Why New Soldiers Didn’t Survive in Vietnam
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มี.ค. 2024
- After graduating from college in 1965, Robert Ferguson enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to escape the draft. Ferguson completed Officers Candidate School, but was rejected from flight training due to poor depth perception. Instead, he trained as a radar operator and deployed to Vietnam in 1966, completed seventy combat missions in seven months. He was then reassigned as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) to coordinate air support in the field. In 1967, Ferguson was severely burned when an armored vehicle detonated an explosive device. He was evacuated and spent the remainder of his military career recovering in various hospitals in Japan and the United States.
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My dad was a platoon sergeant in Korea. He told me he would never put a new guy on point. Never. Only a coward squad leader would do that.
Not all squad leaders put new guys up for slaughter. He made it sound like they all did that in Vietnam Maybe that was the thing to do in Vietnam.my dad said doing that was like putting the new guys in charge. Sick. Squad leaders were cowards sending these guys to their death so they can live. Sad. Bad. Leadership.
This seems to be something more common in nam than other conflicts.
@@SemperSalam last thing I’ll say is my dad said that the most important job of any leadership is to protect and defend your men at any cost. That includes the new guys who didn’t have any experience in battle. I agree. I guess it was a nam thing.
Yeah right! Everyone put newbies in front, don't cap
@@dachicagoan8185There’s multiple people in the comments who served in Nam saying you never put a new guy on point.
His platoon put the cherries on point? Tell me your unit's leadership sucks without actually saying it.
@@Pappy214That really sucks..😐😐😐
Another way would be to say things like “well, it’s a numbers game…”
The ultimate act of cowardice… sending a kid to do a man’s job!!!
Guarantee he has lived this cowards life ever since.
@@Pappy214 when was the last time american have guts?
in the airborne, leaders jump first
Any man that would do this to somebody is worse than any enemy. Truly despicable.
Landmines are as old as gunpowder and very effective but are they any worse than dropping napalm on whole villages or dropping nukes on cities?
@@gshoots4357he's referring to the platoon leader that ordered brand new recruits on point and to disarm land mines.
@@gshoots4357he’s not talking about the landmines
@@themagnanimous1246 So he's saying they should have no scout or get the guys who have already had to have their shifts doing this awful job to do it again?
@@gshoots4357 probably that over some kid with no experience whatsoever, yeah
as stated in the NCO creed. "I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety." horrible leadership involved in that squad.
Majority didnt want to be there so they were just trying to survive for themselves
Exactly ...you nailed it
@@MikeO8585Fuck boomers. That’s about all I gotta say.
The creed came out in 73
There's a reason fragging became so prevalent in Vietnam.
So, they intentionally sacrificed a kid with no experience. Great guys.
Sounds about right
Well, at least he's with sweet zombie 🧟♂️ jesus in the clouds ⛅️ now. 😳
I know you think it's funny to Mock Jesus until you run into him in this life at which point you'll feel terrible for it. The Bible isn't just all head knowledge it's a completely different life one lives as a Christian once the Holy Spirit comes to them.
@@alphaomega1351wow so brave and enlightened you are….
Not Exactly…. Call it seniority…. Call it ‘your time in the barrel’…. Everybody ends up at Point sooner or later…. It’s usually volunteers…. It’s part of the Cohesiveness of Infantry Platoons/Squads/Fireteams…. Any grunt with ANY combat experience knows that… SFMF
What a crap way to treat those without experience.
That guy telling that story has to live with that image bet he can still the FNG,
@@rjacosta1070 he was the new guy too at some point and was lucky. Surely he has plenty of other stuff that brings him nightmares. I can imagine a lot of names on the memorial in Washington DC are extras due to this use of the inexperienced guys and the policies of sending inapt individuals to this complex conflict situation in SEA.
I'm sure they all said I Don't Want Point..put the new guy up there.
The boomer generation lacked any sort of discipline.
@@marcblank3036Vietnam was one of those wars where they needed numbers so they took anyone including those that didn't have the IQ to be consider fit to serve so knowing that yeah it's a fucken travesty that's how they were treated.
The lack of regret in this guys voice is astounding. We'd never have a new guy do ANYTHING without someone to show them the ropes a couple times. There's how you're trained to do it and then there's how it's done in real situations.
Right? What a piece of trash!
Fragging was invented for those special squad leaders that liked to take his men in harms way
His reaction is truly disgusting to say the least
@@mikeiaquinta245👍🔥
@@SashaTheDog I was thinking the same thing. it's like, yeah I get it, a lot of people die out there. You can tell the average response, where someone shows at least a little emotion, from the sociopathic response of zero remorse.
“Why does people not wanna join the military?”
The military:
The governments too
The 60s are a bit different than today, but I see what you’re saying
These guys were draftees, not professional.
Because no one wants to fight for a liberal government who’s anti man
Joining military is the ultimate cuckoldry, dying for politicians who give zero f**** about you ahahahaha
Imagine setting up new guys to get killed and casually talking about it 50 something years later
its the MERICAN! way.
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425nope boomer way
That's how he survived. Sick
It's that infamous boomer "I got mine, F you!" mentality
Who says he sent the new guy forward ?
"Recruitment is down and we have no idea why"
"The enemy is beating us with only sandals and aks and we don't know why"
Recruiting is down because of who is in the Whitehouse.
@@kellykilts6297 you missed the joke and we don't know why
Recruitment was down and that's why we have always had the draft. Even the marines were drafting during the Vietnam War.
@@kellykilts6297 Yes, when Tricky Dick Nixon was in Paris Peace Talks, we had cease fires, but the Vietnamese didn't.
That new kid saved this guy's life. He should be respectful not disparaging.
Boomers man
He's not being disrespectful....he's being matter of fact.
@@laggismaximus he said things that were factual. He's an irreverent pig nonetheless 👎
As a retired Marine, this is pretty fucking sad. You never put a new guy in a position where he can fail and kill himself. Should've had an experienced guy train him. Nope- y'all just let him kill himself.
Sounds like lack of leadership
The.Leadership were being decimated
@@lonniesides9302probably by their own men. This guys LT was probably friendly fired.
I'm not doing it. Send the new guy!
I knew guys like this in the Marines. Not surprising.
@@MicahNstuff He was an LT.
He states the new engineer was highly qualified.
The interview was about arriving in country, and how quickly the enemy adapted, rendering their training obsolete.
Just prior in the interview he explains his arrival in country, and his men correcting him on his orders - because his orders were based on his training.
This is a good reason to not just blindly respect and trust your elders.
Not all are deserving of it.
It's why guys got fragged
@@JK360noscopeexactly.
He is so cold and matter a fact about it, he even sounded like it was kinda funny to him.
Men like this run out country now.
Yes I know it's "our." Welcome to auto correct. I refuse to change it. Fix it in your brain. Lol
Best comment of March award! 🏅
'He was the only guy to get injured' interesting turn of phrase to describe a guy's upper torso raining down next to you.
No emotion. No regret. No remorse. No sympathy. No blinking. Dude is a Sociopath. Very dangerous.
Yeah, seeing traumatic shit for a year or two and getting about 50 years to cope with it will do that. Sociopath is not the proper word. A war survivor is the proper term.
@@Jhu_-cz4nj idk man he’s got more likes than you I don’t think it’s possible for him to be wrong 🫠
@@ChiquitaSpeaks You're right, I concede.
I think sociopathic is the wrong word to point out his expression. He seems to to be coming off more stoic if anything, im sure it’s made him think like “fuck, that’s fucked up”. Although I believe going through war can desensitize you in a way and make you look at brutality as nothing more then adversity. I do believe this man took many years of thinking and dwelling and him accepting it as “the sad truth” is what’s telling that he isn’t a sociopath otherwise he would of smirked at least or made a joke out of it.
@@ChiquitaSpeaksinteresting mindset right there 😂
We tried to avoid sending FNGs as points because they didn't have the experience to detect anomalies..sad your unit threw them out as fodder
Everybody get back now f.ng on the seen
Kinda what I was thinking
Now I fully understand why fragging was so common in the Vietnam War. The leadership in that conflict was beyond sinister
i was thinking the same as the original post on this.. it sounds like they purposefully sacrificed them, and maybe even didn't even need to disarm that mine!, when they should have been mentoring them
No emotion while telling that. Either he is just telling "war stories" or he is a sociopath with no feelings
Maybe if you had taken the time and shown the new guy how to disarm the mine, he'd still be alive.
Numbers game, eventually you're going to get someone who messes up.
@@odst2247the person who messed up was the person who tasked him with that job
Well, I guess he disarmed the mine.
@@macman975more like the mine dis-armed him tho
@@odst2247the thing about number games is theres usually a way to affect how those numbers add up. Statistics and common sense will tell you that someone with more experience with a task is far less likely to fail than someone who's seeing it for the first time. Numbers.
In Afghanistan, a combat engineer stepped on an IED when they were attached to our platoon. I was pulling security on the southern side of a grape field while they were about to blow some fighting positions when I heard the explosion. It was loud, followed by this weird springing noise like you'd hear as a sound effect for springs in a cartoon. I turned around, and all I saw was ACU pattern floating in the air. His ruck sack had blown to bits. My memory is going, but I remember that day like it was last week. I still remember the feeling of the dirt and loose gravel under my boots as I ran by the medics trying to put tourniquets on stumps where his legs used to be as we went to clear an LZ for the casevac. Then we got word he didn't make it right as we drove back onto the FOB.
Poor SOB. The last time I saw him before the explosion, he was smiling and screwing around with the other combat engineers. Scariest thing is I was literally fucking around with my squadmates at the exact same spot the IED blew. I think about what would have happened if I just walked a few inches one way or the other. It might have been me dying on the bird back to base.
🫶
Thank you partner. I hope one day this insanity ends. Take care of yourself and God bless.
Ì
Jesus loves you, fuck the state for sending men like you to fight their planned money war. doesnt matter what side youre on, millions of precious lives are lost and even more are grieving for the sake of pushing an evil agenda. these greedy bastards should fight the war themselves instead of heroes like you. thank you for your service and I hope Jesus comes back soon to save us from this wicked world
You can feel him holding back laughter
He wasn’t?
@@Vintage_Ambience The creasing and widening of eyes is often an expression of joy.
“It’s a numbers game” when you’re talking about your own comrades life is insane
That's what you get with conscription and consumer society.
a game i don't want to play
The reality of war.
@@magicjohnson3121 I can say obvious condescending things too
It's a 18 year old conscript. WTF was he supposed to do.....
I bet that kid wasn't the son of a politician or wealthy person.
Ccr sang bout this kind of stuff..
He definitely ain’t no senator’s son.
Ain’t no fortunate son
@@daxware603No fortunate one for sure.
Oh yeah. Most Vietnam War Soldiers were poor and middle-class. The more wealthy classes were able to afford someone else going in their childrens' places, buy excuses, or via nepotism get sweet cushy safe military positions.
"And that's when we realized, we were the bad guys. Bad to our enemies and ourselves."
Might be just the gallows humor a lot of Rangers and Submariners have today.
Pls tell me your joking. If your not than I've lost all hope for the younger generations of this country.
@@gavinfreeman2311 look man, wars are absolutely useless. theres an elite, wether you wanna believe it or not, who creates these wars to earn millions, make two groups of people hate each other and to end lives. civillians and soldiers are bleeding out because of their actions. we must appreciate veterans for being heroes, but you must accept the fact that there is no good side in war, only good people. Jesus is the only way
@@gavinfreeman2311we were the bad guys. Have you not watched any of the interviews with Vietnam vets saying we created enemies out of the Vietnamese. WE PRODUCED THEM. We would plow through their village and the ones left behind would form an allegiance and band together against us and that made another enemy platoon.
In the military we would call this guy blue falcon. I now understand why Vietnam vets were disliked so much….
WWII vets talking about new guys getting killed: literally on the verge of tears even 80 years later
Vietnam vets talking about sending an 18 year old with no experience to disarm a mine: "kawoomp! it's a numbers game"
Yeah
Boomers
The lack of wisdom and unawareness of context in your comment is disturbing.
Never mind the logic fallacy of stating two things as if they were true and drawing conclusions from it.
Everyone reacts differently
@@samuelspiel8855The worst generation
This guy sounds like he would stab you in the back to save himself
Yeah I wouldn’t want him anywhere near me.
@@pretzelstick320he’s your local elected official.
Men like this run out country now.
Boomer mentality
Yeh the way he spoke about the incident with out any remorse and lack of empathy for the kid or his family. Psychotic but I guess that’s how you survived?
My dad told me that new guys would arrive in Vietnam and within a week they’d be leaving in body bags. He also said that headquarters was very political, if someone didn’t like you or you said the wrong thing they’d send you to the gun line. So what this guy is saying is highly accurate.
Cowards
Why would you put a new guy on point?? This is terrible leadership. He has no remorse, honestly gross
As he said, politics and the "number game" people in offices play.
@@romelegionmaker8625 How else are they going to learn?
Y’all put that poor boy out front (knowing that he was green), shame on you.
i'm glad we're all in unison regarding how we feel about this.
Only in unison on ignorance.
C'mon old timer...you came close to saying it, "better him than me."
Get the NFG to pull the handle "Its a numbers game after all" POS serial killer.
Of course that's how it is. But putting a newbie on mine detail is barbaric.
Instant section 8
Shady shady
Tip of his tongue
This guy was a failure as a leader. He sacrificed his rookies.
Men like this run out country now.
@@NinjaSushi2men like this have BEEN running the country, for ages, it’s not new
Saved himse😂lf
youre a waste that got saved... looka t you
@@leftifornian2066big coward
My Dad survived, Vietnam, a Crpl. Army, Drafted, among his awards, 2 Silver Stars, I remember my Brother and I wanted to join up, Marines, he forbid it, we said we wanted to do our part and pay our dues, he said he paid enough for all of us. I asked okay, what if I did Army? He said nope, we're all paid up.
We respected his wish, I did however became a Firefighter, but really wish I hadn't listened. Having had military all around in all branches in my other family members, Wife's family too, I thank you all, past and present, Ret. Or Active, God Bless You All and Be Safe. prayers always. 🇺🇸❤
Your dad is 1000% correct. By being a firefighter and decent member of your community you are of high value. Our military now serves the banksters. I would NEVER join again knowing what i know now.
You should also know there are... rumors... that say the military is doing some double dealing and using mercenaries to do the things that The States doesn't want associated with it. That said, I'm grateful for every soldier that returns. I just hope they have a happy life after.
you and your family are good people, and your dad is right. war is useless and is created to make money, end lives and spread fear and hate. good on you for helping the community by being a firefighter. thank you all for your service, God bless you all
Keep your god bless to people with faith. To have it thrown at you is extremely insulting.
@@borisbash someone here needs a reality check...
Putting a new guy without any combat experience in my opinion is cowardice. I will not thank you for your service until you say sorry to that poor boys parents.
what are you talking about
@@mikesecor6074 Don't worry about it. It's way over your head.
I served 6 years and was deployed to Kandahar Afghanistan in 2014. It's unfathomable to me how a group of enlisted soldiers would voluntarily allow the newest in their Platoon to shut off a mine and do that over and over again replacing their head with someone new. Talk about the lack of respect! Your throwing your new guys into a mine field and making the newest step behind the second newest while you all patrol a route that you know was clear. What in the ever living hell. Thats not a soldier that's a fat lard of human waste anyone who would do that.
I was in the military & it took me a very long time to understand "point". Why would you put a young newbie out in front? How mean & uncaring! The poor guy prob didn't even know what he was doing? I know it wasn't you who did it, but your Sgt was a jerk!!
@@tiggertigerskip no no it didn't happen to me or anywhere in my deployment. The video the guy said that's what THEY did.... I just stated how I see it as unfathomable how fucked up that is to send the new guy out as an EOD or 12B
@@scotthollars1555 there's shitty leadership somewhere, wherever you go. That's the only explanation.
@@SGobuck I'm assuming that's probably why we have so much to do after back to base. They check and make sure you haven't got hitlers personal photo album that was sold by a soldier lmfao. We are almost the first in history to where we see soldiers don't take what they want after they fight the battle.... The senators, presidents and important people show up to thank us the day after it's won then give us the middle finger on the way out.. yes shitty leaders everywhere but 90% of the USA cowards run as our senators and Congress not the military.
Exactly. In Korea they trained a squadron of soldiers to be demolition men handling the removal of land mines and other claymores devices.
“We put the newest greenest soldiers in the most important and dangerous position” real good fucking job soldier. Luckily that’s not how we operated when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan. Disgusting
I like how universally disgusted everyone is with him. I hope he finds himself at a barbecue with some vets and tries to impress them with this story.
He might just be desensitized. I don't think hes making a mockery of him.
@@porkerpete7722 Why? Just because you don't want to believe that? Check out his body language and facial expressions.
You find this tactic to be dishonorable?
I mean, I think during our modern wars, they essentially used national guardsmen like this
The guy doesn't even sound the least bit sad.
He's had 50 years to be sad about it.
One can only be broken for so long, before acceptance sets in.
Perhaps you haven't yet had to conceal sadness like his from yourself and others. And you probably don't have fifty years in on this planet yet, fifty years remembering a feeling of revulsion.. ..or anything relevant . Think about it
Imagine being responsible for the training and safety of your fellow soldier and using them as a meat shield because you're a coward.
My uncle is a VietNam veteran. He doesn't talk much about it, but since I am a retired veteran myself, sometimes him and I will talk. He said that he always took point by choice. His thinking was that if he was going to get killed, it was going to be because of something he did, not that he died because of something that somebody else did wrong.
He would've never put the new guy up front.
he is a tough man. wants the credit if it's good or bad, not gonna tolerate these weak "leaders." Respect.
Nailed the right mindset.
Nice
Maybe the next time Grandpa Windsock goes in to replace his brake fluid, the shop will send the new guy all alone to do it.
😂
🤣
If they saw this video they might
Lol
Karma 😅
My grandfather was a Plt Sgt in Vietnam. Theyd need to receive resupplies in a clearing where the helo could bring down a rigged resupply. The vietcong knew thats how it was done and waited for one of his guys to climb to the top of the resupply crate to unhook from the helo and then picked em off. He essentially had a batting order for who was next to attempt the detachment. He was up there just as much as any of his guys, with bullets flying. Seems like only a shit command and cowardly leaders would leave the "scarry" jobs to the young, new guys.
Your Grandfather? Damn I'm getting old!
@@jdsguam Not only that, but Ive even got war stories of my own at this point. Time just keeps passin by my friend.
When my dad was within a few weeks of going home he said he didn’t want new guys around him at all on missions
My father in law was in Vietnam as a 19 yo. Now 81. He told me that he had seen a few platoon officers get fragged by their guys - for this very reason. College types trying to make a name for themselves but let someone take the risk. Cowards.
It's not the officer's job to take the risks personally. Officers who got fragged were those who sent their men on high risk missions for little practical gain. Though it should be pointed out that most fragging took place in support units, against officers who tried to instill more discipline and crack down on drug use.
@@itskarl7575 correct the first part. Incorrect the second part.
@@gemleollc4755 You can check out the stats yourself if you like.
He was in the VietNam War in 1961 or '62? Wow.
@@gemleollc4755before you start drinking the kool aid. You gotta remember they signed up for the job.
Also I understand where the guy (in the video) is coming from. If I was in that leadership position, why would I send my experience guys and risk losing a valued members of the platoon ?
“Oh, but back in my day the leader went first” okay you rather risk losing the leader ? Losing the leader would cause disorganized between the troops and morale loss. People tend to forget it’s very important to keep a strong leader alive to keep the platoon alive. You lose the leader and you lose half your firepower..
You rather have the new inexperience guy lead and replace the leader? In modern warfare you can definitely send the leader since everyone is trained up to date now. But back then I feel like you work with what you get.
My buddy served in that war and always took the point, as he grew up in the woods of West Virginia and hunted he felt safer by not being led into a trap, since he could see things in the forest no one else noticed. Rest in Peace Fred, died 2023
Bro was a true hunter and trapper, because he could avoid being hunted and trapped himself.
Ty for your service fred
Fred bear?
He, and tens of thousands of other servicemen TRAPPED themselves in an unjust and corrupt war, that's the real land mine here.
Wars in the middle east too - you fools were fooled big time. The families of the fallen will never forget. Time to hold politicians accountable!
May he rest in peace ❤️
What kind of f*cked up platoon sends the newest guy ON POINT and with EOD duties?
Shitty leaders
Wow awesome leadership to put a rookie on point unbelievable
I was a Combat Engineer. We’d find a mine and lay a charge next to it to disarm it. Ain’t no way I’d dig that crap up. Would you???
F*** NO. It seemed like willful sacrifice
If you were ordered to as a young 18, or so, years old you would. My Father survived Vietnam. I respect and love the man and am SO proud of him and to be his son. May GOD bless them ALL!!! All who went through such a harrowing terrible experience and came home to the new rise of turning on your own.
That mouse trap will get you every time
Maybe, if I had to. I was a Combat Engineer in Iraq and yeah, we just blew them in place. But we were fully trained on how to disarm all manner of landmines and IEDs, and if the mission had demanded it I would've stepped up. A couple guys in my unit had to do it on occasion. Sometimes you have to do crazy s*** in war. If you don't like it, don't join the military.
@charleschristianson2730 mostly likely the guys in the video didn't join they were drafted.
My dad was a point man in Vietnam, he survived the war but he was absent in my life i can't imagine what he had to go through only to come back to the U.S. and be treated like garbage by his own country upon returning. He was a bad alcoholic and died of colon cancer in August of 2013.
As well as my Dad and Uncle RIP
Respect to your father. I’m sorry he was absent in your life. My grandfather was a vietnam vet and when he came back he was never the same and died early from alcoholism
I'm am truly sorry to hear that. May God Bless him.😢
My dad was a Northern Ireland veteran (british), he was shot twice. He was also absent in my life. He never got the help he needed. Rip dad 1956-2021
I'm sorry to hear, my father too is a veteran of this war, it had devastated him, i haven't talked with him fir over 30 years now, just got up and left and never sore him Again.
I ment many veteran some are OK some are not.
Although I'm Vietnamese and proud of those who protected my country, it is still undeniable that war brings pain to both sides.
I hope the Vietnamese people are able to forgive us Americans for the horror this war put your country through. It happened long before I was even born but I still feel some shame for it happening at all.
And before anyone comments I am not trying to disparage the Americans who served, they are just soldiers following orders. The real ones responsible were the politicians.
And you’re retelling this story as if you were walking to the mailbox to grab the morning post. Like. What…..the fuck?
What he meant was...the dishonorable cowards made new guys run point. Let us not get it twosted, there are brave men and then there are cowards.
A B S O L U T E L Y ! !
And most people wanted an experienced person on point because they would be better at knowing all the tricks. The VC knew what they were doing, and often traps were rigged together. That way, if one went off, the whole line would go off and they would get several people. So you wanted an experienced man on point. But, some teams had “experts” with extra defusing training on improvised stuff. And several times the military claimed they had perfected training, but in the field it usually proved otherwise. I’m wondering if an old man’s rambling and some editing put two stories together or something because I don’t see the new guy on point. But, I could see the new guy being the mine expert. Some positions were assigned based on the training you had, others were earned. Point was earned, and took trust.
We should not be angry at this man . If he didn't tell us we would never know!
@adamr9215 that's good information to know, context is everything.
@MsggieB.6870 I understand what you're saying, heck he served in a time when many decided not to, the least we can do is give him the benefit of the doubt. And it reveals the terror these guys faced.
“I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit ,or personal safety” -US ARMY NCO Creed
Damn dude. Nice quote.
Summed it up pretty well
So, you are implying the squad leader should always be at risk? Ever heard of an ambush? You wait until everyone is in the trap before you spring it. Doesn’t matter where you are in formation. You are in the same danger as everyone else. You’d always put yourself on point if you were in charge? New guys need training too. How did the old guys learn? It’s not like the new guy got off a plane and straight to running point. That would be idiotic. Besides, the squad wouldn’t always have the same guy on point all the time. Rotating personnel throughout the mission is key.
@@thundervalley9766 That is not what he implied, that is what you randomly assumed he mean because you clearly didn’t understand what the quote means.
@@thundervalley9766 And putting new guys on mine clearing duty isn’t training, it’s getting them killed. Thank god you aren’t an officer.
Imagine having a honorable death like having your last stand in front of your comrades whilst inspiring them to fight but no, your squad leader wakes you up and put you in-charge of digging up landmines and ended up blown to bits in the process. There's no wonder why America is having a problem bringing up new recruites for them to just have a horrible pointless death.
He said they all made the same sound kwoomp. It means he saw it many times and yet still just looked at a new guy being sent with 50/50 survival chance. Like it's a cool story to tell😮
The worst generation
Have you considered that was the FNG himself? Or anything else beyond your experience?
Guys like this were my superiors when I served, they were still young and I was younger. Maybe belay judgements so you don't rate your own
This is what a legitimate psychopath looks like.
Psychopathy means e enjoyed the suffering of others. I didn't see any of that.
He doesn’t have to enjoy. You can clearly see no empathy the way he talks about green chunks flying and clearly doesn’t care
Sociopath, not psychopath.
My thoughts. He couldn't care less. Creepy.
@@krabz9390No, that would be a sadists. Psychopaths can't feel empathy.
Gotta love the coward justifying sending in someone who didn't know what they were doing was the right call, then basically mocking this poor man's death 60 years later.
KWUMP!
Boy, it would have been a kid who should have still been at school.
I don’t think he mocked anyone or anything. I think he seems detached but I think that’s caused by the horror of dealing with Viet Nam.
Can you really call someone who presumably fought in Vietnam a coward?
@@civilprotectionunit8145 If they use their comrades as meat shields, they're more of a coward than most.
This guy is reminiscing like he’s telling the story to the VC at the local Ho Chi Ming bar. Where is the remorse, sadness, anger, regret, etc etc. All we get is a nonchalant story full of smirks and proud storytelling.
"Poor leadership" applies to well beyond the military when it comes to situations like this.
"We sent draftees who had no business there to do the most dangerous and deadly work, becasue we were chicken shit"
They were as likely to be drafted themselves so don't blame them. Blame the demons in DC that conducted the war.
would you sign it up to do it yourself? think about it before replying
nice, blame the victims. Disrespect the dead, and give the most dogshit perspective.
@@AlphaShepherdhe did none of those things quit your whining
Exactly what I came to say. All the airsoft nerds and larpers I see have gathered much more experience than us from running around and playing dressup
I disagree
I was a marine grunt in 1969 in Vietnam
We never put a new guy at point, as that would also increase our risk of being ambushed. I sometimes walked point myself even carrying the radio if I felt better that way.
Of course one of the times I got hit was the guy walking point in front of me missed a trip wire and we had spotted the signs that the trail was booby trapped.
But he wasn’t a new guy.
We never ever put a new guy on point.
Maybe he’s army.
Look at the narrators tie. USMC
Semper Fi, OORAH!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Yeah I thought that seems suspicious, everyone else says you wanted a guy who knew what he was doing
That is the way it was supposed to be. My Platoon Sgt made the decision who went out.
That kawamp he’s talking about is the ground being uplifted from its self when it explodes
Respect to the young soldier and his family. May God bring him to his eternal reward.
Imagine throwing your life away so young in a pointless war. In a place you were never supposed to be.
I just hope he was voluntarily there and not drafted.
Imagine sitting by and not being in your congressmans face about all the current pointless wars. Remember Afghanistan or have you forgotten that already?
If you got a better idea, I'm all for hearing it out but war and the young dying to resolve the arguments of the old has been a thing for all of history so... Umm, good luck with that I guess.
@@RandomPerson-nd2eyThe better idea is to just not go. Why go and fight a war for jerks that are stripping most of your constitutional rights and selling you out back home anyway? Why let your children or grandchildren fight?
The politicians want to do the same again in Ukraine...will the young people comply or rebel against them?...😊
How awful it would have been to lose a son in Vietnam but just imagine how awful it would feel to find out he died this way?!!!
“It’s a numbers game” how chilling and sobering it is to hear that…
“It’s a numbers game.”
Ghee, I wonder why young people aren’t signing up anymore 😂.
If it was for defense of this country they would, but for Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan? Ain’t no way I would ever do that.
Not that they aren’t. 77% can’t even join now. To fat, dumb or mental health problems.
Not that they aren’t. 77% can’t even join now. To fat, dumb or mental health problems.
That's just a colloquial way of saying that in war, statistically some will not make it out alive
@@21stCenturyDub That’s pretty generous. In the context of the conversation, its more likely the side with the greater number of meatshields, has the greater chance of winning, tactically or pyrrhic. Which is of course pretty accurate for the most part.
I had a friend, Thomas Owens, from Wetumpka, Alabama, who died this way. He is remembered for his kindness and athletic grace.
Damn a politician's war.
US politicians war. be specific son.
Having the new guys trying to disarm the mines and take the lead is why some many died. Seems like those more experienced would do both.
My uncle instead of waiting for the draft he decided to join the Marines. He left the States July 6th 1966 headed to Vietnam, he got killed August 6th just 1 month later. Our family was told that he was killed by a land mine and seeing this guy tell this story makes me wonder how common it was for new guys to take point? God Bless all these brave veterans
genuinely fucking evil to make the new guy disarm the bomb. absolute cowardice on the part of literally everybody else there (a common theme in vietnam)
That boomers expect us to treat them like heroes who built America when all they did was smoke weed on base, shoot at trees and bully civilians is hilarious. The majority didn't do anything bad in Vietnam, but there's a reason we didn't win over support of the people.
Bold thing to say from the safety of your chair.
@@lunchbox1553 dude they openly talk about the fact that they were fighting civilians. and you know i can see the other comments you’ve left on this channel, right? you said yourself the war was for nothing. we’ve all heard the justifications and nonsense from vietnam vets it wasn’t just the united states government in the wrong.
@@tonoornottono What does me agreeing that this war was pointless have to do with you calling people cowards from the safety of your home?
@@lunchbox1553 are you saying that making the new recruit disarm the bomb is NOT cowardly? i mean we can go back and forth like this
Real noble of them to send the new guys with no experience, to do a job that requires exactly that…real classy, super brave, truly honourable.
'Duhh, that's war HUHUHU, ITS NORMAL'
The fog of war, that's life, it always have been like that, etc etc
Arguments for
The greatest hell is the one humanity makes for itself.
Some of them were only 16 and remember they all died for absolutely nothing.
My brother served with the 173rd Airbone, Never , Ever put a newbie on point, also if you were 45 days short they kept your ass in the rear unless you're getting overrun!
I also served with the 173. You had to earn point. 65-68.
My uncle was in the 173rd. Fought the battle Dak Tao. Hill 875. Survived the war but lost the battle to AO in 2015. RIP Uncle Tommy
Lost my dad to AO too@@mumbles215
My grandfather was a WWII south pacific infantry vet and my dad and uncle were 173rd in 69-70 and 70-71. None of them really talked about either war. I served 26 and half years, and I understood why when it was my time and I came back from my war.
"Better you than me" seems to be the lifelong boomer credo.
"I gots mine, so screw you!" Is also one of their faves.
Stop making generational stupid hating through isolated examples that are out of touch, and calling anything older than you boomer as if it was a whole coherent and uniform lot. First, I'm not sure that going to war at all fits the description of ''better you than me''. Tell this about every single human entity who stayed home and spat on the soldiers when they came back instead. Second, the young guy going point and dying horribly was the same generation than this guy...third, let's see how you behave on a time of war when it's your own young neck that's on the line ; easier to comment from the comfortable sofa, isn't it. Finally, this current generation is probably the most self-obsessed ever and casually exposes itself in manners that would have been shameful just a decade ago...I'm not convinced it's wise to attack the elders on this precise matter.
"can't take it with you"
The whole boomer meme needs to die. I'm astounded that some people unironically believe it and make comments like this. The kid who died was a "boomer" as well. As are many other comments from veterans of the Vietnam war expressing their contempt and saying their platoons did not operate like this. Do you really think if all the millenials and gen Z's went to war today, that NONE of them would turn out to be assholes like this? Look at some of these young streamers - they'd be the first to throw anyone under a bus.
@@tosgemOkay, boomer. The shoe fits more times than not.
It tells me resource is exhausted when I try and like this. So here’s my like 👍🏻
Served in Fallujah. Got combat replacements half way in. Within the first few weeks we took some hits. 18 year old kid fresh out of bootcamp, gone. There must be a replacement curse. Here I was sitting there for months and shit just passed me by. Death making its way through the ranks is eerie, especially when you can feel him brush past you.
That's some dark stuff man. Thank you for your service and I'm glad you made it out okay.
Even EOD in Iraq/Afghanistan sends the best guys to disarm IEDs and they still might screw up bad.
Sending new guys to do the most dangerous job back in Vietnam seems super irresponsible.
It was. This guy sounds like he was the LT or SGT and doesn't want to say..
Men like this run our country now.
It makes sense.. send someone who knows what they're doing. I think these directives were passed down from on high.
Really? In Nam we did not have EOD walking patrols with us. We also were in a jungle, we often got ambushed and there were numerous traps. Now lets look at your idea, you believe it is better to get your experienced soldiers killed first. That way you have the raw meat left to fight? What rank were you? Because you did not learn proper warfare.
@@NinjaSushi2 no, women like ilhan omar and AOC run our country now. That's why it's a mess.
"Well it's just a numbers game" You LOST that war, big guy.
Sure.....little guy🤣🤣🤣
@@TheRealKingS197 Add all the emojis you want, everyone can still see you're butthurt
Unnecessary war was lost this coming from a moderate that leans right
Did you actually check the numbers or did you go along with what everyone else says?
Well he’s still right. You might wanna check the numbers.
"bro how did America lose in the Vietnam War, you'd think that the Soldiers would've learned the land after a few years?"
Also how the Soldiers were learning the Vietnamese land:
This man is devoid of any humanity even after all these years. Imagine what it was like not only serving with him but being in the same family or working with him. The very definition of a monster.
I always thought those guys were cowards. This guy is proud of it.
Everybody can't walk point and many never did. I did it many times because I knew what to look for but never put a cherry on point.
I hope this sort of attitude is just a coping mechanism , if not these people just seem completly blood thirsty
IN NAM, NOBODY CARED ABOUT THE NEW GUY. THEY FELT IF YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, IT'S BEST YOU GET IT NOW THAN LATER. WATCH PLATOON, THAT WAS AS CLOSE AS IT GETS. THEY FELT, BETTER THEM THAN ME. THAT'S WHY FRIENDSHIPS WEREN'T RECOMMENDED BECAUSE THAT'S HOW FAST IT HAPPENS.
These guys(very rare exceptions ofcourse) are not cowards at all mate ... conscripted or not and much more often than not , just young and dumb..all the gear and no idea..i've also been led to believe that having a whole heap of angry bastards trying to kill you with all manner of scary and different type stuff , for actual fuckin "real" is , especially at the time , by and large not as peachy for ones constitution and inner peace as one may have previously thought..they served for democracy and all that freedom of speech to whine and all the other 'shit' stuff that most of the young pricks around the western world today don' just take it for granted..they take it as an entitlement..these men deserve respect and i take my hat off to them .
That war fucked up alot of the guys who went over.
My grandfather was fighting in the liberation war of my country and told me after the started to get new guys on the front line they would be the ones dying first because they lack the experience and intuition of someone who already fought few battles, his chilling words where “we fought by day and dug graves by night”.
I asked him about the gear he had he said it was basically a sten gun, shorts and a folded hat full of grenades.
Respect to the soldiers that fought in the war. 🫡
Well, I would have remembered his name. Whoever he was, RIP brave soldier.
Yeah, you'd remember the name of every dead, as it became the furniture of your reality and occurred hundredfold around you nigh ceaselessly. I bet
@@Dr.Boringthe guys they sacrificed, yeah, they should remember those names specifically.
“Who’s making the Fkng decisions around here? How about I plant a charge, or a grenade or any damn thing other than me digging it up with my hands?”
“Hey, send the new guy to do what we know will most likely kill him”
…..wtf?!?!?
I don’t wanna die, let’s put the new guy out there. This just shows how they didn’t give a damn about anyone but themselves.
In memory of Peter Nee, killed in Vietnam 🇻🇳 and member of the Marine Corps, March 1969, aged 21 years. Son of Ireland 🇮🇪 and now buried in the soil of Ireland 🇺🇸
I was once one of those 18 year old point Marines in Vietnam. Leadership sucked back then because they always put the new guys out in front. This guy talks like it's a matter of fact without any feeling about a fellow Marine being blown up. All he can say is that it's a numbers game and then Kwoomp. Well, the Kwoomp had a human life attached with it and that's all he can say?
That's the problem with training in the Corp has. They show you how to do all sorts of bad things to the enemy, but they don't teach you a dam thing dealing with things years down the road. I still have my bad days and dreams. But, I guess rank has its privileges and he had the rank to send newbies to their death while he sat in the back waiting for body parts to start raining down. I am surprised this guy wasn't fragged. What a cold SOB. Guess he got his KWOOMP when his APC hit a mine.
Yeah his "numbers game" comment is such a pitiful thing to say. I think you called it right. Well said.
It is what it is. What you want him to do about it, then and now?
@@jarmstrong2843No, sir, I have not had the honor of serving, unfortunately. My initial comment was agreeing with your post. My second comment was a response to the other comment, not yours. Thank you for your service.
It hasn't changed much, sadly. I remember hearing about my good friend being KIA'd in Afghanistan around 2012. He stepped on an IED while patrolling around a compound. About a year later I was on deployment with the same Doc that was on his squad. Doc told me the next day they made the Marines return to the compound and search for his missing equipment. Sure, EOD "cleared" the area after, but as good as they are, they're never 100%. So they went back to search in a highly dangerous area for an m16 and NVG that got launched into orbit. They were never found.
Probably wasn't fragged because his men were complicit.
You might end up thinking; I've risked my life x times, cpt's looking out for us, let the new guy do his share.
Leader is thinking; I'd rather lose the new guy, and the vets will kick up a fuss if I keep endangering them.
It'd take someone very brave, naïve or mad to allow themselves to be thrown at every IED going forward.
Wars ruin bodies, souls and lives, not sure there's any way around it, especially when you're on the raw end of it.
Put the least experienced guy on the most dangerous job. Genius
I think in the Navy I remember reading some hazmat guide for chemical attacks that said the person who has to go check to see if it's still a threat on a ship will be the youngest and lowest ranking. It makes sense in the Navy because technical expertise and experience are important for the ship, it's probably the same for army and marines. Successful , thorough guys are most likely to live and become skilled soldiers.
His only enemy were the guys standing behind him lol
A war in which your own commanding officer was more of a threat to rookies than the enemy that was being fought. Truly a disgraceful man.
Anyone putting the newbies on point is a a-hole. Let them try that with a woman! There would be a Congressional investigation on the first incident!
@@iamgermane Just let them try that in the 21st century in general. This era makes it a lot harder to get away with things.
My Uncle was a platoon Srgnt in Vietnam: bronze star, silver star and 2 purple hearts. NEVER ONCE LET A NEW GUY DO ANYTHING BUT OBSERVE ON PATROL UNTIL HE COULD TRUST YOU! This guy led the chow haul and hid. 2 tours. RIP Uncle Stu
Brave man. Men like him is what makes our country great.
I Like how he came into this interview, thinking he would get the same reaction as hes gotten for 50 years, only to find the comments section obliterating him. Makes me happy that generation is on its way out.
As an infantry veteran, I feel like he’s hiding a sense of enjoyment that a new guy bit it instead of the people who knew how to disarm the mine. It’s unusual.
This is why i love telling older people and authorities of every kind "no" they get so mad when they cant make you do dangerous things for them especially at work. Dont hurt your self for anyone, trust your intuition and fiercely fight others who try to compell you. Dont be anyones sucker
this is unbelievably freaky, they sent new guys to die unnecessarily because they were scared of putting themselves in danger, and the dude is describing this like it's a friday afternoon. he talked more about finding the noise the mines made weird than the fact someone was just killed in front of him
edit: "its a numbers game" holy shit this guy is awful
There’s a lot of very morally questionable things that happen in combat zones especially unconventional ones. Unlike WW2 or even modern combat like in Iraq or Afghanistan there isn’t the same type of control commanders have and Vietnam saw some of worst casualties in modern history relative to size of conflict. It wouldn’t be too surprising that in an environment where casualties are high and replacements are constant that some low level leaders like squad leaders would enlist young privates to take the initial enemy contact or trap so the veterans are still combat effective in an engagement.
Is it horrible? Yes absolutely but it’s not an uncommon situation placed by armies. The most famous historical example was Rome under the maniple system in which junior soldiers were sent as skirmishes and light infantry to harass and initially engage the target while the other two lines of infantry (middle 18-25 and 25-35 old age) could be preserved for the engagement
(Edit: there is an active debate on whether the analogy I gave is an accurate portrayal of the Roman maniple system so I would suggest you scroll to the bottom to engage in it as well! Because the more voices the better!)
War ain't pretty get your panties wet somewhere else
Welcome to the truth about the American military.
Yeah, because the entire point of him telling you the story to try and convince you the war was good and their platoon was cool. Are you genuinely stupid or something?
“Finding the noise the mines made weird”. In my country we call that Stonecoal English 🤣 Not to downplay your comment, I wholeheartedly agree! 👍
I was a combat engineer in the marines and this would’ve basically been my job but modernized if i ever went to combat. Thank god he kept me here
Have to appreciate the guys who had been in country stepping up to ensure the new kid doesn't do anything to get himself killed.
This is the difference between a professional army and a conscripted one
Finland has conscripted army. Still our squad leaders are taught to lead by courage and example. Not just always send someone else in front like a coward.
@@JackTheNooberYour conscription is only used during an existential threat to your people’s homeland. In Vietnam, conscription was used in an offensive war in which a lot of people didn’t want to be involved. Conscription has its place, but that place is in defending a country (or possibly allied country such as in NATO or WW2 Europe).
@@saddlepiggy Russia existential threat? Okay dude. And how things are looking most likely we will be attacking Russia with NATO now that we have joined with them.
Finland hasn't seen modern combat. It's completely different. You train for the what ifs, US trains for the what has
@@KrolKaz what has = fighting against goat herding arabs with AK's and RPGs?
When i take my car in to get the brakes done i always ask for the brand new guy to do it.
Same for me at the local barbershop. 😅