Personally, assigned to the firebase shit burning detail was absolutely the worst of my experiences in the Nam…closely followed by having to relocate the “piss tubes”. I was able to tolerate painting, filling sandbags, digging holes for bunkers and just about any other task they could throw at me when I wasn’t in the bush, but, hands down, burning shit left a permanent brown stain on my memory. Honestly, once you pour in the diesel fuel and light a match, only two other tasks were required for the remainder of the day: Having to stir the mixture every fifteen minutes or so with a large stick, and then doing your best to avoid the billowing and shifting thick, black smoke. The hardest and most difficult part of this day-long work detail, was moving the filled barrels to a spot considered safe for burning. Envision this, and yes this is gross, but fifty-five gallon steel barrels were cut in half and used for the collection of waste.
Each community outhouse, some enclosed and some not, were fabricated with wood and screen material. An eight foot long by three foot wide piece of plywood ran across the length of the small building – four oblong and evenly spaced holes were cut into the wood plank to create a throne for a foursome; a half barrel waste collector was strategically placed under each of them. Actually, there were eight in total – four replacement empties from the day before. Now here is the worst part. Both doors, enclosing the barrels on the rear of the outhouse were raised 180 degrees and latched to the wall. Each of these four barrels had to be pulled out and dragged about thirty feet away to the “safe area”. Now consider that one gallon of milk weighs about ten pounds and the capacity of each barrel is about 25 gallons. I’m not going to go on about the swarms of black flies or describe the mixture – I think you have the picture! So if they were quite full, it was very difficult to pull the 200 plus pounds of sloshing liquid across the uneven dirt or mud without spilling or splashing some of the contents on yourself. Yeah, I know, EEWWWW! Well multiply this times four. Oh, I also forgot – we couldn’t get gloves either.
So it’s the end of the day and the task is finally over (waste is completely burned and the barrels are empty). It’s time to get some dinner at the mess hall but you can’t go looking or smelling like your “work”. And guess what, there are no clean fatigues available. Off to the shower to bathe in your clothes…it helps some, but not much. However, nobody says a word because they know what you’ve been doing all day. They’ve been there! They’ve done that! They sympathize with you! All is great in the world for the moment. You finish your meal and head to your bunker for the night. Thank God somebody else will pull this detail tomorrow.
I could not imagine walking around like that today and getting the same response. Jesus, you catch hell from people if you just fart and they want to make a big deal about it. So, here we are at the end of my discussion and you may or may not agree with my choice. Please respond to this post one way or the other. If there is something worse…bring it on for us all to read about. If you agree or have done it yourself – leave a note! Looking forward to your responses.
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shit burning was the worst. I was on an artillery fire base in 2-3 different locations. We had no running water, showers were from non-potable water. When you got shit burning duty, nobody wanted to be near you. You wished you had the rainy monsoon season , so you could shower outside and possibly change your clothes , if you were lucky. These were our burn pits. The feces and urine had to be burned everyday.
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On hilltop in Que Son Mtns as a 1st ANGLICO FO with the ROK Marines you would do a rotation of 10 days on hilltop then to Hoi An to decompress and then back to camp in Dien Ban with company of ROK’s to await return to same hilltop. I didn’t care to burn shit but on the hilltop there was only a 6 or 7 foot pit that all used, about 18-20 guys total. During my months served there it was the same pit, never a fresh one. It served as the life cycle for “shit eating flies”. At the pits bottom was the swirl of fresh maggots awaiting your daily hardened deposit of digested C-Rats. Baby Ruth looking turds dropped into the swirling, fetid mashup (always described as rowling oatmeal) of maggots and turds. Along the pits side were the escaping maggots in their hardening pupae shells sort of creeping higher to escape. Towards the top would be the fresh hatch of flies preening themselves waiting to escape and make anyone existing near the pits life more miserable. Yes, they were masters at their art. Constantly landing on your fresh abrasions, face and especially mouth area to ensure they gave you a taste of the pit, all day long swatting away the flies.
Truth be told, burning shit was a necessary evil. I was volunteered upon return to Hoi An. The shitters were fuller there and more of them. On the plus side was the abundance of sand to bury burnt contents due to the proximity of China Beach. In Dien Ban, Nate Turner and I shared the shitter and only had to burn every couple of days. Though the ground was less sandy to dig and fresh space to dig was at a premium.
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Was at Marine Airbase DaNang in 70/71 and remember pulling s*** detail 4 or 5 times. Nastiest job I’ve ever done bar none. These sissy boys/girls these days don’t have a clue as to what sacrifice or hard work is.
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Been there did that. Yes it’s awful!
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I remember very well. Shity job oct 66 to oct 67 an ki central highlands. Home of the first air calv.
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Yes I remember climbing of a airplane and being bused to the 90 th replacedment battalion after a 25 hour flight this was August 1968 no sleep for three days before that was at Oakland army terminal for two days trying to sleep in those hot as warehouses could not sleep anyway at arrival at the 90th replacement battalion they took us on a shit burning detail the worse thing I ever did in my life I got sick to my stomach and up chuck all over the place it was horrible I still think about it to this day….couldn’t wait to get to my unit was assigned to the 25th infantry division cu chi Vietnam…mos was 11 bravo….burn shit a few more times after that but not very much thank god…when I tell people today about this they don’t believe me they say no way..well I know it’s true I was there….I do have a witness to this one of the guys I grew up with and went all through school with was drafted the same day as me we were together at fort ord ..he was lucky they made him a cook ..anyway we were on the same plane going to Vietnam and he was on that shirt burning detail with me….he was assigned to the 1st infantry division…and we both made it home safely I was wounded twice though not seriously though thank the lord…
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The worst was having to go to a Huey crash site in the mountains and recover the crew’s remains. Helicopters burn HOT, but they don’t burn everything. I didn’t expect how weak the smell of burned flesh makes you… especially when you want to get the task done as fast as possible….. At the same time, I was grateful and felt guilty for being alive…. War is not a good thing…..
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there was only FB that I had to burn Sierra on, and me an my buddy used it as a time to smoke a dooby as the smell could not be noticed…..FTA an the Lifers
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Been there done that!! Phu Bai 67-68
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I burned the barrels a couple of times. Everybody got their turn. It was a big reason I volunteered for tunnel demolition assignments. Kept me out in the field. I just couldn’t handle the BS in the base camp.
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I too am one of many who experienced this detail…considering other experiences I had during my tour, I have a certain right of passage pride from my turn “burning the shitters”…anyone who recalls this detail knows of being a soldier in Viet Nam…doing your part, sacrifice and determination, putting others first, walking point, going on night ambush. We were young, tough and very mean. We are now old, but if given a good reason, we can still show others a whole new level of angry. Semper Fi
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GOOD ARTICLE. FIRST MISSION WHEN GOT TO MY COMPANY IN VIET NAM. I STIIL THE SMELL INBEDDED IN MY NOSE.
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Jeeezz shit burning duty must be the worst duty you can get in tjhe nam by far the worse, you guys are heroes……
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First detail at 22nd Repple Depple…me & an incoming SF trooper volunteered for shit burning because we figured we’d be done faster than the KP’s. Well, we were right, but it was a helluva way to get out of work! The stench from feces that’s been baking in 100 degree heat for hours is indescribable unless you’ve been in the Nam or a POW camp. But to me, the clacking of the dung beetles when we hooked those shitcans loose was worse. Light those babies up, then jump back so’s the smoke doesn’t touch you! Welcome to II Corps, boys!
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Shit Burners for life…..
I can’t believe I found this site. I was fortunate enough get the Burning Shit detail for 3 1/2 weeks daily. This great honor was thrust upon me by my Platoon leader. I was in the 191st AHC . I was not in the infantry. I was a crew chief and door gunner on a Huey Helicopter. After being shot down a couple of times and wounded I figured it was not a good job to continue for the rest of my tour. I decided that I would not fly anymore as it was voluntary. Thinking I would go back to maintenance it would be much better
However it was decided I would be of more value Burning Shit till I DEROS. I Burned shit for almost a month until I could do it no more and went back to flying. Pretty effective motivation Don’t you think. Any way after leaving the service and being the new guy on the job, I would always get a shitty Job ; however my bosses really never knew what a shit job really was did they !!!!!
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I don’t blame you. I had this detail only once and still have the smell imbedded in my consciousness.
On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 1:36 AM, Cherries – A Vietnam War Novel wrote:
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Hello,
Well you never forget this detail. Although cleaning the company mess grease trap with a toothbrush is a close second.
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Body bag duty outside of the 93 Hospital. With all of the body fluids dripping out of the bags as you try to put them in the back of a 2 1/2 ton truck
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That has to be the worst! On Oct 9, 2015 5:03 PM, “Cherries – A Vietnam War Novel” wrote:
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I like reading about what you guys had to do in the field. I was a truck driver and was in one rocket attack. I did get to do one thing most of you guys did…….burn shit. Love all of you and welcome home.
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Dealing with Dead ARVN KIA’S outside Siagon in prep to work at AF Mortuary 1965/66 Slip Skin and Maggots willike make ya chuck for Days.
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I didn’t say it was the most dangerous….just the worst detail.
D/2/16, 1st Inf Div, 1967-68
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If you complain about burning shit, you must be a TOTAL R.E.M.F. No one was shot and killed or had to shoot and kill anybody burning shit.
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Burning shit was a looooooot better than being an Infantry man in the field. Burning shit was like being back in the ‘world’, for sure.
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Easily was the shit detail; however, when I had it just after arriving in country and at our basecamp Di An before going into the field, this is how it went: flip up the trap door behind the outhouse and remove both cut-in-half 55 gallon drums from under each seat. I can’t remember if they were 2 or 3 seaters. By inserting engineering stakes through the cutout handles, two guys would lift each barrel up onto a deuce-and-a-half. When all barrels were loaded, we then drove to the burning basecamp dump, backed the truck up to the edge and one guy would tilt the barrel while the other scooped the stuff out with a wooden paddle of some sort. Those two guys were our medic and another guy while me and the fourth guy were thankfully dry heaving into our ball caps in the truck cab.
Of course, out in the field it was always the medic simply pouring fuel into the one platoon shitter and burning it.
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Graves Registration to ID our KIA’s after an Operation before they were sent home…
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Frankly, I didn’t mind the shit burning detail at all. It meant I wasn’t out in the field and a time for a chat with another shit burner. Small moments of peace amidst all the chaos. And, hell, you stank from your own sweat, didn’t bathe for weeks … by the time you were assigned to the detail, your sense of smell was literally gone. You didn’t smell shit (or anything,else).
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Shit Burning!! Didn’t pull the drums out far enuf and burnt the latrine down…. Never lived that one down.
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I invented the shitter as an enlisted engineer in the Seabees in 6/66 and still have the original blueprint.
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It was my “STINKIN’ LEGACY” to Uncle Sam and is still in use today in Afghanistan.
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Absolutely the worst detail was burning shit! I often wondered why we didnt just bury it? Also, I had to drive the 5 ton truck full of the FB’s trash & garbage! Once out side of the gate our truck would be over ran with RVN’s going through the trash looking for food. Kinda sad really!
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@ pdoggbiker
I also remember on shit burning detail in the CAV, we used jp4 a lot to get it started. I had a friend that i went through basic, and AIT, together. and he was going to try to get it burning better and splashed a gallon can of jp4 fuel on it and it back flashed and they carried him away in a body bag.
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Thanks for the response, Skinner! I never had access to jet fuel…guys did a lot of weird stuff in the Nam…some funny and some deadly as you described. Welcome Home Brother!
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I remember the worst i had to do was after a firefight, where they were trying to overrun us, we had beehives rounds coming on the outside of the permiter. and then they dropped napalm on them. then we had to go out and count the CRISPY CRITTERS, pinned to the trees with the pleschets, after it was all done. Nothing worse than the smell of human flesh burning. I FOR ONE WILL NEVER FORGET THAT EXPERIENCE.
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Skinner, that has got to be the absolute worst…thank you, my Brother, for posting!
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Burial detail after the night of May 25 68 atop of hill 29.
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I can relate…yes indeed, this is in the top few! Thanks for commenting Jeff!
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I worked in the operating room of a hospital. Whenever a hand, finger, or toe was amputated it was just thrown into the trash. If an arm or leg was amputated it was put into a doubled black plastic bag and one of us privates or sp4’s has to take it out the back door of the OR suite, walk behind the buildings – as inconspicuously as possible – and take it to the incinerator. Burn it up for an hour, come back and shut it off. Always hated that job.
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Tom, have to admit that has to be near the top of the list…thanks for your input!
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pdoggbiker: I’m writing a book about my Vietnam experience. Near publication. I’d like to include ‘shit burning’ as one of the daily sights. Request permission to use the photo of the barrels outside the latrine. Anyone have any more I might consider??? Thanks.
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Actually, the shit burning detail was my first job in VN and never had to do it again (seemed to be a “first week” detail for all newcomers). We had a pair of gloves to use. Two guys to lift out the barrels and refill…one glove each…very heavy, especially when working with a full 55-gallon barrel of diesel.
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Was at Marine Airbase DaNang in 70/71 and remember pulling s*** detail 4 or 5 times. Nastiest job I’ve ever done bar none. These sissy boys/girls these days don’t have a clue as to what sacrifice or hard work is.
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I was with the HERD in 68/69. And we had days when we were not humping 70 to 90 pound rucks up and down the Central Highlands. Called “STAND DOWNS”, we would get 3 days in the rear very rarely tho. On the first occasion they tried to get me to burn sh*t, I got as far as setting it afire, stirred once. Thought to myself. “No Freakin way!” And turned around and left the stuff burning beneath a spreading tower of thick black smoke and muttered out loud;
“What they gonna do? Send me to Vietnam?”
The fresh graves Jim spoke above were by far worse to, and a duty I could not, would not shirk. That was by far the worst.
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I agree that the shit burning detail was horrible! That was the first detail I was assigned the day after arriving in Nam at the 90th replacement battalion, and we had to burn not only the military barrels, but the female Vietnamese civilian worker ones ass well. Those were the worst! You can imagine what was in them, and I don’t think any Vietnamese had a solid bowel movement without worms. They also had a very hard time getting it all in the barrel, as it sprayed all over!
The only thing that compared to that was one particular operation when we found several fresh graves. We were ordered to dig up the graves to verify if the bodies were American or Vietnamese, and how they died. We had left our gas masks at our field base camp, and the odor was horrendous, as were the bodies which were only a few days old and wrapped in straw mats.. All Viet Cong, and apparently killed by Artillery fire. Two of the worst details I ever had!
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Been there, brother- at home, and in the war!
But raking up the body parts of a fellow soldier and placing them in his poncho to be carried out on bamboo poles is up there with the worst. And getting your hip blown off in combat.
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Seams, that every infantry company, that would come in out from the field, there would be a 2nd Lt. showing us our jobs, a 2nd Lt. I never seen before. This happened to my Co. B 2/5 1st. Air Cav. 67/68. I had heard this from other guys from other companies. If ya get hit, you can even find out where you were on a real map
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