The Vietnam War, American Men And Women Soldiers - 1368 Words

During the Vietnam War, American men and women soldiers, the majority of whom had volunteered, were sent to a place where nothing was accommodating. Not even the soldier’s issued equipment was adequate or accommodating. They were not emotionally, psychologically, or materially equipped for what they would encounter in Vietnam, or upon their return to a place where they should have been safe; home. The Vietnam environment was nasty, brutish, and dehumanizing on the soldiers. Young men and women, mostly in their late teens and early twenties were sent into a living hell where most of them either would not or could not return. In addition, upon their return home, they were not welcomed as returning victors who had sacrificed their lives for†¦show more content†¦One third of the soldiers were drafted, and two-thirds of the soldiers were volunteers (â€Å"Vietnam War History†). Approximately, eleven thousand of the soldiers stationed in Vietnam were women, and ninet y percent of the women were army nurses (â€Å"Women in the Vietnam War†). The American soldiers had arrived in Vietnam with equipment that wasn’t well suited to deal with the brutal jungle climates of Vietnam. Soldiers, before being shipped out, received standard gear: steel helmets, cotton uniforms, later nylon uniforms, M-16 rifles, anti-personnel fragmentation grenades, claymore anti-personnel mines, canteens, canvas field packs, and standard issue black leather combat boots (â€Å"Weapons of War†). Soldiers would personalize their gear, abandon their gear, or even take equipment from the enemy soldiers in order for their equipment to be more effective when combating the terrain. According to â€Å"Weapons of War†, the soldiers had problems with essentially all of their gear. The helmets were extremely weighty and sweltering, and were often abandoned in favor of floppy, fabric hats. The cotton uniforms deteriorated in the Vietnam climate. The military tried to fix this problem by developing clothing that was made with ripstop nylon. However, the solution didn’t have the outcome the military hoped it would have. Spare clothes were treasured but were very burdensome to haul around. The