You are not Superman. Recoilless rifles - aren’t. Suppressive fire - won’t. If it’s stupid, but works, it ain’t stupid. Don’t look suspicious - it draws fire. Never draw fire - it irritates the people around you. When in doubt, empty the magazine. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are. You weapon was made by the lowest bidder. If your attack is going really well, it’s an ambush. If you can’t remember, the claymore is pointed at you. All five second grenade fuses are three seconds. Try to look unimportant, they may be low on ammo. If you are forward of your position, the artillery will be short. The enemy diversion you are ignoring is the main attack. The easy way is always mined. The important things are very simple. The simple things are very hard. If you are short of everything except enemy, you are in combat. No OP PLAN survives first contact intact. When you have secured an area, be sure to tell the enemy. Incoming fire has the right- of- way. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection. No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat. Teamwork is essential, It gives them other people to shoot at. If the enemy is in range, so are you. Beer math is 2 beers X 37 men = 49 cases. Body count math is 2 VC + 1 NVA + 1 water buffalo= 37 KIA Friendly fire - isn’t. Anything you do can get you shot, including nothing. Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you can’t get out. Tracers work both ways. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming "friendly" fire. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support desperately. If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you have more than your you fair share of objectives to hold. Both sides are convinced they are about to lose- They are both right. Professionals are predictable - but the world is full of amatures. Once you are in the fight it is too late to wonder if it was a good idea. Cover your buddy so he will be around to cover you. Letters from home are not always great. The madness of war can extract a heavy toll - Please have exact change. Share everything - yes, even peaches and pound cake. Decisions made by someone over your head ( for instance the Colonel’s C&C chopper) will seldom be in your best interest. The farther you are from your friends, the less likely it is that they will be there to help you When you need them the most. Sometimes, being good and lucky was still not enough. There is always payback. If everything is as clear as a bell and everything is going exactly as planned, you are about to be surprised. It does too get cold in Vietnam. No matter what you do, the bullet with your name on it will still get you. So can the ones addressed "To Whom it May Concern". If the REMFs are happy, the front line troops probably don’t have what they need. Happpiness is a belt-fed weapon. Eat when you can. SLEEP WHEN YOU CAN. The next opportunity may not come around for a long time. Combat pay is flawed concept. Air superiority is NOT a luxury. When you shoot your piece, clean it as soon as possible. There is no such thing as "a small fire-fight". Boxes of cookies from home must be shared. Thousands of Vietnam veterans earned medals every day. A few were even awarded. There is only one rule of war. When you win, you get to make up the rules. Living and dying can both hurt a lot. C-4 can make a dull day fun. Of course you can drink out of a skull, duct tape over the eye sockets will keep it from leaking. There is no such thing as a fair fight, only the ones you win and lose. If you win the battle you are entitled to the spoils. If you lose you don’t care. If you have extra - share quickly. It’s ok to take stuff off the body of a buddy, ‘cause you know he would have wanted you to have it anyway. Always make sure somebody has a P-38. A sucking chest wound may be God’s way of telling you it’s time to go home. Prayer may not help, but it can’t hurt. If everyone does not come home, none of the rest of us can ever fully come home either. If you have not been there and done that...... you probably will not understand. Murphy was a Grunt. Murphy was an optimistic Grunt. |