Unusal guns of Vietnam

Although not an unusual gun of Viet Nam, this is a photo of good ole yankee ingenuity in use on an M-60. It is a C ration peach can. This is a crash sight of one of our Hueys. One fatality after an engine failure over triple canopy jungle.
 
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I am an old man, sometimes I think it takes reaching old to really appreciate all the adventures other men have lived through. Thanks for your service.

Jim
 
Earlier on we were running all kinds of ops in Laos and Cambodia -

I am glad he got home earlier to start a young man's life -

Camster said:
He's only told me that his work wasn't always within Viet Nam.With his very young enlistment,his early discharge,I think that he was back home before turning 20.
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Mike I am glad you got home OK - Great that you got the proper documentations for your war trophy -

This particular Chinese bring back also have all the docs - It was brand new in a cache somewhere in Long Binh -

I'll have to dig around to find the leaflet you've described -

BE Mike said:
The Chieu Hoi leaflet I had had a group photo of a bunch of folks who had decided to switch sides. The bring back SKS I had had a lot of "character". It had been discovered along with 74 others when an artillery round had revealed a cache. I was tasked with a first light VR near FB Airborne, on the edge of the A Shau Valley, the morning after they had been overrun. I spotted the hole with exposed rice and guided a patrol to the area. The troopers were nice enough to tag one of the rifles for me. After getting a G-2 ok, I obtained a RVN Firearms Export License. When going through customs, the customs inspector took the rifle out of the case, shouldered it and dry fired it. When I told him that the paperwork was attached to the barrel, he indicated that he didn't need to see it. He was fascinated with it (wow, have times changed). I carried the rifle in a cheap case through all the airports until I got to my hometown. Maybe that's why I never got spit on! ;)[/URL]
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I am sorry but am not following you on the peach can upgrade - Please explain -

BE Mike said:
Although not an unusual gun of Viet Nam, this is a photo of good ole yankee ingenuity in use on an M-60. It is a C ration peach can. This is a crash sight of one of our Hueys. One fatality after an engine failure over triple canopy jungle.
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Actually, none were like yours! Most of the ones that I saw/handled, were color pictures of baskets of food etc. and farmers in their fields. I assume they were intending to show and tell how better life could be. Of course there was a lot of print explaining all of this! I still think I have one or two, now if I can figure out where I put them.
Ken
 
The peach can, actually any c-rats can, was used to keep the ammo belt feeding without kinking on the M-60. Common upgrade.





I am sorry but am not following you on the peach can upgrade - Please explain -[/QUOTE]
 
Saigon1965 said:
Mike I am glad you got home OK - Great that you got the proper documentations for your war trophy -

This particular Chinese bring back also have all the docs - It was brand new in a cache somewhere in Long Binh -

I'll have to dig around to find the leaflet you've described -




I am sorry but am not following you on the peach can upgrade - Please explain -
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I got this quote from the internet. It can explain the field expedient modification better than I: "Historically, units in Vietnam used B3A cans from C-rations packs locked into the ammunition box attachment system to roll the ammunition belts over for a straighter and smoother feed to the loading port to enhance reliability of feed. The later models changed the ammunition box attachment point and made this adaptation unnecessary."
 
Thank you for the education -

OLDNAVYMCPO said:
The peach can, actually any c-rats can, was used to keep the ammo belt feeding without kinking on the M-60. Common upgrade.

I am sorry but am not following you on the peach can upgrade - Please explain -
Click to expand...

BE Mike said:
I got this quote from the internet. It can explain the field expedient modification better than I: "Historically, units in Vietnam used B3A cans from C-rations packs locked into the ammunition box attachment system to roll the ammunition belts over for a straighter and smoother feed to the loading port to enhance reliability of feed. The later models changed the ammunition box attachment point and made this adaptation unnecessary."
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Some more unconventional weapons - Chopped seems to be quite popular -









SKS with grenade launcher -




Looks to be brand new M44s or Type 53s -




A few more Chieu Hoi flyers -



 
Can you find a way to let go of the pain?

Voyager28 said:
I don't know if this thread is a blessing or a curse. I'm remembering things I have buried and tried to forget for a very long time.

Bob
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That makes me very sad, Bob. I wish I could help lift your burden. Please try to find a way to let go of the pain.

I also want to thank everyone here for their service.... there are many of us who are grateful, and many of us who still feel shame at how our brothers were treated when they returned home.

I try to never pass a serviceman or woman, current or veteran, without thanking them for their service. How can a person do less?

Harold.
 
I came along after Vietnam ended but I remember listening to some of the stories my uncle would tell. He was in the Marines and was in country from '68-69 and spent a great deal of time driving a M62 wrecker from Da Nang to Dong Ha and back again with quite a few incidents in between. He never mentioned carrying anything other than an M-16 but when he told me of when they captured a huge weapons stash and he snagged a brand new SKS that was still wrapped. He got it to Okinawa but it got swiped from him there. He had a great respect for the 1911 .45 though and is carrying one here.

 
Nitrose said:
Actually Carlos Hathcock was a Marine. After Vietnam he returned to Quantico and set up the Marine Corps sniper school. Once he retired, he continued to advise the sniper school until his untimely passing. I am an acquaintance of his son, Carlos Hathcock III, also a retired Marine.
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Yes, Carlos was a Marine. (I knew the man) Last saw him in June of 1969 just before I was Med-Evaced out. (He was Med-Evaced, I think in September of 1969) But, the sniper with the most "confirmed" kills in Viet Nam was an Army guy. Carlos had 93 "confirmed" kills. But, I have really good reason to believe the number of "actual" kills was much higher than that.

Lots more I could say, but, I think I'll stop with that.

Bob
 
I recently purchased a Mauser HSc pistol that was made by the French at the Mauser plant right after WWII from 1945-1946. About 115,000 were made and almost all of them were shipped to the French troops in Indochina.

There are no import marks on this pistol, so I wonder if it came to the US as a Viet Nam bring back. I can't prove that of course, but it is just my hunch.
 
Several folks have mentioned seeing muzzleloaders in Viet Nam. A friend of mine was in the Army in '69-'70 and found an interesting weapon in a bunker. It was a muzzleloading 1861 Enfield musketoon with the matching sword bayonet.

My friend was a member of the North-South Skirmish Association and while the other soldiers were grabbing up SKSs to bring home, he got the musketoon and the bayonet. Unfortunately, another soldier stole them from him. :( He figured that the combo may have been used as a drill weapon.
 
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I had a teacher who told me he was in a combat engineer unit, sounded like it was early to mid part of the war. He said he had family send him a semi auto Ruger 44 magnum carbine. A asked where he got ammo from, he said it was for sale at the PX. Based on how he spoke about his experiences there I have no reason to doubt his story.
 
wrhk33 said:
I had a teacher who told me he was in a combat engineer unit, sounded like it was early to mid part of the war. He said he had family send him a semi auto Ruger 44 magnum carbine. A asked where he got ammo from, he said it was for sale at the PX. Based on how he spoke about his experiences there I have no reason to doubt his story.
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Sounds like the best version of Cooper's Thumper available at the time. I'm still trying to find one.
 
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