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Edited on Thu Jun-21-07 01:13 PM by TahitiNut
First of all, LRRPS were notorious for "search and avoid" instead of "search and destroy." By and large, you'd have to be insane to want to run your platoon into an NVA unit, often company-sized. This is NOT unusual in combat. It's typical in all wars. The movie-time myth of Gung-Ho John Wayne wannabes was something that'd earn revulsion in Nam. Draftees got more than their share of awards for valor. Believe it.
The typical Army grunt in Viet Nam got far more enemy contact than in WW2 or Korea ... maybe 5-10 times as much or more. A typical 12-month tour of duty allowed ONE R&R ... mo more. If a guy extended his tour of duty or volunteered (with a bonus incentive) for another tour, he could get a month of leave stateside. Some did R&R instead, I think. As many as up to half of the guys did NO R&R. "Safe" places were nonexistent in-country. Even Vung Tau (the in-country R&R center) had casualties. Long Binh Post (HQ USARV) and nearby Bien Hoa Airbase was one of the largest contiguous installations and we got rocket/mortar attacks a couple of times a week. Ton Son Nhut in Saigon was a frequent target. Firebases got shelled regularly. "Safe" is a very relative thing. NONE of the places were as "safe" as Baghdad's Green Zone.
The favored R&R places were Hawaii (for married guys to meet wives), Bangkok, and Australia. R&R lasted a week. One of the reasons guys opted to pass on R&R was that it was difficult to come back ... and it cost money.
PS ... I strongly suggest that folks realize that general officers lived in another 'reality' - and we 'boots on the ground' knew it. I don't recall EVER hearing a general officer say much that bore any relationship to what the grunts were living. The only people I know who swallow what they say are people without military experience. Hint: Just consider the lunatic generals working for Cheney/Bush.
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