What did soldiers sleep in during the Vietnam war?

Answer 1

In South Vietnam, for GIs IN THE FIELD...sleeping & eating was practically all he lived for. Being as there was nothing else to do other than patrolling/RIFing/ ambush parties/etc. One must remember there were no:

1. No telephones (other than MARs at large bases).

2. No cell phones.

3. No GPS systems.

4. No fancy gadget cameras.

5. No Nintendo games.

6. No computers (Only National Defense and the CIA had those).

7. No health foods. No foods at all other than C rations or care packages.

8. No smart weapons (some experimental ones though, like the TOW & Sagger).

9. No air conditioning.

10. No communication at all with anybody! Except for mail call.

11. No showers.

12. No baths.

13. No movies.

14. No car, no bicycle, no nothing (except for your jungle boots or your tank).

15. No flush toilets (dig a hole!).

16. No toilet paper (use water or leafs).

17. No tooth brush (one C ration meal has a tooth pick in it to use as a tooth brush).

18. No clean drinking water (use two tablets of iodine pills per 1 qt. canteen full).

19. No women. Just men lowered to the level of primitive animals (kill, eat, and sleep-and not in that particular order).

So what else was there to do in the field (boonies, jungle, etc.)? Sleep, eat, and fight. And thats what war is really about. Anyone can pull a trigger (thats why some states in America REQUIRE trigger locks on firearms...because any CHILD can pull a trigger)...wars are not about pulling triggers...wars are about surviving and keeping your sanity while living 365 days under those 19 conditions listed above.

Answer 2

Grunts slept on the ground, rolled up in poncho liners. In the Central Highlands, grunts often had to use sleeping bags (it got cold in the highlands). Tank crewmen slept on the back decks of their Patton tanks, or on cots at Firebases. Artillerymen slept in bunkers which surrounded their field guns (bunkers formed a horse-shoe around the guns). The "Base Camp Commandos" or "REMPS" (Rear Echelon M F...) at large bases slept in wooden barracks (hootches) on cots. The hootches were open bays, covered with sand bags around the outsides. With the exception of the tents, the TV series MASH would accurately describe the living conditions at those bases.

Answer 3

in each other's asses