Submitted by Anonymous on 12/31/1998 10:00 PM Flag This Paper
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Vietnam Essay:
Weapons Used in the War
Many weapons have been used in many different wars. The Vietnam War is no different. At one point we had over 500,000 soldiers, field medics, officers, and medical staff. Many people died in this war, that was fought over to keep communism in check. Vietnam spurred many different weapons on both sides, varying in capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. As General William Wetmoreland once said, ’Aggressiveness, quick reaction, good use of firepower, and old fashioned American courage have produced outstanding results’" (Vietnam 60). Many weapons have been used for ground, air, and water assaults and Vietnam is no exception.
The American infantry used a variety of weapons. The standard issue gun was the M-16 which could be switched from semi-automatic firing to automatic firing. This was very useful in battle when you were low on ammo. Another weapon with the same features was the M-14 which could also be switched from semi-automatic to automatic. The M-60 was a very powerful machine gun. It was large and cumbersome, but was very useful in the fact that it was able to take out more men on the other side then the average M-16. Because of the fact that it was so large the biggest man in the unit was issued this, and only one was issued per unit. The M-60 was so heave one book stated, "Only capable of being handled by the largest man in the unit, it was nicknamed the ‘The Pig’ by it’s handlers in Vietnam, the M-60 was (and still is) a robust and reliable weapon" (Vietnam 114). Another powerful weapon issued was the M-79, a grenade launcher. This weapon was capable of launching a grenade farther than a man, so it was more versatile. The one problem was the weight of the weapon and it’s ammo limited who could carry and fire this weapon. The Vietnamese used only one weapon mainly, and that was the AK-47. This weapon was made by the Soviets and was copied by the Chinese, who called it the Type 56. They also...