quick vietnam war question

[fire400]

does anyone know if both the army and marines served in the same units in ground jungle/town fighting? and did the marines typically have more dangerous roles than the army? or was it pretty even between the army and marines, as far as ground jungle/town fighting in general?

 

[OutHouse]

there are a couple of combat nam vets in here who can answer your question.

my thoughts are that both the army and marines had equally dangerous roles. as far as serving in the same unit I would say no.

 

[dainthomas]

Five dollah!

 

[CaptnKirk]

The Marines were mostly up North near the DMZ - Da Nang Hue, Khe Sanh.
(And in the mental ward at Cam Rahn Hay Hospital)
The Army had the rest ot the country, they had different missions, but occasionally did joint operations.
There was big combined activity for the seige at Khe Sanh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khe_Sanh


Exerpt from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps#Vietnam_War

Vietnam War
The Marine Corps served an important role in the Vietnam War taking part in such battles as Da Nang, Hue City, Con Thien and Khe Sanh. Individuals from the USMC operated in the Northern I Corps Regions of South Vietnam. While there, they were constantly engaged in a guerrilla war against the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) and an intermittent conventional war against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). Portions of the Corps were responsible for the less-known Combined Action Program (CAP) that implemented unconventional techniques for counter-insurgency and worked as military advisors to the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps. Marines were withdrawn in 1971, and returned briefly in 1975 to evacuate Saigon and attempt a rescue of the crew of the Mayagüez.[44]

Vietnam was the longest war for Marines; by its end, 13,091[45][46] had been killed in action, 51,392 had been wounded, and 57 Medals of Honor had been awarded.[47][48] Due to policies concerning rotation, more Marines were deployed for service during Vietnam than World War II.[49]

While recovering from Vietnam, the Corps hit a detrimental low point in its service history caused by courts-martial and Non-Judicial Punishments related partially to increased Unauthorized Absences and Desertions during the war. Overhauling of the Corps began in the late 1970s, discharging the most delinquent, and once quality of new recruits improved, the Corps focused on reforming the NCO Corps, a vital functioning part of its forces.[11]

The Army had it's own hell, like Ia Drang Valley in 1966 ('We Were Soldiers' was based on this)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_la_Drang

I was in the Air Force, but attached to the Army 1st Cav at Ahn Khe in '67, a joint operaton
for the Caribou aircraft where we worked on the planes at the Army's bases, then took over their
flying operations for supply throughout the arena, once we established Air Force support logistics.

http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c7.asp

We put the 'UGH!' in Ugly . . . http://www.theaviationzone.com/images/html/vintage/c7/page1.asp