Vietnam Tidbits

Information related to Vietnam

RATS, BIG RATS!

They never trained us in boot camp or during infantry training about how to survive from many of the elements of Vietnam or its challenging environment.  We were trained very well on how to use our weapons to kill and to protect ourselves from the enemy, but we never had any training for all the other ways you can catch…

Water We Drank by Doc Noah

I am sure every Vietnam Infantry Marine recalls the water in our canteens and where it came from during those long excursions in the countryside. In the rear, there were water buffalos. We would dip our canteens into a river or a creek and fill it up with the local water. Of course the water was muddy, full of little…

Engraved Zippo Lighters

Zippo lighters captured a wide range of feelings and opinions about the war in Vietnam, from the obscenity-laden anti-army mottoes of the unwilling draftees, to the simple love notes of the homesick, to the eight Special Forces emblazoned lighters, conspicuously absent of any further embellishment. These lighters were used for lighting cigarettes, heating food, illuminating letters from home, or setting…

What is a Combat Veteran?

What the U.S. Government states: The VA states: Veterans, including activated Reservists and members of the National Guard, are [Combat Veterans] if they served on active duty in a theater of combat operations…and have been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions. [The above definition is for eligibility for VA benefits] The American War Library states: What is a Veteran? –…

Walking Point

My Thoughts While Walking Point in the Arizona Territory Many Vietnam veterans struggled upon returning to the United States. They wrestled with the psychic trauma of the war and felt isolated and out of place, rejected by their country. As point man, the greater danger wasn’t from an ambush or getting shot from a sniper, it was from the booby…

Cigarettes and Smoking in Vietnam

For all of you smokers back in the day, which brand did you prefer and which brand did you smoke while living in the rice patties, mountains, and jungles of Vietnam? It appeared that many (about 60%) of the soldiers in my platoon smoked. Every C-Ration meal contained a single four-pack of cigarettes; ten different brands were primarily offered, but…