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Rifleman, Circa 1967, South Vietnam. This Grunt is seen carrying a case of 1967 dated C-Rations to his squad. The C-ration was
the basic combat ration the G.I. ate in the field and was sometimes spiced up with a little Heinz 57 or Tabasco sauce to make
it bearable. The ration meal it's self was considered to heavy to lug around and was many times broken down to just the more
desirable contents for consumption. The C-ration was later replaced in the early 80's with the current MRE. In Vietnam a
lightweight ration that was successfully tested. This ration was known as the LRRP ration. The only drawback from this new
ration was it required the soldier to carry additional water for the meal because it was dehydrated. Note the issue wrist
watch suspended from the top button hole on his tropical coat.
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Rifleman, 1970's Infantryman in the later stages of the war
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River Raider Infantryman of the 9th Infantry Division, Mekong Delta region BACK TO TOP
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Alice Pack Back view of a Grunts heavy load he carried on his back BACK TO TOP
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11C, Indirect Fire Infantryman Circa 1967. This back view shows the typical equipment worn by Infantryman in Vietnam.
He carries a 100 round belt of 7.62MM ammunition in "Poncho Via" fashion for his Platoons M-60 Machine gun. He caries
in his hand a 1967 Bell and Howell 35MM camera. He also carries a Claymore Mine in an O.D. bag over his shoulder. These
bags when used were rarely discarded and were used to carry a variety of items form toilet articles to 40MM rounds.
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AN/PRC-25, This was the standard man packed short-range FM radio. Commonly referred to as the "Prick-25" weighed over 24
pounds with battery. Shown here it is carried in the issued canvas carrier as it was designed. Attached to the side is an
accessory bag which contained a spare long or short whip antenna with base, and an extra hand mic. Sometimes the radio was
carried on the tubular Lightweight Rucksack frame or inside the ruck itself to help conceal the operator as an RTO to an enemy
sniper. Later in the war it has been also seen thrown over the shoulder attached by a pistol belt to the lifting handles.
The hand set used here is the standard issue H-189. As common standard operating procedures, it seems that a variety of
colored smoke grenades were normally carried on the back of the radio. The radio could operate for about 20 hours on a single
battery before it had to be replaced. The AN/PRC-25 was eventually replaced by the externally identical, fully transistorized,
and more reliable AN/PRC-77 in mid 1968. BACK TO TOP
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My friend CPT Buchanan. Striking the pose his father did in 1968. "Humping" the boonies with a bottle of Coke, tin of
Saltines, and an M-79 "Bloop Tube". BACK TO TOP
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AN/PRR-9 and AN/PRT-4. This was a two pieced, walkie-talkie type radio that was developed for short range communications
between Platoon and Squad leaders. The unit was developed in 1966 at a cost of $1,100.00 for each set. The radio set was
tested and proven feasible for use in Vietnam in 1967. The unit consisted of the AN/PRT-4 transmitter, and AN/PRR-9 helmet
mounted receiver. The AN/PRR-9 was designed to attach to the side of the users helmet and secured with a lanyard if
accidentally dislodged. Another accessory was a small earphone that could be plugged in if the tactical situation dictated.
These radios fell well below expectations, the receiver was prone to being lost in combat and the range was severely
restricted in the jungle environment of Vietnam. Transmissions were lost on numerous occasions at even minor distances of
40 meters strait across open rice paddies. Soldiers preferred the reliability of the man packed AN/PRC-25/77 over this set,
and the AN/PRR-9 and AN/PRT-4 were eventually regulated to defense positions and local patrols of fire bases.
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