During the 1980’s, on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 154, I visited with the local high schools and spoke to the twelfth-grade history classes about my experiences in Vietnam. My presentation usually began with a photo slide show synchronized to Billy Joel’s song, “Goodnight Saigon.” To support this new educational venture, fellow chapter members joined me in contributing personal pictures from their tours which were then converted into slides for the projector’s carousel. Back then, most history books and classes taught very little about the war and how it affected mostly the “Baby Boomer” generation. This was just one way of getting the word out.
These teenage students were in awe during the presentation, staring at the screen – faces exhibiting a mix of emotions. There were no undertone comments or stirring in the room; the students sat transfixed by the images before them and remained extremely attentive during the one hour we were there.
When informed that the soldiers in the slide show were only a year older than most of them, the students all looked to one another in disbelief. Heads began shaking vigorously, and comments like, “no way, not this kid!” turned into a chorus. Video games had not yet been invented, so this was new territory for them.
Team ready to fly out to next mission – author is on far right
It was difficult for the students to fathom that food, water, clothing and personal hygiene products were not readily available in the boonies. For the infantry soldiers, meals consisted of canned c-rations; the menu and amount depended upon how much a soldier wanted to carry on his back over the next 3 – 4 days.
Doesn’t sound like much, but to press my point, I suggested that the next time they went to the supermarket, they should try collecting a dozen different meals in various sized cans – taking enough to last 3 to 4 days. I offered up examples like cans of spaghetti or ravioli, tuna, veggies, soups, fruit and meats; all should be placed in a single container and weighed to see what the total might be. Weight meant everything in the bush and having to carry any more than what was absolutely necessary was senseless to the grunts. The bare necessities alone which they carried were ammunition, grenades, trip flares, hand flares, claymore mines, poncho and liner, mortar round, 100-round belt of machine gun ammo, weapon cleaning equipment, and personal stuff inside a waterproof ammo can. Add to it add the food, water, a steel helmet, weapon and more ammunition.
Speaking of water, let’s not forget that water is a necessity – so how much should they carry? Note: each quart of water weighs a little over two pounds. During the dry season, water sources were not readily available and each soldier had to carry a minimum of six one-quart canteens just to get him through to the next resupply – three to four days later. So, in rationing water, the ability to take care of personal hygiene needs such as washing faces, hands, hair or feet was a rare occurrence.
Filling canteens at the bottom of a B-52 bomb crater at the beginning of the monsoon season
During the monsoon season, it rained daily for months, and the water was plentiful. Bomb craters filled with water and became sources for both drinking water and bathing.
Canteens filled from these craters or streams had to be treated with iodine tablets to kill parasites and other “organisms and swimming stuff” before it could be consumed – floaties and all. The water was often a murky color and had a slight odor, but after thirty minutes, it was supposedly safe for drinking. I’ve seen times when we ran out of drinking water the day before and came upon a pond or trickling stream to fill canteens. This was a critical time and extremely difficult for us to wait the allotted time before taking a drink. Those who couldn’t paid a price
No time to bathe on patrol – troops simply cooling off
soon afterward – suffering intestinal inflammation and other maladies. Packets of Kool-Aide, lemonade, Tang and others helped to camouflage the metallic taste and “floaties” when iodine was used.
Side note: We now know that the defoliant, Agent Orange, had leeched into the groundwater and streams, and rinsed from vegetation when we used to “catch” cold, refreshing rainwater as drops fell through the trees and surrounding foliage during the monsoon season. I don’t think Iodine tablets were strong enough to protect us though!!
The jungle fatigues worn by soldiers were lightweight and designed to dry quickly. However, during these humps through the jungle, fatigues were continuously soaked through with sweat, ripped by thorny vines, worn out by repeated crawling on the ground, and were never available in your size. Extra clothing, sometimes, came out on the resupply, but normally only enough for usually half of the men. As a result, only the worst cases got replacements. Everyone else had to wait their turn until the next resupply. It was not uncommon to wear the same fatigues for three weeks or more. By that time, most were a whitish color from evaporated sweat, stiff and brown from dried mud and sometimes blood, and every pair was ripped and torn throughout. The standing joke was that once removed, the trousers could stand on their own accord.
Troop awaiting his turn in the shower at the firebase after returning from a month-long mission
Grooming was another luxury that most of us didn’t have time for. We didn’t carry combs or hairbrushes, shaving equipment, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes were used to clean our weapons and ammo. Smells carried in the jungle, enabling anyone to zero in on your position – even if they couldn’t see you.
Rice paddy water was full of feces etc. and unsafe to drink even with iodine – smells as bad as it looks
It was best to smell like the rotting jungle you lived in and offering up the identical scent. There was nobody to impress in the bush, and most if not all, could care less. At times, we were able to smell approaching enemy soldiers because of their diet of fish, rice and fermented sauce, and sometimes, the scent of burning weed when they smoked it.
Returning to the firebase after a month in the jungle was well received by everyone – except helicopter crews and those in the firebase; all giving us a wide berth and staying as far away from us as possible. The stench of returning warriors was unbearable to those greeting them at the gate. Many of us laughed because we didn’t notice anything different in the way we smelled, however, we were quick to note a clean and sterile, soapy smell as we entered the compound. It’s weird but true.
Community shower at the firebase – an exhilarating experience after returning from a mission
Food, water and clothes were in abundance at the firebase – everyone could eat, drink and shower as much as they choose. This short visit only lasted three days. Then, it was time to leave on another month-long jungle adventure.
These are the simple things in life that most people take for granted. Have you ever had to go a day or two without food or water because you didn’t pack enough? What about wearing the same clothing continuously for a couple of weeks or more? How about not bathing, washing or brushing your teeth for weeks at a time? It is difficult to imagine living like this, but to the young soldiers in the Vietnam jungles, this was a way of life. Unfortunately, these conditions contributed to a malady of skin diseases such as boils, ringworm, jungle rot, severe rashes, trench foot, and infected cuts and lesions. Nobody was spared. It was not pretty!
The school, later informed us that we had made quite an impression on the kids as they continued to talk about our visit. As a result, they asked us to return the following year but warned us that they were going to expand it to the entire high school student body. That was great news! I continued to use vacation days to address the schools and received a warm reception from the students during the next few years. My role soon evolved into the need for a “Speaker’s Bureau” in the chapter – adding members and duplicating the slides and projectors as more and more schools asked for us. I soon stepped down and let the “Cherries” carry the baton forward. The students of the era were a hungry bunch, soaking up every word and wanting to learn more and more about what we did in the war. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that many of the same students probably became soldiers themselves and participated in the Iraq invasion in the not too far future.
Below are three High School Student essays in part
On a personal note, I’ve learned that several high schools in the country were making my book, “Cherries”, mandatory reading in their history class. Teachers have sent me questions from students, copies of their completed projects (which I’ve shared on this website), and recently, introducing me to Skype so I could communicate with the class directly. I couldn’t be more proud.
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Outstanding !!!
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Spent two tours in Vietnam and on my return to the US the welcome was at the least unsettling.
My final tour was in Iraq 2008 and the welcome home was much better. Welcome home my friend.
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I was a US Army grunt in the Nam (69/70),, Your article is spot on,, When we came in to the rear, all the rear personnel (forgot what we called them) they would stay away and leave us alone,,first thing we sought out was a shower and clean clothes, and dry place to sleep. Unbelievable nasty conditions,, and your right about the weight, I was the CO’s RTO,, so I humped the radio,extra handset, squak box, extra battery,and long antenna. At least I didn’t carry any ammo for the pig,, I had enough on my back.. Welcome Home great article ..
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As a Vn.Vet gr8 history lesson
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As a Vn.Vet gr8 history lesson
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Thank You!, for keeping our history alive for everyone to read and enjoy. Veterans are what this country is made of. We are ALL Brothers.
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EXCELLENT !! More young people need to see this, thank you from this Grunt.
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100% A curate…still remember the smells of us and the “Sweet, Pungent, odor of the NVA…We could smell them from low level Helicopter recon over an area where they were or recently left…!
I will never get that smell out of my mind…!
Great Report…and of course very authentic and real…!
Michael Ronsiek
7/17th Air CAV
69 and 70
Welcome
Home Brothers..!
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Right on the mark. Reading your story
Was like me remembering my time in the bush
Very informative
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I enjoyed your story and thanks for sharing it. We spent just over 100 days in the field one time. When we came into the firebase for a short time we were all getting showers when one of the guys who came in while we were in the field looked over at me and said I didn’t know you had blond hair. The red in the soil made everything else red including us. Leaches, rats and other creatures were also a problem.
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I served in Vietnam with the 3rd Marine Division from 12/67 to 08/69. I was in artillery on 155’s towed. Like you we would spend extended periods of time in the field supporting the 105 batteries and the grunts. The only time we had the chance to shower was when it rained, and then we would put back on the same dirty clothes. We would have all kinds of grease on them from working on the guns in between fire missions . C-rations every day. When we came out of the field we would take showers and come out thinking we were clean, until we got outside and we would see these red blotches all over us.
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Well done American friend! I am an Australian infantry Vietnam Veteran, and like our American allies, we had to carry everything on our backs. My unit was First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) and everything you have pointed out is familiar. I was 19 years old when I was in action with the Aussie infantry in Vietnam. In 1RAR, we had to carry 4 quarts of water i.e. 4 full water bottles which were usually attached to our belts. Our back-packs were simply dumped on the ground if we had “contact” with the enemy forces. Contact was Aussie army speak for closing with and killing the enemy. You can read more about Aussie infantry operations in Vietnam 1968 – 1969 in my book entitled “Full Circle for Mick” and available from http://www.amazon.com or http://www.mickkramer.com.au Kind regards Michael Kramer
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The article is great but there is one mistake. A gallon of water weighs 7.2 pounds so a quart can’t weigh over 2 pounds. Well now, hold on a minute. He’s probably including the Canteen. I’ll be alright, Agent Orange at work. I look at
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Lets add the sleepless nights watching the enemy with one eye and sleeping with the other. You motivational story brought truth to war. Not those in a video machine. I appreciate you sharing you story. SF 5 Group.
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Excellent. I was a cannon cocker so we usually had our mess, our showers (at least we had water), ammo, and other conveniences with us. We had vehicles to move our heavy stuff, and our 8-inch and 175mm’s were self propelled. Artillery raids of 3 to 5 days without the conveniences of a fire base, even if we the only ones on it, was the worse we ever experienced, so we can truly understand your story. I remember some of those boys coming into our perimeter and we talked to them from a distance offering food, water, showers, and even fresh clothing off our backs as necessary, and the gratitude they always showed for receiving it. They acted like it was a big deal, something they really weren’t entitled to, like they were supposed to be treated like some kind dirty thing. I still thank God to this day that I got into the artillery. Vivid memories have been coming back, some good, some not so. Thank for helping to educate our younger generations, they need to know the facts and the truth. There really are no safe places in war.
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Remember one day when we were supposed to get resupply and water. The brigade Col was pissed at us and sent nothing. We drank river water…no iodine. Pucking our guts our all night. 3rd Brigade Dau Tieng 4th ID 1967.
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John, Thanks so much for writing this book. I was corpsman at Philly Nav. Hosp. at my first duty station and had the priviledge of working with the amputies coming from Nam. at times. I now have a realistic idea of what it was like actually being there and more importantly how they may have gotten their horrific injuries. Unfortunately our government treated them somewhat poorly and the people that spat at them upon their return owe them a huge apology. Lou
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Thanks Lou. I’d be most appreciative if you would leave a review on Amazon.
On Sep 6, 2017 9:04 PM, “Cherries – A Vietnam War Novel” wrote:
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Thanks for this blog and ALL the great stories. I was on a M42 Duster at Con Thien and It was impossible to stay clean on that ole gun platform. Open turret with two 40mm bofors with a M41 tank chassis. Showers were few and I guess that’s why it made me feel so good when it was available .
At times we would be part of an mechanized infantry company and go out to pick up a LRRP team. Those guys would come out of that jungle grass and they were custy. I can’t even imagine how long between baths it must have been for them. My hat is off to all you grunts.
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It has taken me fifty years to finally go through the letters my family saved. I wrote a book about it. I hope to have it published this year. My tour started on Hamburger Hill and ended at Firebase Ripcord. I used to be invited to talk about it but the teachers have moved on and the young people don’t know history.
Thanks for your service and welcome home brother.
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A very insightful account of the day to day of an ordinary soldier in Vietnam. Fascinating.
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