In great contrast to their fathers and uncles, the men who served in the 199th, along with other men that served in Vietnam, would encounter some sort of enemy contact on a daily basis, whether through direct ground combat, sniper fire, booby-traps, rockets, mortars, and artillery.


In Vietnam, an average soldier would see a proportionally higher rate of combat (approximately 240 days) during his one year tour.  In WWII, infantry divisions were put into the line for a month or more, then pulled back to rear areas for weeks or months at a time to rest and refit.  In comparison to Vietnam, there was no such rear area to pull back to.  Even the biggest installations were subject to frequent enemy mortar and rocket fire.


 

Image by Larry Ellison, B/3-7


 

Image by Jim Titus, D & E 3-7th Infantry



Image by Chris Wander, 7th Support Battalion