Grunt_Notes

---Annotated Grunt---

media type="custom" key="3922515"

---GRUNT ANNOTATIONS---

Three annotations about the ** challenges ** you faced in guerilla warfare: Two annotations describing ** the enemy ** (the Viet Cong and/or NVA): One annotation describing ** the tunnels **: ·  The elusive Viet Cong use networks of underground tunnels. They use these tunnels not only as shelters but as fighting bases. Soldiers shoot at us from concealed “firing posts.” The last job I would want is that of a “ tunnel rat.” The tunnel rats are soldiers who are fighting the enemy in their underground tunnels. I can’t imagine how terrifying it would be to descend into a dark maze of tunnels and chambers, several feet below the ground.
 * The Viet Cong attack in small bands of warriors, often taking us by surprise. One of our enemy’s great strengths is their ability to hide in the jungles. As we march through the jungle, I am terribly nervous; any moment the enemy could attack us with hand grenades, spears, or other primitive (but still deadly!) weapons.
 * A most terrible and gruesome tragedy occurred yesterday. My friend Joe was horribly injured when he stumbled into a Punji trap. This trap is a pit filled with sharpened bamboo stakes tipped with human feces to cause infection. His wounds are awful; already they are becoming infected. I’m worried that he will not make it.
 * I heard more about the enemy’s weapons today. Many weapons, including booby traps and mines, were homemade in villages. Apparently they scavenge materials such as tin and wire, but they also use explosives scattered around the countryside by dud American bombs. They retrieve the duds and begin to create new weapons to be used against us!
 * The Viet Cong are a very dedicated enemy; although they have suffered heavy losses, they continue fighting. I suppose this dedication comes from their belief in what their fighting for.
 * The Viet Cong seem to feel that they are defending their country against us, the American invaders!

One annotation describing the ** use of chemicals ** by the military · We have been using chemicals to reveal the enemy and destroy their ability to hide in the jungles. Our planes having been dropping bombs of a jellied gasoline called napalm. These bombs burn violently, wiping out enemy bases. Agent Orange is a chemical used to destroy plants in the jungles to further expose the enemy.

One annotation describing ** search and destroy missions ** One annotation describing the ** Tet Offensive ** One annotation describing ** escalation ** One annotation describing ** the draft ** One annotation describing ** your feelings ** as a soldier
 * I recently was on a search and destroy mission. We were looking for Viet Cong soldiers, and we burned and bombed all of the villages where they could be hiding. I was shocked by how harshly the peasants in these villages were treated; we were told to confiscate their animals and rice and destroy their homes. It seems to me that this would cause them to support our enemy even more.
 * During Tet, the Vietnamese celebration of the lunar new year, our military bases and over 100 South Vietnamese cities were attacked the Viet Cong. In this surprise offensive, the enemy killed not only us soldiers but government officials, schoolteachers, doctors, and priests as well. Although this attack was unsuccessful, with the Viet Cong losing 45,000 soldiers compared to our losses of 1,100 men, we are worried that a victory is not as near as we had thought, and that it might come at a higher cst than we had bargained for.
 * As the war here in Vietnam escalates, military involvement increases. When I was sent here in mid-1965, only about 75,000 troops had been sent over. By the time the year coming to a close, we had somewhere around 184,000 soldiers here.
 * So many people oppose the draft; I myself feel that it is unfair. As a young man from a poor, working-class family, there was no way for me to get out of the draft, either by going to college or contacting a draft counselor to help me avoid the conscription.
 * There is no point in denying it; my life as a soldier is miserable. The weather is wet, wet, wet. It rains practically every day. The heat is stifling; the air is heavy and humid. We have to slog through rice paddies and trek through dense jungles while carrying huge, heavy packs of supplies on our backs.