3. THE INFANTRY PLATOON
As you already know, the
infantry PLATOON is the basic Army combat unit.
The infantry platoon is
comprised of about 38 soldiers and is commanded by an Infantry Second Lieutenant ...
that would be me:
In this photo I'm
sitting on one of my platoon's four M113 Armored Personnel
Carriers ("Tracks"). Another of my platoon's
"tracks" is in background. We are in an area known as "Cau
Viet," a sandy, wide open area near the coast of the
Getting back to the
platoon structure, the second in command is the PLATOON SERGEANT, his
rank is SFC ...
The remaining 36
soldiers in the platoon are subdivided into 4 SQUADS, each squad is
led by a SSG ...
Each of the 4 SQUADS has its own track:
The first four tracks
shown
It is a cool, rainy
Additional notes:
Our platoon has
a MEDIC who is trained to treat traumatic
wounds that occur in combat.
Another individual in
the platoon is assigned to be my "RTO" (Radio
Telephone Operator) ... the photo on the right illustrates an
RTO carrying the standard PRC-77 radio pack.
Below is my RTO,
nicknamed "Lightning"
This photo was taken
while on a couple day break (called a "stand down") at Firebase
C-2 ... he's carrying a cassette tape player; that is how we listened to our
favorite music while relaxing in between missions. Remind me to tell you
what happened to Lightning shortly after this photo was taken.
The
photo above is a few others in my platoon; also taken while
on a stand down at Firebase C-2 ... their names of are from L-R:
Specialist (SPC) Mike
Uphus, a "track" driver; SFC Nelson, the platoon
sergeant; an unidentified Staff Sergeant (SSG) (a squad leader);
"Doc," a specialist (SPC) (our combat medic); and SGT Bob Kruse,
I'll be reading a letter that he sent home.
The sandbags shown
in these photos surround and cover the wooden bunkers that we stayed in
while on stand down. The sandbags were supposed to be protection from
incoming enemy mortars and rockets. I found out later
that this structure was highly vulnerable ... 29 men in our
unit were killed a few months after I left Vietnam when an enemy
rocket scored a direct hit on one like this at that firebase.
This is a quote from our battalion website about the incident:
"During the spring
of 1971 the NVA launched frequent and heavy indirect fire attacks against Fire
Support Bases A4 and C2. During an attack on C2,
This photo is of some
other members of my platoon: the Platoon
Sergeant (SFC Nelson) and two others ... most everyone had
"nicknames" ... in the middle is SGT Eddie Vezza aka
"Wop" ... on the right is my track driver: Scott Anderson aka
"Buddha."
So that should give
you a quick overview of the Infantry Platoon and a few of the faces and
names in my platoon.
You may proceed to the next page to see how our
squads that make up the platoon are the building blocks of the