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1-11 IN/5th Infantry Division, Quang Tri, Vietnam, 1971

10K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Hollowpoint 
#1 ·
Here are a couple of troopers from the 1st Bn. 11th Infantry, of the 5th Infantry Division in Vietnam. The 5th Division's 1st Brigade (mechanized) was sent to Vietnam after Tet in 1968 and remained there through late 1971. As a mechanized unit, their armor and APC's bolstered the firepower of other units in the northern part of the country. The 1st BDE of the 5th ID is a sort of unsung unit in Vietnam having neither the luxurious history of the more famous units, and being only a detached brigade size combat team, its history is largely lost in the larger context of the war.

These men could easily be grunts from any number of Army infantry units late in the war. By 1970, individual taste from the Woodstock Generation was largely tolerated in the field as long as the men would fight. As one general put it in 1970, "I don't care if they look and act like Tiny Tim as long as they fight!" The men did fight as well as they could under the political circumstances, but survival was paramount and no one wanted to be the last man to die in Vietnam As mechanized infantrymen, their loads are light and geared more toward sharp firefights. Water, chow and other personal items are loaded on to the tracks. Furthermore, the long search and destroy patrols of from early in the war were no more, as the U.S.'s official strategy was to provide security, avoid large scale battles with lots of casualties, and prepare the ARVN to defend their own country.















 
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#4 ·
Good-looking, grundgy troopers, Apache. Those last two shots in particular, you did a great job on the wear on the jungle boots. These guys are definitely not any of Hackworth's outfit.
 
#6 ·
PD, nope, definitely not Hack's boys. I had him in mind as I wrote the narrative up as the opposite of what I was speaking about. Certainly some commanders kept a tight reign on the military appearance of their men, and it is interesting that the 101st and 1st Cav, up through their last days in 1972 look pretty squared away, but that many of the leg divisions permitted their men to do almost as they pleased in order to stay "cool" and comfortable in Vietnam's climate.
 
#7 ·
great work, apache26!
that first pic looks like a mirror image of a photo i've often seen of a late-war trooper, a sergeant, i think, with his rifle held up and shouting back behind him. had a sleeveless, open-front jacket too and a peace sign around his neck, i'm sure you know which one i'm talking about.
 
#10 ·
WB - you're absolutely right about that photo...I based it almost directly off of it.
Mike - thanks, I really dig the O'Neil sculpt and he'll be used plenty more as he's got that "haven't slept for days and I've been eating a couple meals of tasteless C's a day and I've been humping all month without seeing a damned thing!"
Niall33 - they are the TS jungles, and they weather really nicely as you can see

With one set of the boots I removed the "Panama" soles since they are glued on and cut off a set of "Vibram" soles from the DML boots and glued the latter on to make a pair of the original boots.
 
#11 ·
With one set of the boots I removed the "Panama" soles since they are glued on and cut off a set of "Vibram" soles from the DML boots and glued the latter on to make a pair of the original boots.
You have now been officially upgraded to "hard core" status.
 
#12 ·
hehe...thanks PD. I didn't exactly plunge into the possibility of destroying a very rare set of boots. I tried the technique with a pair of DID's cloth desert boots first. The DID boots convert very nicely to a set of well worn jungles, but I am having trouble with the lacing.
 
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