Sebastián Gonzales Former Semi-retired
塞巴斯蒂安·冈萨雷斯 半退休人员

Probably among the stupidest silly-ass things to happen when I was there … we were digging in for a night defensive position, when suddenly a very nervous FuckingNewGuy emptied an entire magazine from his M-16 into his foxhole … close to where I was digging MY defensive position. We thought we were being attacked. He was yelling snake! snake! It turned out it was a worm … a big worm. We ended up trudging to a different nighttime position about a mile away because the gunfire had revealed our location. All of us were colossally pissed. Another time, later-on, as we were getting ready to move out on patrol, one of the guys, a chronic complainer, shot his foot so he wouldn't have to go. The bullet went through the guy's foot, ricocheted on a rock, and struck another trooper … an 18 year-old … killing him instantly. You never expect crap like that. It was impossible to anticipate the randomness and the raw cruelty of the war.

我在那里时经历的最蠢的事之一……我们正在挖掘夜间防御阵地，突然一个极度紧张的新兵蛋子把他的M-16步枪的整个弹匣都射进了自己的散兵坑，而那个散兵坑离我挖掘防御阵地的地方很近。刚开始还以为是遭到了袭击，谁知这货大喊“蛇！蛇！”可结果那只是一条虫子，一条大虫子。由于枪声暴露了我们的位置，我们不得不跋涉到了大约一英里外的另一个夜间阵地，所有人都很生气。还有一次，我们正准备出去巡逻，队伍里一个爱抱怨的人开枪射击了自己的脚，（原因极其可笑）只是为了不用参加巡逻。子弹穿过他的脚面，撞到石头上反弹，击中了另一名士兵——一个18岁的年轻人，当场就把他打死了。战争的随机性和赤裸裸的残酷性让你根本无法预料（战场上）会发生什么破事。

Chuck Wehrle Former Long-range Strategic Planning (1970–2001)
查克·韦勒 前远程战略规划人员（1970-2001年任职）

I served in Vietnam from 2/68–2/69. I was an Infantry Platoon Leader. I’m sure you’ve heard many tales of fighting, so I will not regale you with more. Much of the time was not spent in actual combat. There were long periods of boredom. Much of it was funny. One day we were active in the rice patties. A few rounds came from a wood line. We had no idea where. We shot a few rounds at nothing in particular and received a few rounds. We were laying in muddy water and it was hot. Two young boys,11–12 years old rode up on their bikes. Attached to their bikes were artillery styrofoam shipping containers, hollowed out and filled with ice, beer and soda, which they were selling. Neither we nor whoever was shooting at us wanted to harm the boys. We’d call down the line and asked who wanted a beer or soda. We’d pay for what we wanted but both sides stopped shooting while the kids did their thing. I thought to myself this is not how a war should be fought. Now I think maybe is how it should be fought.

我于1968年2月至1969年2月在越南服役，当时是步兵排长。我相信你已经听过很多战斗故事了，这里我就不多讲了。
大部分时间我们并没有参与实际战斗，而是长时间处于无聊之中，不过也有很多有趣的事。有一天我们在稻田里行动，几发子弹从树林边缘射来，我们根本不知道子弹来自哪里。我们随意还击了几发，对方也回射了几发。当时天气炎热，我们趴在浑浊的水里。这时两个11到12岁的小男孩骑着自行车过来了，他们的自行车上挂着掏空的炮兵泡沫塑料运输箱，里面装满了冰、啤酒和汽水，他们是来卖东西的。双方的士兵都不想伤害这两个男孩，我们顺着队伍问谁想买啤酒或汽水，随后付钱买下自己想要的东西，在孩子们做生意的时候，双方都停止了射击。
当时的我心里想，战争不该是这样打的，但现在我觉得，或许战争就该这样打吧。

Woody Mitchell Vietnam Vet (Purple Heart, CIB, Airborne) Upvoted by Joseph Gioia, studied at Vietnam Veterans (1967)
伍迪·米切尔 越南战争老兵（紫心勋章、战斗步兵徽章、空降兵资格） 获约瑟夫·焦亚点赞，就读于越南退伍军人学校（1967年）

Getting ambushed my first day in the field. I was assigned to the 1st Cav and had one night in base camp to get drunk before we boarded choppers for the next day’s mission, Operation Crazy Horse , in what we called Happy Valley (Suoi Ca/Vinh Thahn in the Central Highlands, not to be confused with the Marines’ Happy Valley further north near Danang). We were skirting a ridge in heavy rainforest when all hell broke loose — a VC battalion was waiting for us and rained a devastating ambush on our company. Outgunned and woefully outmanned, we retreated into a draw where we were sitting ducks for their snipers. My platoon leader and squad leader were both killed, and we took 50% casualties. Due to the triple canopy jungle, choppers were no good, and we ended up wading down a creek overnight and into the next day to an LZ where we could be extracted. Unexpected? Yeah, we were told it would just be a walk in the woods to shoo the pesky guerrillas away. Turned out the VC had evidently anticipated our movement and deployed a regiment with NVA officers and at least one Chinese adviser (found his body). So that was Day One. It never got much better.


我到战场上的第一天就遭遇了伏击。我被分配到第一骑兵师，在基地营里待了一晚，喝得酩酊大醉，然后登上直升机执行第二天的“疯马行动”任务，行动地点在我们称为“欢乐谷”的地方（位于中部高地的绥卡/永善地区，别与更靠北、靠近岘港的海军陆战队“欢乐谷”混淆）。我们正在茂密的雨林中沿着山脊行进，突然一切都乱了套——一支早已埋伏在那里的越共营队对我们连发动了毁灭性的伏击。我们火力不足，人员也处于劣势，只能撤退到一个峡谷里，结果在那儿成了狙击手的活靶子。我的排长和班长都阵亡了，伤亡率达到了50%。由于雨林树木层层叠叠，直升机无法开展救援，我们最终只能沿着一条小溪涉水前行，从当晚一直走到第二天，才到达一个可以撤离的着陆区。意外吗？当然，毕竟出发前我们被告知说这只是一次树林里的轻松行动，只需把讨厌的游击队赶走就行。结果很明显，越共早已预判了我们的动向，部署了一个团的兵力，其中有北越军官，还有至少一名中国顾问（我们找到了他的尸体）。这就是我的第一天，之后的情况也没好转过。

Leslie Smith Former Retired, 43 Years as Helicopter Pilot ATP CFI,CFII
莱斯利·史密斯 前退休人员，拥有43年直升机飞行员经验，持有ATP、CFI、CFII执照

Prior to going to Vietnam I had never seen a dead person or even someone seriously injured. I like most westerners I got that kind of “information” from movies, where one bullet, arrow, one knife stab, and you were dead immediately. I flew 956 DustOff (medical evacuation) missions and saw thousands of wounded. I was flabbergasted how much punishment the human body can take and still function, at least for a while. Death may come eventually but it is not normally fast. In general humans fight for every moment of life, particularly if they are involved in a struggle. At the same time that the overwhelming majority of people fight for every moment of life there is a small percentage that give up their life with and over somewhat minor injuries. I found it very puzzling.

去越南之前，我从未见过死人，甚至连重伤的人都没见过。和大多数西方人一样，我从电影里获得了那种“认知”——中一枪、中一箭或被刺一刀，人就会立刻死亡。我执行了956次“尘埃落定”医疗疏散任务，见过成千上万的伤员。我震惊于人体竟然能承受如此大的伤害还能维持机能，或者说至少能维持一段时间。或许死亡最终会来，但通常不会来得那么快。总的来说，人类会为生命的每一刻而抗争，尤其是在身处困境的时候。但与此同时，当绝大多数人为生命抗争的时候，却有一小部分人会因为一些相对轻微的小伤势就放弃生命，这让我感到非常困惑。

Harold Pierce Former Retired Military
哈罗德·皮尔斯 前退休军人

In my case I remember three instances that stand out, however there were numerous other ones. First instance was on a cease fire day, and I was on perimeter guard. For whatever reason, the mess hall had gone out of its way to make us a real meal. Anyway, we were sitting outside the bunker to chow down and suddenly, I had a bullet zipping by my ear. An inch more to the left and it would have been my head. The idiot across from me had a chambered round and safety off and he pulled the trigger. The second instance I was in base camp again and placed on perimeter duty (another cease fire day). This time we got a call from another bunker. We had just received the new baseball grenades to replace the pineapple grenades. The soldiers called us because they had decided to play with them. They had removed the safety wire and the pin. They had lost the pin and wanted to know what to do with the live grenade. The sergeant of guard told them to throw it. They did, but they threw it where some children were playing. Luckily, it fell short of them and didn’t hurt anybody. The third instance was a soldier on guard duty was playing with a M79 grenade launcher and blew himself up.

战场上发生了很多事，不过有三件事让我记得特别清楚。第一件事发生在停火日，我当时担任外围警戒。忘了具体什么原因了，食堂那天特意为我们做了一顿丰盛的饭菜，我们坐在掩体外正吃着饭，突然有一颗子弹从我耳边呼啸而过，再往左偏一英寸就会打中我的头。我一瞅，竟然是对面那个白痴把枪上膛后没开保险扣动了扳机。第二次，我又回到了大本营，在周边值勤站岗（又是一个停火日）。这次我们接到了另一个掩体的电话，说我们刚收到一批新的棒球形手榴弹，用来替换菠萝形手榴弹。那些士兵打电话给我们是因为他们居然打算把玩这些手榴弹，他们拔掉了安全线和保险销后又把保险销弄丢了，不知道该怎么处理这枚实弹的（没了保险销的）手榴弹。守卫中士让他们把它扔掉，他们照做了，可却把它扔到了一群正在玩耍的孩子旁边……幸运的是没人受伤。第三件事是一个站岗的士兵在把玩M79榴弹发射器时，把自己炸死了。

Martin Schuster USMC
马丁·舒斯特 美国海军陆战队成员

USMC- 1966–1967. Marines that came from the States, even as PFC’s or L/CPL’s, learned quickly about how to survive in Vietnam. About 2/3 rds into my tour of duty, some asshole Staff SGT relieves our existing Staff SGT and knows it all and arrogant as hell. Up by the DMZ and time to set in for the night. He picks a nice level spot in a valley, surrounded by trees and jungle. A perfect spot for the gooks to hit us with mortars or rockets. I tell him and he tells me to fuck off. I just knew we would be hit that night and dug my hole by the tree line, some distance away and settled in for the night. I assume he knew what I was doing but never forced me to dig my foxhole with the others. Bigger than shit, we got hit that night and the SOB forced me out of my hole and jumped in, while I had to lay on the naked ground. Morning came and the bastard was still there and stayed there a very long time. There is a blank in my memory and I don’t remember if Marines were killed or wounded that night or how we resolved our conflict. I just know I am still pissed 53 years later. So, what really surprised me was why a Staff SGT, that had been sitting on his ass in the States, would not listen to an experienced lesser grade Marine, that had been in country 7 or 8 months.

我于1966年至1967年在美国海军陆战队服役。美国来的海军陆战队士兵，即使是一等兵或下士也能很快学会在越南如何生存。在我的服役期快到三分之二时，一个混蛋上士接替了我们原来的上士长官，他自以为是，而且无知傲慢。当时我们在非军事区附近正准备过夜，他却选了山谷里一个平坦的地方当宿营地，那地方周围都是树木和丛林，简直就是越共用迫击炮或火箭弹攻击我们的完美地点。我好心提醒他，他却让我滚蛋？！
当时我就知道那晚上我们肯定会遭到袭击，于是在离战线有一定距离的树林边挖了个散兵坑，准备在那儿过夜。我想他知道我正在做什么，但他并没有逼着我把散兵坑挖的挨着其他人（任由我挖在树林旁）。
果不其然，当晚上我们遭到了袭击，那个狗娘养的把我从我的散兵坑里赶出来，随后自己跳了进去！而我只能躺在光秃秃的地面上。第二天早上时，那混蛋还在里面，而且待了很长时间。
我对那段记忆有些空白，不记得那晚有没有陆战队员士兵伤亡，也不记得我们后来是怎么解决冲突的。我只知道，53年后的我仍然非常愤怒。
所以，真正让我惊讶的是，一个在美国无所事事的上士，为什么不愿意听从一个已经在越南待了七八个月、有丰富经验的下级海军陆战队士兵的建议。

Ray Coe Tank Drver & Cmndr. with 3 Cavalry units in Vietnam in 70-71
雷·科 1970-1971年在越南三个骑兵部队担任坦克驾驶员及指挥官

Interesting question. After I had been there a couple of months I was sent out on a night ambush. Because the mission was called for late in the day, we were taken out on APCs. We were very nervous about it because the enemy could hear the diesel engines and have a better chance to find us. By accident or design they found us- with a mine that blew up the APC I was on. I will skip the long story that goes with this, but that explosion was certainly unexpected. The next morning we were sent out to recover the track. We knew it would be booby trapped, so they sent in a dog team. This was to be their last mission! Unfortunately this one they did not survive. The explosion had me jumping up on the top of the track to see what happened. Just as I stood up, I felt a hot flash go through my hair and then I heard the shot of the sniper. (Bullets are faster than sound) I ducked and thanked God again for saving me. There are a lot of other ones. I put them all in a book. One of these days I will publish it.

这个问题很有意思。我到那里几个月后被派去执行一次夜间伏击任务。因为任务是在当天晚些时候下达的，所以决定乘装甲运兵车出发。对此我们非常紧张，因为敌人能通过柴油发动机的声音，更容易发现我们。不知是巧合还是有意，他们找到了我们——一颗地雷炸毁了我乘坐的装甲运兵车，后面的漫长故事我就不细说了，但那次爆炸确实完全出乎我们意料。第二天早上，我们被派去回收那辆装甲运兵车，我知道它肯定被设置了饵雷，所以派了一支军犬队过去，而这成了它们的最后一次任务！不幸的是，它们没能活下来。爆炸声让我跳到了装甲运兵车顶部，想看看发生了什么，就在站起来的当口，我感觉到一阵热浪掠过发丝，然后才听到狙击手的枪声（子弹的速度比声音快）。我立刻蹲下，感谢上帝，它再次救了我。这样的事情还有很多，我都写进了一本书里，总有一天我会把它全部出版出来（让人们看到）。