would greet all incoming troops and we did- and here is the speech we gave to them. We had 5 kias and roughly 50 wounded in our company so about one in three got hit. Although a partially discharged clip could be ejected from the rifle it was common practice not to do so. Rules may have changed, I was in the Delta region. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. I was over there twice serving as a Hospital Corpsman with a marine unit. Marching through rain and mud, or in snow, soaked the feet, making them susceptible to blisters and trench foot. What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during Vietnam 2: role (MOS?). I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Elie Piha served as a paratrooper in the US Army from 2008 to 2012. Quickly learned to control rate of fire. While traveling through the boonies the first few men were usually always shot first. It was up to the squad leaders to keep them fighting in brutal weather, without asking why. Pararescue U.S. Air Force pararescuemen and a simulated 'survivor' watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing. 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. They accomplished the task with little knowledge of the tactical situation which drove them to take and abandon positions, engage and disengage the enemy, sleep in the open in driving rain, sleet, snow, or the hot humid summer of 1944. Required fields are marked *. Infantrymen used undisturbed snow as the source for the water to brush their teeth, as well as for drinking water and for mixing the powdered drinks from their rations. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. When elements of the 276th Infantry Division were moved from their consolidation camp to the front it took a journey of four days, in freezing conditions, with many unplanned stops due to conditions on the railroad and at the front. I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). According to Indeed.com, overall Infantryman claim pay and benefits and job security and advancement as the two best features of the job. Thats my experience. The job training for 11B requires 14 weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT) which is a combination of time spent in the classroom and in the field.*. Holding approximately 36 gallons of water, the bag was suspended about five feet above the ground. How Awful Life Was For A Napoleonic Soldier. I loved it. National Archives. There is no guarantee that recruits going through 11X Infantry Enlistment Option will become MOS 11B. 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. Life in the Infantry | The War | Ken Burns | PBS The Life Expectancy of Roman Soldiers. He decided to stay even though he had a deep feeling he wasnt going to make it. 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. Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. The squad became the infantrymans family, social system, and workgroup. The special military bonus is reserved for particular in-demand, or highly-dangerous positions. Love you Wortman!!!! In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . According to General George S. Patton, the M1 was, the greatest battle implement ever devised. The .30 caliber M1 was designed to be easily disassembled for cleaning in the field. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. THE MAN I INHERITED THE GUN FROM WASNT SO LUCKY. The 11X program challenges new recruits with the option of becoming MOS 11B or MOS 11C. The Army considered its use as an embarkation point a secret, and so warned the young soldiers when they arrived. KICK ASS AS NEEDED!!! While remaining at the camp, soldiers were told that they would be allowed to leave the facility and visit Boston, or Providence and other locations. See my calculation below in the comments bogus indeed. I knew some of this, but certainly not all. The basic unit for any infantryman in the United States Army was his squad. well I wonder how long your going to last lieutenant? Each battalion contained a heavy weapons company with machine guns and mortars, and three rifle companies of infantrymen. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during - Answers Infantrymen frequently found that their unit was transferred to the command of another division, a means of reinforcing units which had been engaged with the Germans and weakened as a result, or which needed additional men for a counteroffensive. A typical United States infantry division contained about 15,000 officers and men, divided into three infantry regiments, with supporting companies and battalions. In his work The 1865 Customs of Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers, August V. Kautz writes that a soldier "should learn to wait: a soldier's life is made up in waiting for the critical moments.". by Jeffrey J. Clarke, Center for Military History, February 26, 1992, Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen Ambrose, 1998, Ardennes-Alsace, by Roger Cirillo, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 2003, online, American Battle Casualties and Non-Battle Deaths in World War II, by the Combined Arms Research Library, Department of the Army, June 25, 1953. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. They saw burned-out tanks and other vehicles, bombed-out villages and towns, civilian refugees with all of their remaining belonging in carts or on their backs. Good article. We had one RTO killed because he was too close to a 2ND Lt, same thing happened to another RTO. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. More severely wounded were sent, by ambulance or by rail, to forward surgical posts. Tired, footsore soldiers experienced difficulty keeping up with the rest of their unit, and traveling alone was far more dangerous than within the unit itself, for both the straggler and the rest of the unit. Lucky you. . The shortfall, on the other hand, is over 7.9 and 3.3 life-years for male and female in U. S. population, respectively. RTO, John Scheur. For example, life expectancy of Veterans at age 25 population, thus 3.6 and 0.5 life-years smaller income differentials for male and female Veterans, respectively, shown in Tables 17 and 18. The infantrymans first encounter with the French or Italians usually took place near these camps. There were instances when some men used grenades to try to blast the frozen soil, a practice which was quickly stopped by the sergeants. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. Copyright 2023 www.OperationMilitaryKids.org. The name came from the labels painted on the sides of the cars, which in French read 40 Hommes chevaux 8 meaning 40 men or 8 horses. All infantrymen were issued gas masks, but by the time they reached the front-most had discarded them as being unnecessary since there had been no indication that the Germans were planning on using poisonous gas, as they had in the First World War. So was the need to stay nourished, and despite the idea of eating unappetizing rations cold, due to the necessity of avoiding using cooking fires, it was better than nothing. Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. Do the math. It was capable of processing an entire division for embarkation in a single day, but it seldom did due to the nature of shipping schedules from the Port of Boston. I was an FO back in the day. Most of us have memories of these kind of experiences. Also, Infantry like the culture of the military job as well as management opportunities. In combat they treated the wounded in the field, wearing helmets which were clearly marked with a Red Cross. When US troops encountered German units with multiple automatic weapons, the US Army changed its approach, and authorized two BARs per squad, though in practice this was difficult to achieve due to the weight of additional ammunition which had to be carried by other squad members, and which led to some non-coms favoring the Thompson to counter the German automatic fire. As I carried a PRC25 radio for over seven-months in the > Nam, I was curious to find out what I did RIGHT to surv >, One MOS I figured was a sure short timer was POL{Fuel} Truck Driver. The TOTAL number of CIB and CMB awarded would give you the answer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yet the famed French commander could not have achieved success without the hard efforts of . What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in ww2? A lister bag was a large canvas bag with a shower head attached to the bottom. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. LUCK pure LUCK. And dug Berms, in the area. located on the South End of, the Post. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. During training, you will spend close to a week on vehicle platform training. Related Article Marine Corps Scout Sniper (MOS 0317): Career Details. I was a helicopter pilot We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. by John A. Haymond 2/7/2023. Treatment of wounds using sulfa drugs and powder and the growing use of penicillin to prevent and treat infections were on his side. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. I remember we were always short of replacements throughout 1968 because of the high Kia & wounded rate we suffered at that time ! Infantrymen were trained to keep the rifle cleaned and well-oiled at all times, and since their lives depended on their weapon most were diligent about following this directive. Each was an unknown quantity to the other. Once they were on the continent in 1944, other than the initial days of the Battle of the Bulge, there were few withdrawals in the face of the enemy. The lowest rated category on Indeed for Army Infantryman is work-life balance which makes sense as having a family while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces is far from easy. As of July 2019, the Army had 19,820 11B Infantryman on active duty. As a result, Army Infantrymen 11B are trained to conduct mobilization in a variety of settings on land. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. For the most part, when they went home after the war they regathered themselves and used their GI Bill rights to get educations, buy houses, and create the baby boom and the suburbs. Army Giving Robotic Combat Vehicles More Firepower We were expecting, an attack. He said when they were ambushed they took defensive positions, returned fire, called for assistance when needed, and retreated when necessary. My shit got weak and a sniper popped three rounds in my young ass. 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 documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. Their officers traveled on the same train, but in passenger cars, which were marginally more comfortable but also unheated. Now, there are additional weapon qualifications including handling M4 rifles, M240 machine guns, and M249 squad automatic weapons. Of all the gear he carried, other than his weapons and ammunition, none was more important to him than clean socks. He also carried a weapon. No high security clearance is required to become an Army Infantryman. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. As a member of a fire team, you can expect to test your skills handling day and night shooting with several Army stables including M4 rifles, M230 machine guns, and M249 automatic weapons. 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. Related Article: Marine Machine Gunner (MOS 0331): Job Description And Summary. RT @starsandstripes: New York Army National Guard soldiers from the Syracuse-based 27th Infantry Brigade Combat team are on their way home after overseeing the training of 9,600 Ukrainian troops. To the men, it appeared they were fighting for useless hills. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever Depending on the season in which they arrived, the camps could be pleasant or miserable; for example, Mediterranean fall sunshine or the bitter Mistral winds of winter. 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. 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. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. I handled Top Secret Commo on a daily basis. During the Second World War in all theaters, it was the infantry which bore the brunt of combat, be it ground units of the US Army or the Marines. There must have been a real mathematician to come up with those calculations. Foot soldiers went by the grace of God, but had a better chance than the infantry platoon commander in combat. I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. Here are ten examples of what life was like for the combat infantryman of the Second World War. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? The Army continues to build upon its training for fire team members with more time in the field, including tactical training that focuses more on squad formations. It was mostly used by specialty units rather than infantry. I was never hit by enemy fire even though they had multiple opportunities after that I was an rto for the company commander and I have to say both jobs were not fun. Such protracted exposure to the elements boded ill for his life expectancy. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. Basic training and advanced job training are combined into a single course. I lost my cherry very early. I agree with all of the comments, however I would add Tunnel Rats to the group I was one and saw many of my friends die in those tunnels I was very fortunate or very lucky and was never a lead but was at the tail end. The most common trade items were cigarettes and chocolate, both of which Americans were amply supplied with, and the French civilians were not. I was sitting on the ground one day trying to dry out my gear and better configure my ruck when my squad leader came walking over to me and said, Gow, youve got the radio. As he turned and walked away! The infantryman of World War II had a much better chance of surviving some wounds which would have been fatal during previous wars. Hats off to them. A system for the treatment and evacuation of wounded was developed in the Mediterranean theater before the Americans landed in France, and by the end of 1944, it worked smoothly and efficiently, applying the knowledge gained by experience. US Army. While all rifle companies had assigned medics, they were not always in the company of squads on patrol or deployed in forwarding positions. During the winter sleeping bags were issued. It had a crew of 4 (forward gunner, the coxswain (steering and driving) and the two aft gunners. 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. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. BS but ia a way you are correct. What is the life expectancy of an army infantry soldier? For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. My 31-months in-country was in three Direct Support US Army aviation units, 15TC BN, First Cav, 335TH, Americal and 17TH Cav 101ST ABD65-71In the last battle I was directly involved, LAM SON 719, into Laos, cost army aviation units over 600-helicopters shot down or battle damagedthe NVA were waiting for our SECRET mission in early 71I was glad to go home at battles end, in March 71 , almost unscathed, I was TDY for my absurd third tourTo the point, many ARVN Rangers, airborne and their other best died in Lam Son 719US Army Infantry were forbidden entry to Laos in 71.. the ARVN were massacredand many US Army pilots and crew mambers were KIA & WIAeven MIA. 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. During combat, soldiers need to request, observe, and adjust direct supporting fire. I was an RTO for 9-1/2 months for Hawk Recon 2/327 101AB from dec, 1969 to sept 70. Infantrymen must protect the country against any threat by land. See you in the next life!!!!! That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. 10 Answers Out of thousands of men that invaded that town in southern Afghanistan, we have lost 19. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. The needs of the Army will dictate which MOS youre assigned. Joe Medicine Crow escaped the law of . !We dont abuse prisoners Now, if he reaches for his weapon to continue the fight BLOW HIS ASS AWAY THIS AINT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!! Soldiers also learn basic combative training including hand-to-hand combat and tactical combat casualty care (TCCC). Cleaning tools and oil were kept in the buttstock. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. The training for Army Infantrymen 11B consists of Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT), for a total of 14 weeks. When they first arrived in Europe the squads had often been together since their basic infantry training, but casualties and replacements inevitably changed their composition. I was an Artillery Forward Observer with the Infantry. In France, the bars were as hard as the frozen soil. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Belton Cooper, a soldier who supported an armored unit, recalled that the high number of tanker casualties forced the Army to hastily retrain infantry replacements as tankers.
life expectancy of an infantry soldier in combat