The+Vietnam+Soldier

__**Chasing Charlie Reading Notes**__

- were told to kill as many Indians as possible - the weather is really warm and muggy - you need to have confidence in order to make it through the night of the firefight - Vietnam was undeclared and different from other wars the US fought - African Americans and whites from rural or small towns fought in the war - on your way to Vietnam you may have to stop in Japan - when you first arrive in Vietnam everything is strange and different - when you landed you would be transported right away to a camp - at least one grunt in each platoon had medical experience - one or two grunts were a RTO ( radiotelephone operator) - a typical grunts pack weighed between 35-70 pounds - the greatest fear of a grunt was getting hit and killed - when sent on mission the grunts would march or hump. a platoon measured its progress in clicks - there was dangers on all of the different humps you take, like pythons, rats, and dehydration - Vietnam always had heat, humidity, and tropical rains - a lot of animals in the jungles - a grunts biggest worry was finding and fighting against the enemy during a hump - the VC built a lot of tunnels and would disappear into them - theses tunnels contained hospitals, bedrooms, kitchens, and fuel storage tanks - there were even tunnels underneath some American installations - VC traps were dangerous - jungle warfare is brutal - gungis and cherries: names of platoons - they would cut the ears of the enemies to show friends how hard they worked (they put them in their backpacks) - grunts spent days chasing Charlie while fighting heat and dehydration