The+Vietnam+Soldier


 * very harsh terrain in Vietnam that the soldier had to go through
 * the VC used booby traps, mines, bombs, and sharp, poisonous punji stakes, all hidden by twigs and thick vegetation
 * the Vietnam war was completely different from any other war that the US had fought in before
 * US Army foot soldiers in Vietnam came to be known as "grunts"
 * when new recruits would land in Vietnam for the first time they would be overwhelmed by the heat, smell, and humidity
 * a platoon in Vietnam usually consisted of 20-40 men
 * a lieutenant and a NCO (usually a sergeant) led the platoon's
 * the ROT was thought to be the most valuable person on each platoon, they were the radiotelephone operator, if he died or was shot down the platoon would be cut off from communication and wouldn't be able to call in for support or back-up if it was needed. Killing the ROT in each platoon became the goal of the enemy
 * people that weren't afraid of the enemy at all were called gungis
 * platoon officers found their objectives under the subheading Mission, this was usually a search and destroy (S and D) mission
 * LZ stands for landing zone
 * the nickname for a platoon's march was a hump
 * the platoon leader measured the platoon's progress by clicks, one click was 1000 meters, and the platoon would usually try to cover about 6 clicks a day
 * the main concerns of the platoon's men during a march, other then the enemy ambushing them, were the animals, mainly snacks. the snacks could get up to as long as 10-20 feet constrictors and pythons
 * the VC would ambush a US platoon and then they would disappear into tunnels