A little Vietnam motivation..

I also was too young--just barely--for VN duty. I +1 thanks to all those who served.
One of the carpenters who helped build our folks' place somewhere in his tour picked up and henceforward used a Thompson--judging from a pic he showed it was a 1928A1. He was one big mamoo of a guy--6'5 240 I'd guess--so I guess he didn't mind lugging those 11+ lbs around in addition to the rest of his ruck-gear! His closest buddy carried an M1 Carbine--maybe M2...just said "little carbine" and it showed in the pic to be generally M1/M2 type. All the rest in his troop he said were M16s with no comments pro or con about. I don't know how/if those two had any logistics/ammo supply problems, probably scrounged a lot, but the big guy loved his Thompson.
 
M1 Carbine--maybe M2...just said "little carbine" and it showed in the pic to be generally M1/M2 type
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My buddy told me he let his guys carry any American gun they wanted, except the M1 carbine. Said it sounded too much like an AK.
 
Basic training at Ft. Lewis, Wa - Dec. 1967. I qualified expert with my M14, 92X out of 100 at 440 yards. When I got to 89 out of 100 my DI came over and wanted to know why I wasn't using the ladder sight, told him it was a piece of crap and I could shoot better without it. Advised him that I could quote the ballistics of the 308 every 25 yards out to 1000 yards (which I could). Also let him know that for the previous 7 years I lived in Eastern Washington about 10 miles from the Canadian border. The only entertainment was shooting and I shot almost every day of the year for 7 years. He said OK hope you can do it and I did! He had me go coach a few of the other guys trying to make expert. Our whole platoon qualified expert, boy was he in 7th heaven!!!

My son-in-law did his basic at Ft. Lewis in 1991 (He's retiring at Ft. Lewis this Friday! Hooha). My Uncle did his basic at Ft. Lewis in 1950. My Grandfather and Great Uncle did their basic across the road at Camp Murray in WWI. We have a long history in the Ft. Lewis/Camp Murray area!
 
When I got to 89 out of 100 my DI came over and wanted to know why I wasn't using the ladder sight,
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There is no ladder sight on a M14. Our army hasn't been putting ladder sights on rifles since the 1917/1903.
 
Thanks for the tread, I really like the picture.

In 1968 for my senior field trip I was sent to RVN.
I used both the M14 and M16 while there, never had any bad issues with either one.
When I had to hump one very far the M16 was picked everytime.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
M14 for basic, stuck with the M16a "over there", got an M14 back due to someone else's bad luck (a duece and a half backed over the portable privy he was in at a supply depot!).

Liked the fact I could actually pick hostiles out at over 200 meters (average cleared zone around the forward fire base) as they hunkered down behind the trees. The .308 even at 200+ meters still could make a mess of them, the little .223(as it was called back then) had trouble getting through the hard wood.
 
This post reminded me of one started about one year ago. In that post it was mentioned that US soldiers procured and preferred carrying an AK 47 instead of an M16. After a few back and forths the poster admitted that this fact may not indeed be correct.
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Dick Marcinko (founder of SEAL Team 6) states this as fact in his novel Rogue Warrier. He said his SEAL unit used AKs and wore Viet sandles so that the VC would not be able to tell there were Americans in the area.
 
Doyle

Not doubting that SEALs occasionally carried AKs and wore sandals, and even black pyjamas, because they snooped and pooped in enemy country. But this was not the norm for us normal infantrymen. There were a great many more of us than SEALs in RVN. Even Special Forces and Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP) carried M16s. Also the Koreans (ROKs) carried M16s, and they had a reputation for very stealthy tactics.

Certainly a big downer if your weapon sounded like the enemy's and return fire came from your buddies.

Still like the M16 and M14 (but not M14 auto). Still dislike the superdupershootswhenencasedinconcreteandkryptonite AK47.
 
1968

I was in the Air Force in Viet Nam, I worked in air transportation at a small air field in the cental highlands. We shipped fresh Veggies and resupplied forward fire bases, We were issued M16's Mine had issues that lead me not to feel confident in it abilities, I traded it for a 12 gauge shotgun. there was no shortage of ammo. it did it job out to 75 yards with buck and ball rounds. There were a couple MPs that kept a M14 to deal with problems from a distance.
 
I've used both in combat, and they both have their places. Using a M14 to clear building after building after building doing neighborhood sweeps wouldn't be very fun. But I sure liked the wood stock on a couple overwatch posistions. Some of those shots wouldn't have been as effective with the varmint round.
 
The only experience I had with an M14 was in the MARDET in the 90's. Sniper watch on the O-10 level when we pulled into foreign port. Props to you who carried that beast in combat. At 5'10" 157lbs at 18 yrs old, I believe the weight would have crushed my scrawny arms (my soul as well:D)
 
I was born in 67' so no VN for me. I did carry an M16A2 in the sandbox back in 90/91. Then in 92 got assigned to Marine Security Force. Qualified with M16 and the M14. Got to say I liked them both but the M14 fit me better.
 
My first tour in RVN I got issued an M-16, and did the best I could with it. My second tour, I quickly tried to swap for an M-14, but couldn't do it. The Marine Corps was issuing one M-14 per rifle squad, and all the squad leaders were grabbing them. So I swapped for an M-79. :D Loved that thing. Plus, it came with a Colt 1911A-1:cool:. Only drawback was the ammo bag. 70 rounds of H.E., plus 10 or 15 rounds of various flares, smoke, etc. was "heavy".

Walter
 
Quote:When I got to 89 out of 100 my DI came over and wanted to know why I wasn't using the ladder sight,

There is no ladder sight on a M14. Our army hasn't been putting ladder sights on rifles since the 1917/1903.
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Well, I guess my memory is worse than I thought it was. But I did qualify expert at 440 yards and did help several other shooters to qualify. Sorry for the error on the sights! Old age is getting to me.
 
well it is sort of a latter,you turn the knob and it goes up or down. or a geared stem, when the elevation knob is turned it is geared up or down. i think it was the best sight put on a combat rifle. if i remember right my m-14 had 73 clicks elevation and 33 windage left and 34 right windage. eastbank.
 
In basic training (1968) I qualified expert (M-14) hittting 84 of 86 targets (pop up silhouets) . A kid from Philly , that had never touched a rifle in his life before entering the Army , hit them all . I know second place is the first looser , but out of 160 guys , I beat all but one !
 
well it is sort of a latter,you turn the knob and it goes up or down. or a geared stem, when the elevation knob is turned it is geared up or down. i think it was the best sight put on a combat rifle. if i remember right my m-14 had 73 clicks elevation and 33 windage left and 34 right windage. eastbank.
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Maybe that's what I was thinking of, too many years and too many rifles ago. I know he was not happy that I wasn't using elevation correction. As I said, I could shoot just fine with Kentucky windage.

We were his second training platoon since he returned from his second tour in Nam. Those of us that were smart listened to every bit of wisdom he spoke. We were all sure we would wind up in Nam at some point. I wound up in New Jersey for 3 years doing R&D work on the new field of Satellite Communications Ground Station Repair. The only action some of saw was the anti war/hippies around the base. A few guys had trouble with them. I learned to duck fast to avoid getting spit on. I'm sure glad the troops today don't have to put up with that type of crap.
 
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