life expectancy of an infantry soldier in combat

Learned a lot from him. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. 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. Army Infantrymen (MOS 11B) are the main land combat force, known as Eleven Bravo. These personnel are responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. Some reported not having the ability to shower for as long as several weeks. 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. I too never understood survivor quilt, Enjoyed your article. 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. Fortunately, it was recorded on Spotify and can be listened to here: Your email address will not be published. It goes without saying that battle could claim a soldier's life and soldiers enlisted anywhere from 10 to 25 years, depending on their rank. The 1809 Battle of Landshut in Bavaria, Germany resulted in a victory for Napoleon Bonaparte. 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. Additionally, you must complete a Combat (CO) ASVAB score of 87. In some conditions, infantrymen would change their socks at any opportunity. It was mostly used by specialty units rather than infantry. I was wounded 3 times during the 10 1/2 months I was in-country before being medevacd out in Apr of 68. A lister bag was a large canvas bag with a shower head attached to the bottom. 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. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. 1: physical position (in the field / column) All the members of the squad carried additional weapons, including a sidearm and bayonet, and when deployed in the field carried both smoke and shrapnel grenades. I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. Of all the gear he carried, other than his weapons and ammunition, none was more important to him than clean socks. 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. Welcome home. U.S. Army Infantrymen MOS 11B have many duties and responsibilities. The Life Expectancy of Roman Soldiers. Such protracted exposure to the elements boded ill for his life expectancy. Bathing and shaving were unheard of luxuries at the front, and when units did receive an opportunity to shower it was often through the use of a lister bag shower. Also, Infantry like the culture of the military job as well as management opportunities. aND, mAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! 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. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. In addition to handling and processing POWs, an Army Infantryman might also need to evaluate terrain and select weapon emplacement. Of the American combat troops which served on the continent of Europe during the Second World War about 15% were frontline infantry. During times of combat, it is not uncommon to mobilize troops, vehicles, and weaponry. Care of his feet was paramount to the infantrymen since they were his primary means of conveyance. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. said to me. Anyway I was wondering about the RTOs in a grunt platoon, was that their MOS or were they 11B that carried a PRC ? He was not the type to hump a radio. Yet the famed French commander could not have achieved success without the hard efforts of . Soldiers must meet a very heavy strength requirement and physical profile requirement of 111221. In previous American wars volunteer units were often composed of men from the same communities, but not in World War II, when a typical squad included members from all over the United States. No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. Walking wounded were usually treated at aid stations manned by the medical personnel of their own unit. Thats why they called us GRUNTS ! Thus they were deployed without artillery of their own. You just do the best job you can and if you got hit, so be it! Rest and recovery could be at the level of any of the units of command, or as little as the squad level. I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. Required fields are marked *. Their experience as front-line combat infantry was invaluable in training new recruits in what they could expect when it became their turn at the front. Living in the ground led them to be filthy, and staying alive drove them to tolerate it, of themselves and their squadmates. 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. Infantrymen must protect the country against any threat by land. The 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in the US Military | Military.com Ron. THE MAN I INHERITED THE GUN FROM WASNT SO LUCKY. 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 Home, workplace, tomb - the reality of the World War II tank Sanitation facilities were a box filled with sand in each car. Lo in France. I was told my life expectancy was about 45 secs during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. It began just as, it was getting dark. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. I was an O5C-20 in Vietnam. He was wounded and suffered permanent disability shortly before his tour was up. Many were damaged, and the Germans had left them behind as they withdrew because they considered them useless. I was an FO back in the day. Roger Loves you too, Im sure. It was more or less next man up . Each was an unknown quantity to the other. Survival led them to shed those items which were not essential to their remaining alive. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. 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. You were a Great RTO. To an, open area. There are a few other skills that are not mandatory yet go a long way in proving what makes an excellent U.S. Army Infantryman 11B: Related Article Marine Corps Tow Gunner (MOS 0352): Career Details. We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. 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. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Staying alive was kinda of important. Your email address will not be published. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . For the infantryman, the war was limited to how it affected his squad, and the need to protect and defend it. I lost my cherry very early. According to Indeed.com, overall Infantryman claim pay and benefits and job security and advancement as the two best features of the job. For an infantryman, the Expert Infantry Badge is the gold-medal standard. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. For example, life expectancy of male and female Veterans with household incomes less than $20,000, at age 25, are estimated to be 3.9 and 2.2 less life-years than those of $50,000+ income, respectively. To the men, it appeared they were fighting for useless hills. His entrenching tool could be used as a pick and a spade, but the often frozen ground encountered in late 1944 resisted his efforts stubbornly. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. There were instances when some men used grenades to try to blast the frozen soil, a practice which was quickly stopped by the sergeants. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. When the reserves moved up the troops which had been in combat were withdrawn, and what luxuries the Army could offer were enjoyed. The theory is the longer you serve in the U.S. Army the more you will make. It was on the Job Training ! We were in2dBn 503d . The M1 rifle, which was the standard rifle for American infantry in 1944, weighed over ten pounds loaded, and the twelve eight-round clips in his cartridge belt added another six and a half pounds to his load. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their Ed, I was in a Grunt Platoon in Vietnam 70-71. Vehicles of the US First Infantry division stalled on a Belgian road in late 1944. SS America, renamed USS West Point, could carry nearly eight thousand troops and its speed meant it could sail without escorts, capable of outrunning German U-boats. I think convoy truck drivers had one of the most dangerous job. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. Members of the squad carried other equipment besides their personal load, as assigned by their sergeant. During combat, soldiers need to request, observe, and adjust direct supporting fire. Hats off to them. Related Article: Army Height And Weight Standards. Army Infantrymen are experts in both weaponry and machinery, so there is a need to maintain and store combat weapons of all types. During mobilization in the military, it is not uncommon to have skills associated with landmine warfare, anti-armor techniques, urban terrain, squad tactical training, as well as the operation of M203 grenade launchers. It was up to the squad leaders to keep them fighting in brutal weather, without asking why. Now, there are additional weapon qualifications including handling M4 rifles, M240 machine guns, and M249 squad automatic weapons. They lived in the mud and snow, not in the deep trenches of the First World War but in foxholes they dug themselves, or in shell craters created by the artillery of both sides. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. Pararescue U.S. Air Force pararescuemen and a simulated 'survivor' watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. (Petty Officer 2nd Class. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Elie Piha served as a paratrooper in the US Army from 2008 to 2012. Prayers for all. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. They were a great bunch. He then said that they were generally on patrol moving through their area, both attacking and being attacked depending if the VC knew their location. The rifle companies of the 276th Infantry Division arrived in the French town of Brumath on the day after Christmas, 1944. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. The basic unit for any infantryman in the United States Army was his squad. This Battle changed his life and his future, had it not been for his actions, every man on this FSB Gold would have died. Most infantrymen did not carry additional ammunition for the .45, which was considered a defensive weapon of last resort, and those that did typically carried only one or two preloaded magazines. The need for special training for BAR operators, including the proper method of cleaning it, also contributed to its being carried by only one squad member. I saw killed and wounded everywhere in our combat operations. Additionally, you may lead an infantry team in combat missions providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to both superiors and subordinates in the accomplishment of their duties. How they got there depended on the condition of the roads and railroads between their consolidation point and where they were needed. . 101st Airborne Division. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. Axes were useful, but not all men in the squad needed to carry one. Each rifle squad had one man assigned to carry a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) while the rest of them carried rifles, usually the Garand M1 rifle. 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. Those determined to be too severely wounded to continue their recovery in theater were sent to either England or the United States on hospital ships, and then routed to recovery hospitals on specially equipped hospital trains. Their war was what they encountered. 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. The infantrymen of World War 2 slogged across Europe from the spring of 1944 through the early spring of 1945. 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. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. 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. 9 (September 1944) The American Soldier (1949), vol. Infantrymen are renowned for being great at handling high-stress situations and are often natural-born leaders. Id had a premonition, and asked the LT to let me trade off to become the AG. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. 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. 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. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. You will become a member of a fire team which could result in deployment to one or more dangerous settings involving direct combat. 1ST MAW 66-68. I carried the proc 26 radio after I was asked by my field 1st ( E 7 ) if I would for my platoon . Comments were more interesting than the article it self. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. The 11X program challenges new recruits with the option of becoming MOS 11B or MOS 11C. John Doever Nobody attacked, where we were. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). 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. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. Boot camp for an Army Infantryman consists of two sections: Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training. The basics for every soldier, shown here, including hard tack. No trees or anything on the ground. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. The US Army Combat Lifesaver Course is an official medical training course conducted by the US Army. Sometimes walkie-talkie sets were substituted, they weighed far less but offered a more limited range. S/F, There were no door gunners on dustoffs. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. 5 (April 1944) What the Soldier Thinks, no. Like you, I carried a PRC-25 for about 5 months and never got hit. A Co, 1/5 Cav, 1 Cav Division. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. Les Scates U.S. Army (Ret.) Engineer OSUT is 14 weeks long. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. EIB - A day in the life of an infantryman. Also , it I might add that the, Government big wigs, have a quota [percentage]of a lot of the Military equipment etc that had a certain amount of time to function until it was disable, blow up, wrecked, junk, etc.
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