life expectancy of an infantry soldier in combat

He was killed in an ambush along with three others. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. But, once the enemy lays down his weapon, I want YOU TO REMEMBER THREE THINGS: 1, HE IS A SOLDIER, JUST LIKE YOU.2, HE IS AWAY FROM HOME And family, just like you. As we were, steadily building up, our area for protection. And us the living that served, who suffer from PTSD ,that figure or percent-aged would be about the greatest of all. Sure but so was everyone else who went 12 months without getting killed or wounded. National Archives. I saw killed and wounded everywhere in our combat operations. In Fury, starring Brad Pitt and Shia leBeouf, we follow the story of five American soldiers, a crew serving in one tank in Germany, 1945. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. Nobody attacked, where we were. Really no mention of the regular rifleman. The liners had been gutted and great rows of tiered bunks filled their hulls. Since U.S. Army Infantrymen are the primary land defense for the branch of the military they regularly participate in shooting drills. As I made it back to the road I remember seeing the My dog and I walked point my whole tour in Vietnam. 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. Soldiers that are assigned to Bradley or Stryker units also must learn how to drive and perform maintenance on their assigned vehicles. Many were killed or wounded ! Never knew they had life expectancy stats. Such protracted exposure to the elements boded ill for his life expectancy. OSUT training takes place at Fort Benning in Georgia. Some Brothers said why spend another year in this hellhole???? I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. Thanks for posting! If you have other information let me know. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. (Petty Officer 2nd Class. Correct. The American army traveled to Europe by ship, and by a wide variety of ships including troop transports designed and built for the purpose, Liberty ships, converted freighters, and the great ocean liners of the Allies. PDF Mortality Rates and Life Expectancy of Veterans from 1980 to 2017, and I never thought of it that way before but have many times since. Soldiers must meet a very heavy strength requirement and physical profile requirement of 111221. Thank You Roger!!! The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. Really? After consolidating the division and its equipment infantrymen were moved to the front, which by December 1944 was nearing the Siegfried Line, defensive fortifications protecting Germany from invasion from the west. Sanitation facilities were a box filled with sand in each car. Related Article Marine Corps Infantry Assault (MOS 0351): Career Details. While all rifle companies had assigned medics, they were not always in the company of squads on patrol or deployed in forwarding positions. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as Eleven Bravo.. Sore feet and sore backs were part of life. Mech. The rifle automatically ejected an exhausted clip, emitting an audible and distinctive ping. Access to the field kitchens provided the men not engaged in combat with hot meals, though complaining about the food in all situations was a time-honored tradition, as in all armies. Thanks. The overwhelming majority of the combat infantrymen deployed during the Second World War carried as their primary weapon the Garand M1 rifle. Although a partially discharged clip could be ejected from the rifle it was common practice not to do so. Basic training and advanced job training are combined into a single course. Not much different than his unit. However, you do receive added pay bonuses for rank and years of service. A Day in the Life of an Infantry-Man in World War II I met a Marine a few years ago who was stationed North of Da Nang. 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. Most infantrymen did not carry additional ammunition for the .45, which was considered a defensive weapon of last resort, and those that did typically carried only one or two preloaded magazines. Impressed with this secrecy and their implied importance, many of the soldiers discovered that civilians in Boston knew of the camp, its purpose, and the fact that the soldiers being temporarily held there were on their way to Europe. The job title is the epitome of the U.S. Army as you are the primary means of attack and defense on land for the military. 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). Artillery, and ground forces. Great information. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. It was rugged, reliable, and in the hands of a marksman deadly. 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. I did worry about the strength of my flax vest. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. This Battle changed his life and his future, had it not been for his actions, every man on this FSB Gold would have died. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. The lives of these soldiers are always at risk. You were a Great RTO. 5 seconds. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. During some periods of intense combat more than a month could go by without clean clothes or a shower. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. During training, you will spend close to a week on vehicle platform training. Because the BAR had such a high rate of fire both the BAR man and another member of the squad carried extra ammunition for the weapon. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their If a battle ensued, a triumphant army would lose 5% of its men but a defeated army would usually lose around 15% of its force. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. The soldier spent a majority of his time in camp drilling, with . I was in the AF a Reo in a F4-C. Who had time to worry about the life Now, there are additional weapon qualifications including handling M4 rifles, M240 machine guns, and M249 squad automatic weapons. The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans were estimated to live 21.4 and 26.1 life-years, 1.4 and 0.3 more life-years for Korean Conflict Veterans, and 3 and 1.5 more life-years for Vietnam Era Veterans for male and female, respectively. Joining the U.S. Army has an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Indeed.com, which is about as good as you will find on the career website. But I made it back in one piece. I was lucky too but VN never left me. HOOAH!!! Even when out of combat their comforts were few. Be glad you served with a soldiers soldier like LTC Herbert. All they learned from their officers was that it was time to travel on foot. said to me. I would carry when on ambush. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. *The U.S. Army recently expanded upon its Infantry Training in 2019 to introduce more combative courses, lifesaver courses, day and night land navigation, and different weapons qualifications. Infantry OSUT is 22 weeks. Before I became a team leader on ambush and recon I was in command of the scout jeep for the 25th ID resupply convoy from January 1968 to June 15, 1968 and I found the resupply convoys a lot more dangerous because the enemy always knew where it would be and when. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. The rifle companies of the 276th Infantry Division arrived in the French town of Brumath on the day after Christmas, 1944. We were very, lucky. As an Army Infantryman, you will likely see time in combat. 2) by my research, medics suffered 93% casualties with about 33% deaths. is sharing facts, thats truly good, keep up writing. Well he didnt make it. All members of an infantry rifle squad carried a first aid kit for the immediate treatment of wounds or injuries received in the field. There are a number of civilian job opportunities for an Army Infantryman (11B) following discharge from the U.S. Military. aND, mAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! The infantryman ate, slept, marched, fought, and died with his squad. Boot camp for an Army Infantryman consists of two sections: Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training. Boot camp for an Army Infantryman consists of two sections: Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training. I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. Required fields are marked *. For example, infantry units directed to disrupt German lines in Les Vosges in January 1945 had no idea they were preventing the reinforcement of troops involved in the Battle of the Bulge. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. I served in A Company 3/22 of the 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry 12/66, then Hq Co 2/12 of the 3rd Brigade 25th Inf until the night of the TET offensive end of January 1968 and returned home July 18 1968. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. Units which were depleted from battle casualties received replacements both while they were on the line and during periods of rest and recreation. Sorry,I was one of your Brothers in Arms that helped talk you out of enlisting for another year in Vietnam. Combat lifesaver course. Although the men were usually informed of such a move, their immediate officers and non-coms remained in place, as seldom was a transfer of less than company strength. The Infantry makes up approximately 15% of the Armys total force. As an Infantryman, you may be listed as an MOS 11X. I was sitting on the ground one day trying to dry out my gear and better configure my ruck when my squad leader came walking over to me and said, Gow, youve got the radio. As he turned and walked away! His entrenching tool could be used as a pick and a spade, but the often frozen ground encountered in late 1944 resisted his efforts stubbornly. In the 1st Cav medics were right behind the rto making them a very easy find also. 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.*. As a result, Army Infantrymen 11B are trained to conduct mobilization in a variety of settings on land. I would suspect that stating with any accuracy the life span of a grunt like me, or any other MOS, would be pretty much pure speculation. 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. In your rucksack . Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. Of the American combat troops which served on the continent of Europe during the Second World War about 15% were frontline infantry. 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. In my humble opiniona maneven leaders should often recalculate their adversaries capabilities and limitations and his own limitations as wellwhen 10,000 miles from home against a determined worthy foein a strange landThe objective of Lam Son 719? Related Article Air Force Combat Controller (CCT) (1C2X1): Career Details. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is four hours, a Marine said. Great story!!! LUCK pure LUCK. Welcome home brothers and sisters. Lt lost a finger, same time. He used. Army Infantrymen are the main land combat force and are considered a backbone of the U.S. Army. Because if only 1 RTO fought for say only 10 or 15 minutes before being killed, that would up the AVG for the total war! All that other stuff about seconds and minutes were story tellers, embellishing things to impress some listeners back home. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. Toothbrushes and tooth powder were included in ration packs, and the teeth could be brushed using water in canteens, except for during the colder periods of the winter of 1944-45 when the canteens froze solid. Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. They also learned to never forgo any opportunity to rest. Welcome home!! Your email address will not be published. The shortfall, on the other hand, is over 7.9 and 3.3 life-years for male and female in U. S. population, respectively. Les Scates U.S. Army (Ret.) Id had a premonition, and asked the LT to let me trade off to become the AG. Required fields are marked *. 1ST MAW 66-68. To an, open area. When you assist in reconnaissance operations you can expect to employ, fire, and recover anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, locate and neutralize mines, operate, mount/dismount, zero, and engage targets using night vision sight. Cameron Rogers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, plots points on a map during the fire . Different strokes for different folks in war fer sure. Anyway I was wondering about the RTOs in a grunt platoon, was that their MOS or were they 11B that carried a PRC ? Occasionally the men were transferred piecemeal.

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