A lister bag was a large canvas bag with a shower head attached to the bottom. These included cold beer, which was provided by American brewers, mandated by war regulations. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. I was once told a story by a World War II veteran who . I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. The Americans put about twenty men in each car when they moved by train, since with their full loads of equipment they could not fit in anymore, but conditions were still crowded. Infantrymen are universal and fearless soldiers who must be ready for any operation, which means that they can be sent to a hot spot at any time. Amen I was a machine gunner for 7 months 503rd infantry 173rd airborne and you hit the nail right on the head. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. The TOTAL number of CIB and CMB awarded would give you the answer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The job training for 11B requires 14 weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT) which is a combination of time spent in the classroom and in the field. A Civil War soldier would find that modern axiom very familiar. In previous American wars volunteer units were often composed of men from the same communities, but not in World War II, when a typical squad included members from all over the United States. Certainly got my attention. The loading and unloading of supplies at the front was performed by infantry units, as was the moving it forward to the men engaged at the front lines. They served in squads, led by a junior officer and experienced sergeants, slogged through and slept in mud and snow, maintaining contact with the enemy, taking and holding ground. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. Depending on the season in which they arrived, the camps could be pleasant or miserable; for example, Mediterranean fall sunshine or the bitter Mistral winds of winter. American parachute infantry advance in the Huertgen Forest in February, 1945. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. The infantryman of World War II had a much better chance of surviving some wounds which would have been fatal during previous wars. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. It goes without saying that battle could claim a soldier's life and soldiers enlisted anywhere from 10 to 25 years, depending on their rank. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. From the Landing Zone, we were carried not too far. Education: Army members can earn full-tuition, merit-based scholarships, allowances for books and fees, plus annual stipend for living expenses. According to Indeed.com, overall Infantryman claim pay and benefits and job security and advancement as the two best features of the job. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. Your email address will not be published. The need for special training for BAR operators, including the proper method of cleaning it, also contributed to its being carried by only one squad member. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. It was up to the squad leaders to keep them fighting in brutal weather, without asking why. We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. approaching a village and a firefight starts). Infantry soldiers are trained at Fort Benning, Georgia. Newspapers and magazines were available for the troops as were recreation activities such as baseball and softball, volleyball, and during the warm months swimming if a suitable body of water was near. Many were damaged, and the Germans had left them behind as they withdrew because they considered them useless. I think the number of Army and Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corp was very high, with the ratio of the number of them over there. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. But it was my jobso I tried not to think about it much. It began just as, it was getting dark. Nor was treating wounded their only duty, they were responsible for the overall health of the men in their company, treating them for dysentery, routine illnesses such as colds and flu, blisters, sprains and broken bones, and other miseries encountered by the men. The overwhelming majority of the combat infantrymen deployed during the Second World War carried as their primary weapon the Garand M1 rifle. Different jobs have different life expectancy. What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during - Answers This is excellent! Out of the 3,000,000 men and women in our armed forces and reserves, we have lost 4,500 in this 9 year war. Cameron Rogers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, plots points on a map during the fire . In his work The 1865 Customs of Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers, August V. Kautz writes that a soldier "should learn to wait: a soldier's life is made up in waiting for the critical moments.". In Vietnam 70% 0f the casualties were Infantry BUT it might be 70% of ALL the Infantry that served in Vietnam. Required fields are marked *. July 68 to July 69. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. . I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. Often as not he was right beside you with a stolen chicken and a bag of rice. Great story!!! !We dont abuse prisoners Now, if he reaches for his weapon to continue the fight BLOW HIS ASS AWAY THIS AINT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!! The men couldnt eat them anyway, so they made excellent trade items with the candy-starved French. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans Motorized elements of the division and the supporting logistics facilities traveled by road. The higher the score on the ASVAB, the better your odds at becoming MOS 11B. The infantrymen of World War 2 slogged across Europe from the spring of 1944 through the early spring of 1945. He encountered the open fields and farmlands of France, the dense woods of the Ardennes, the mountainous terrain in Italy, Les Voges, and Alsace, in all weather conditions. Additionally, you will learn to handle a large volume of weapons, military vehicles, as well as Prisoners of War (POWs). I was lucky too but VN never left me. Care of his feet was paramount to the infantrymen since they were his primary means of conveyance. Dap, Hope this helps. Some reported not having the ability to shower for as long as several weeks. When men were transferred out of their unit to join another division they were placed under the command of a different squad leader. Sept 69 to Sept 70. I was an M-60 machine gunner for a battalion recon platoon in 1967, for the First Infantry Division, Known as The Black Scarf Battalion.