Had multiple Ks and Ws. They were great patriots fighting for their families and their homeland. Copyright 2023 www.OperationMilitaryKids.org. 2) by my research, medics suffered 93% casualties with about 33% deaths. As I made it back to the road I remember seeing the The infantrymen didnt know the reasons why they had to fight and too often die for a particular hill, or seemingly useless French farm or village, they simply had to do what they were told. There were also wounded. While remaining at the camp, soldiers were told that they would be allowed to leave the facility and visit Boston, or Providence and other locations. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. The 11X recruiting program is designed to pipeline Army Basic Training to the Army Infantry training program. Certainly got my attention. So was the need to stay nourished, and despite the idea of eating unappetizing rations cold, due to the necessity of avoiding using cooking fires, it was better than nothing. sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing As it was, less than 40 did not need evacuation. Then he said youre on a FB, the enemy always knows your location, can pretty much attack at will, and you really dont have the capability to retreat. Do the math. Date: March 8, 2020 Author: pdoggbiker 97 Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. Army Infantrymen are experts in both weaponry and machinery, so there is a need to maintain and store combat weapons of all types. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. We did interdictions, blocks and other fun things on the river. Absent an opportunity to prove themselves, these arriving infantrymen found the squad wary of them, and sometimes almost hostile. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. While traveling through the boonies the first few men were usually always shot first. Infantrymen must protect the country against any threat by land. Now, there are additional weapon qualifications including handling M4 rifles, M240 machine guns, and M249 squad automatic weapons. Sleep was not a luxury but a necessity. The special military bonus is reserved for particular in-demand, or highly-dangerous positions. I am proud to have fought alongside of them. Soldiers must meet a very heavy strength requirement and physical profile requirement of 111221. This is excellent! (tirotactico.net). At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Their war was what they encountered. Again it fell to the squad leaders to decide when enough hazing had been conducted by the veterans of combat on the new arrivals. An infantryman carried on his back and in equipment bags and pockets everything he needed to survive in the field during a patrol or while en route to an ordered destination. We were discussing the different units and dangers of each. Your article was quite interesting. Color Vision discrimination for MOS 11B is red/green. Infantryman must know how to receive and implement combat orders, direct deployment of personnel in a number of different operation types (offensive, defensive, retrograde, etc). Sore feet and sore backs were part of life. The fact that PDoggbiker cant find any decent calculation/explanation, tells us a lot. The most common trade items were cigarettes and chocolate, both of which Americans were amply supplied with, and the French civilians were not. See my calculation below in the comments bogus indeed. He also carried an equipment bag, ammunition bandolier, backpack, entrenching tool, grenades, rations, canteen, spare socks, a blanket, a half shelter (to sleep under), and whatever personal items he wished. Also, Infantry like the culture of the military job as well as management opportunities. Veterans of the 289th Infantry Regiment on the road to St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. According to General George S. Patton, the M1 was, the greatest battle implement ever devised. The .30 caliber M1 was designed to be easily disassembled for cleaning in the field. Then we learned, appx: 1 mile to our North was, an American AMMO storage area. As mentioned, who kept track of that in the first place? While waiting for their orders for deployment the food was at least usually hot and plentiful, opportunities to fraternize with the welcoming French were frequent, and the mail arrived regularly bringing news from home. by Jeffrey J. Clarke, Center for Military History, February 26, 1992, Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen Ambrose, 1998, Ardennes-Alsace, by Roger Cirillo, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 2003, online, American Battle Casualties and Non-Battle Deaths in World War II, by the Combined Arms Research Library, Department of the Army, June 25, 1953. The combat infantrymen were unaware of their mission, tired and hungry having had little food other than frozen k-rations for four days, and about to enter combat with a German division which had been diverted from the Eastern Front in order to support the offensive which had stalled in the Ardennes at Bastogne. Thanks for posting! Mech. The M1 was a semi-automatic rifle, allowing its operator to fire an entire eight-round clip simply by squeezing the trigger for each shot, without having to operate the bolt manually to chamber the next round. The lives of these soldiers are always at risk. There are a number of civilian job opportunities for an Army Infantryman (11B) following discharge from the U.S. Military. Lucky you. By February 1944 the US Army discontinued purchasing the Thompson, after approximately 1.5 million units had been obtained by the Army and Marine Corps. During the Second World War, the US military purchased about 1.9 million Colt .45 semiautomatic pistols, manufactured by Colt Firearms and under license by the Remington Rand Typewriter Company, Singer Sewing Machine Company, and other contractors. Some were in action later the same day. Different strokes for different folks in war fer sure. If there was anything to this life expectancy of a few minutes then myself and many of my friends that are still alive today would be a long time dead. Either way, thats a lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, male and female that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and there are still people dying as a result of their wounds receiver so very long ago in a place called Vietnam. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. Foot soldiers went by the grace of God, but had a better chance than the infantry platoon commander in combat. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. For an infantryman, the Expert Infantry Badge is the gold-medal standard. Since U.S. Army Infantrymen are the primary land defense for the branch of the military they regularly participate in shooting drills. Altogether his burden was over eighty pounds. * Basic training and advanced job training are combined into a single course. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. It is an important role of MOS 11B and just one of their many responsibilities. I would carry when on ambush. But it was my jobso I tried not to think about it much. 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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. Some of these men were discharged following recovery, while others remained in the service performing administrative or training duties. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. Digging in was an exercise which added to sore backs blistered hands as the entrenching tool chipped away frozen ground. is sharing facts, thats truly good, keep up writing. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. No high security clearance is required to become an Army Infantryman. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. RT @starsandstripes: New York Army National Guard soldiers from the Syracuse-based 27th Infantry Brigade Combat team are on their way home after overseeing the training of 9,600 Ukrainian troops. They lived in the mud and snow, not in the deep trenches of the First World War but in foxholes they dug themselves, or in shell craters created by the artillery of both sides. I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. Anyway I was wondering about the RTOs in a grunt platoon, was that their MOS or were they 11B that carried a PRC ? When US troops encountered German units with multiple automatic weapons, the US Army changed its approach, and authorized two BARs per squad, though in practice this was difficult to achieve due to the weight of additional ammunition which had to be carried by other squad members, and which led to some non-coms favoring the Thompson to counter the German automatic fire. The cars were antiquated, dating back to before World War I, and were unheated. Every infantryman must be fluent in any weapon and equipment that is involved in the operation. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. We were expecting, an attack. Never knew they had life expectancy stats. Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. Walking wounded were usually treated at aid stations manned by the medical personnel of their own unit. Even when out of combat their comforts were few. At times in Italy and later in France, infantrymen learned to sleep as they marched, stumbling forward as if they were sleepwalking, which in a way they were. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. It was always quick/quick, load the bodies in and get the hell out. I never understood why they didnt put M60s on Medevacs (once the VC shot them down) but then, we now know they never intended to win that war in the first place. 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. The soldier spent a majority of his time in camp drilling, with . Their war was a personal one, with the enemy when engaged in plain sight, and the casualties inflicted by themselves and their unit revealed before their eyes. we were getting it with machine gun and mortars. A Civil War soldier would find that modern axiom very familiar. Id love to see the casualties listed by Corps ? The shower usually occurred at the same time as an opportunity to obtain fresh clothing, and the soldier would run from the shower to the clothing distribution center to receive an issue of clean clothes. The Americans who served in the Army in Europe were recruited and trained at various bases and camps in the United States before being sent to points of embarkation near major East Coast ports for transport to Europe. Infantrymen are renowned for being great at handling high-stress situations and are often natural-born leaders. The infantryman ate, slept, marched, fought, and died with his squad. There is no civilian occupations that are the direct equivalent of an Army Infantryman MOS 11B. He was wounded and suffered permanent disability shortly before his tour was up. Those who arrived during actual combat received a warmer welcome than those arriving while the squad was resting. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. When elements of the 276th Infantry Division were moved from their consolidation camp to the front it took a journey of four days, in freezing conditions, with many unplanned stops due to conditions on the railroad and at the front. I was an FO back in the day. You have to earn it, so hard work during your education and training is extremely important. Like you, I carried a PRC-25 for about 5 months and never got hit. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. The 276th was not going into combat as a division, but as a task force, meaning that it was used to plug gaps in the line in response to fluid conditions during the German attack in Belgium. Quickly learned to control rate of fire. To an, open area. It was mostly used by specialty units rather than infantry. [1] However, this claim is as much an indictment of US Army personnel practices and miscalculations as it is an indicator of tank crew losses. They did not carry weapons. Some were constantly exposed to combat, some not so often. There is a higher demand for MOS 11B, and reports indicate the position makes up 15-17% of the U.S. Army. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. Many were damaged, and the Germans had left them behind as they withdrew because they considered them useless. The rifle was accessorized to become a grenade launcher, firing the Mk 7 grenade with the addition of a modified sight. As usual, the average infantryman had little knowledge of the overall situation and why such transfers were necessary. Comments were more interesting than the article it self. /. American parachute infantry advance in the Huertgen Forest in February, 1945. Found NVA bunker complex. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. We went out typically in two boat patrols one lead one cover . The minimum education needed to become a U.S. Army Infantryman (11B) is a high school diploma or GED. 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. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War. Each was an unknown quantity to the other. Men of the 47th Infantry Regiment pass through Remagen on their way to the Ludendorf Bridge, March 1945. Troops were moved to the front to prepare for another offensive in the autumn of 1944, and then redeployed in response to the surprise German counteroffensive. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. I for one commend you for your courage and thank you for your service to your country. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. I want to know what the life expectancy of a us infantry army soldier is. When a squad was ordered out on a patrol it usually fell to the squad leader to decide who went and who stayed behind, unless he had orders from the higher-ups directing him who to send. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. All of these tasks for MOS 11B are not possible without excellent communication skills as well as an advanced understanding of terrain, methods of warfare, and combat strategies. All the members of the squad carried additional weapons, including a sidearm and bayonet, and when deployed in the field carried both smoke and shrapnel grenades. I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. Aboard ship, the troops, most of whom had never been on a ship before, endured crowded conditions, jammed mess halls with waiting lines of up to an hour, seasickness, and boredom. I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. That same day, I along with 3/4 others was transported to Long Bhin Post. Before you get started, it is important to determine right off the bat if you want to become a U.S. Army Infantryman 11B or Indirect Fire Infantryman 11C. three, he believes he is doing what his country wants him to dojust like you So you better damn well treat him with the compassion you want for you!! The American lines in the Ardennes were thin when the Germans attacked there in 1944 in part because the troops stationed there were there to rest. All the comments and replies are of absolute truth, I was only 18 when I got to Nam ,Im a country boy from NC so here I am Correct. Usually, these transfers led to the men being ordered to remove the insignia identifying their division from their uniforms, to deny the information to the Germans. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. National Archives. Since infantrymen spent a lot of time on or digging in the ground, most rotated out of combat for rest and recreation as a grimy, gritty, and unshaven lot, unconcerned with their non-parade ground appearance. The ration packs also included tablets for the purification of water they encountered in the field from streams, ponds, and even wells, since it was unknown if the Germans had taken any steps to contaminate wells as they withdrew. I did worry about the strength of my flax vest. Welcome Home Roger. The basics for every soldier, shown here, including hard tack. Here is an 18 There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. Ron. US Army. Each company, usually commanded by a Captain, contained three rifle platoons, and each of those was comprised of three squads of twelve men each (a company also included a light weapons platoon). American infantry from the 28th Infantry division march on the Champs Elysees in Paris. Infantrymen must know how to operate and maintain communications equipment including radio. They endured faulty equipment, inadequate clothing, the errors of logistics and judgment which found them being delivered winter boots in summer and the opposite in cold weather. In some conditions, infantrymen would change their socks at any opportunity. In a strange country scared shitless .I was a minesweeper.My first time out on a mission they put me on the drag line fifty yards from the road which was route 1, Then all hell broke lose A wounded American soldier is loaded into a halftrack converted to serve as an ambulance in Germany in early 1945. I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans 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.". A Co, 1/5 Cav, 1 Cav Division. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. They were marched or trucked to holding areas, where they encamped in accordance with their division procedures to await the arrival of their heavy equipment and logistics facilities. The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is four hours, a Marine said. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). 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. KICK ASS AS NEEDED!!! Other severely wounded men and those recovering from surgery were sent, if necessary, to hospitals operated by the Army, the International Red Cross, or the medical services of the nation in which they were located. We observed the rules of the Geneva Convention while the bad guys had no interest in doing so. The Life Expectancy of Roman Soldiers. The one that should be there is the combat medic. What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during World War 2? That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story. Infantrymen in the Second World War quickly learned that everything they needed to know to survive in the field was not part of the training curriculum in basic infantry school. 1ST MAW 66-68. 2 (January 1944) What the Soldier Thinks, no. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. The Army continues to build upon its training for fire team members with more time in the field, including tactical training that focuses more on squad formations. Spent my year in a Recon platoon 2/35th 4th ID. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . It was on the Job Training ! As an infantry platoon Sgt of a platoon made up of all draftees my age 21 plus or minus a year We fought the largest single one day battle of the war March 21, 1967 known as the Battle of Soui Tre, fire support base Gold operation Junction City, that base was commanded by LtCol John Vessey of the 2/77 FA Vessey was a 25 year veteran of WWII fame with a DSC at Anzio, and on this day he was looking at the end of his career after that tour in Vietnam. said to me. Great reading. The Army considered its use as an embarkation point a secret, and so warned the young soldiers when they arrived. I couldnt disagree. Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220.