All Infantry soldiers went to Vietnam expecting to spend 12 months in the war zone (Marines – 13). It was like a jail sentence – spending 365 days in a war-torn, God-forsaken place on the other side of the world. Only here, it was very different – there were no cells or bars on the wall, no TV, no confinement indoors for most of the day, no running water, showers or flush toilets, and certainly no “three-squares a day”. There was, however, lots of fresh air, plenty of exercise, travels that took you through the countryside and mountains, high heat and humidity, little sleep, little food and water (warm to drink and cold to bathe), and numerous moments of sheer panic – sometimes leaving one numb, thankful, sorrowful and sometimes – exhilarating.
In Vietnam, 3.5 million soldiers served this prison sentence during the 16-year war, early releases were only granted to those incurring a severe injury or death. During the first nine months of their tour, many soldiers honestly believed they would not survive the year long sentence. If not killed by the enemy himself, most were at risk of contracting malaria, drowning, bites from dangerous flying insects, snakes, spiders and rats, falling from the side of a mountain or hill, and friendly fire. It was the worst of the worst place to spend time in! If a soldier survived nine months in this environment, a light was suddenly visible at the end of this dark tunnel. He had 99 days or less left in-country – he was now a double-digit midget – short.
Since tenure in Vietnam was measured in days, a soldier, who was “short”, had less than 99 days to go in his tour. It was cause for celebration and time to start counting down the days until only a “wake up” remained. Being “short” was a measure of stature to his peers. He survived nine months in this hell hole and had earned the right to call himself “short”. The goal of him boarding the “Freedom Bird” and flying home to “The World” were now within reach.
Short-timers used to cajole with other short-timers on the amount of time they had left…it was like rank, the lower the amount of days left, the higher the ranking. I remember some of the bantering:
“Hey man, I just broke fifty – I’m short.”
“That ain’t shit man, I got twenty-five and a wake-up. I’m getting so short I have to play handball against the curb.”
“I’ve got ten left and a wake-up. I’m so short, I have to look up to see down.”
“I’ve got one left and a wake-up. I’m so short, I don’t have time for long conversations.”
My favorite was in the movie Platoon when King was assigned to the “shit burning” detail with Charlie Sheen. King said something like this, “I’m so short, I could smell the fresh mountain air of Virginia and that fine aroma from the girl I left behind. I can’t wait!” Then he looks over to Charlie Sheen and says, “how many you got left, three-hundred and fifty what?” Kind of puts things into perspective.
There was also a danger of being “short”. Most were paranoid, avoiding dangerous patrols or taking unnecessary risks. They had their eye on the prize and didn’t want to lose it. It was a more nerve wracking, cautious and stressful time than when they first arrived in country as Cherries.
Short-timers counted down those final days in a variety of ways. Some carried a short stick with notches, wrote on helmet covers or used special calendars – similar to paint by number pictures. I’ve included samples of many used in Vietnam – I’m also certain there are dozens more and similar items used by our Modern-day military soldiers to count down the number of days left in their deployment.
Did you have something different to count down during your tour of duty?
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What happened to Gunny Raite? A very GOOD man!
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Great and Fun Stories To Haer from others..and how they made sense of time.
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I really liked it and I still have my short timer stick it was made from a 105 howizer primer and a 50 caliber round. It hangs on my wall. I also have my pictures and papers from my service time.
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When I was over In Country, we used to say, I am so short, I can sit on the edge of a dime and not touch the floor with my feet!!
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With 40 days left we would buy a 40oz bottle of canadian club (the one with a ribbon on it) And wear the ribbon and drink an ouce daily. Actually took more than 1 bottle!
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Thank you so much for sharing this.
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I had one but it was long forgotten when I read this. It’s probably in my footlocker along with the other stuff I have not seen since Christmas 1966
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I have a unique perspective on a short time calendar. I extended twice, so I had 3 short time calendars — one Dec. ’68, one Aug. ’69 and one May ’70. The first was a helmet, the second was Vietnam map and the third was one of the women depicted.
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I’m so short I can sit on the edge of a dime and dangle my feet. I’m so short I sleep in a match box. I’m not short…I’m next.
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My calendar was a count down of 200 days and I still have it. At 45 plus years old it has been in two other wars-Iraq and Afganistan. Mine will end up in the veterans museum in Madison Wi.
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A great gift to others! Welcome Home!
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Thanks, good to be home. A fellow soldier made the calendar for me and it had 200 days. So I colored it in. It is a handdrawn picture of a GI holding a beer and saying ” Let me out of this bad some-bitch and the nametag is my name. It is cool and if I pass it on to my kids it will just get thrown away, so I will give it to our Vets museum. Hey, take care and God bless.
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I never heard the word: Deployment! All i knew was that I came down on orders. The cultural differences was what I was NOT prepared for, along with the “rules for engagement”…who the Hell developed “rules” for war?? I gave them my youth, and they took my soul.
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Being “Short” to me meant i only had so many more days to go, and a wake-up, before I could get on the “Freedom Bird” and get back to the “World”! I had three (3) three-foot by five-foot “Shot” calendars and three (3) big girlie photos whose body was broken up like a paint- by-numbers picture, with numbers from 396 to 1; the numbers were all scrambled up and you colored in a number at the end of the day until the young lady’s perfect body was revealed! For those who made it through their whole tour, it left you with a “nice” memento to take home as a souvenir! For those who didn’t make it through their tour-of-duty and were KIA, or POW-MIA, we made sure their “Short” pin-ups were included in with heir personal belongings because we did not feel that it was necessary to cause the family any more hurt, and grief, by letting them know how “Short” their Son, Husband, and/or Father was to coming home before he was KIA! That’s what being “Short” meant to me!
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At CuChi, 25th INf Base Camp, we purchased a long walking cane at our 30 day mark and cut off an inch each day prior to our leaving. The shorter it got the less time we had before leaving. Carried it around every day until we left.
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What year were you there?
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Being “Short” to me meant i only had so many more days to go, and a wake-up, before I could get on the “Freedom Bird” and get back to the “World”! I had three (3) three-foot by five-foot “Shot” calendars and three (3) big girlie photos whose body was broken up like a paint- by-numbers picture, with numbers from 396 to 1; the numbers were all scrambled up and you colored in a number at the end of the day until the young lady’s perfect body was revealed! For those who made it through their whole tour, it left you with a “nice” memento to take home as a souvenir! For those who didn’t make it through their tour-of-duty and were KIA, or POW-MIA, we made sure their “Short” pin-ups were included in with heir personal belongings because we did not feel that it was necessary to cause the family any more hurt, and grief, by letting them know how “Short” their Son, Husband, and/or Father was to coming home before he was KIA! That’s what being “Short” meant to me!
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