9 Things American Grunts Had in Vietnam That Australian Soldiers Envied

Australians traded their slouch hats for American jungle boots, wanted the poncho liner, the peaches and the PX, handed the American rifle to the man in front, and watched almost 300,000 Americans take their R and R in Sydney. In the early years, the helicopter that came for a wounded Australian was often American, and at Long Tan some of the guns were too. The envy ran both ways. Chapters: 0:00 A slouch hat for a pair of boots 1:37 The jungle boots 3:34 The poncho liner 4:58 Peaches, pound cake and cigarettes 6:24 The PX and Vung Tau 7:49 The rifle the scouts carried 9:27 The pay, and a week in Sydney 10:54 The helicopter that came with a medic 13:11 The guns on call 14:40 More of everything 16:17 What the Americans envied back 17:02 Allies, trades and two lotteries 18:27 Back at Bien Hoa Your turn: what did you trade with the Australians or the Americans in Vietnam, and what did you get for it? Unit, place and year, one line is enough. Sources: - Australian War Memorial collection (US jungle boots and ERDL poncho liner used by Australians in Vietnam; AB/TS and GP boots) - RAAF / Air Force History, RAAF helicopter operations in Vietnam; Anzac Portal, No 9 Squadron - Anzac Portal and Dixon & Piccini, Australian Historical Studies (2022), Americans on R&R in Sydney 1967-1971 - 5RAR Association, Australian infantry weapons in the Vietnam War - Ian McNeill, To Long Tan (Allen & Unwin, 1993) #VietnamWar #VietnamVeterans #Australia