What did the soldiers in Vietnam have to suffer through?

Answer 1

US servicemen had to climatize to the weather of South Vietnam, unless the GI was from the US state of Louisiana or Florida, he was going to suffer until his body got used to the humidity. The GI had to get used to drinking "warm" water that looked like urine, due to it's treatment by US Army Engineers or iodine tablets. He might also come down with Malaria if he didn't take those white and yellow (tan) pills. OR HE MIGHT GET LUCKY and not get malaria at all, even if he didn't take em.

The average GI in the Vietnam War, Korean War, World War II, and probably World War I, only saw men for a year at a time. GI's were very lonely, very hungry, very filthy (a freshly showered/bathed man could be SMELLED by his fellow GI's). All roads seemed to be dirt (no pavement or asphalt) so uniforms were ALWAYs covered with dirt, mixed with sweat, the uniforms were NO LONGER OD (Olive Drab) they were nearly brown in color (reddish brown). Entertainment was eating, sleeping, and smoking a cigarette, and if a GI didn't smoke before he entered the army...he smoked now! The army issued cigarettes in EVERY "C" ration meal. 12 meals to the case.

There is a scene in the movie "PLATOON" in which actor Charlie Sheen (playing the role of real ex-GI (25th Inf Div) and now film director, OLIVER STONE) is covered with a plastic poncho on guard mount sitting in the rain amongst sleeping bodies of fellow GI's, when suddenly attacked, and he "clacks" the claymore detonator until it blows. Sleeping in those conditions as DEPICTED was an accurate showing of "sleeping in the field." One of the commonest drudgeries was wondering where he was going to sleep at night...near those bushes, or near that little mound of dirt...or near that tree or near that cemetery head stone...yes sometimes cemetaries were where ambush sites had to be set up.

Other than the weather(heat), rain, mud, dirt, insects, rats, snakes, booby traps, lack of sleep, lack of food, running out of canteen water, being lonely (home sick-except for GI buddies), nearly ALWAY's eating COLD food (C rations), the stress of having your number come up (getting killed), friendly fire from aircraft and other units on the ground, the thought of returning home to protesters (some of whom may have wished those GI's ill-will) wasn't really all that bad, with a GOOD attitude and some youth on his side (and LUCK), say about 18 years of age, he could handle it, especially if he's an adventurous youth. Besides, G-d favors the bold, and young men are bold!

Answer 2

The Vietnam War was the first war in which the US Army issued green cloth camoflage covers for all GI steel pots (the US Marines were ALWAYS issued camoflage covers for their steel helmets); GI "graffiti" was commonplace on those helmets: "We the unwilling, led by the unqualified, are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful." Grunt, Vietnam