But do you know any frontline infantrymen?

Everyone reading this probably has someone in the military, did have, or knows someone who has been in the military.

But do you know any frontline infantrymen? Probably not; not many people do.

In the Civil War, there was one support troop for every 10 infantry soldiers. In World War I, that figure increased to three – the same figure for World War II. Then came the Korean War and I don’t know those figures, but in Vietnam, it greatly increased to six or seven. But if you include all the upper echelon, then in Saigon, which was heavy in officers and enlisted support, the number increased to about 10 for one combatant. The real combatants were the infantry companies with a full strength of 169 men.

Then there were people like me. I was the quartermaster supply officer of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam, and dealt mostly with food and clothing. At the start, as a captain, I went to Saigon to meet with another captain for food supplies, when I left, I was dealing with a general, a couple of colonels and a lot of other officers. Their staff absolutely ballooned. The term is staff heavy.

Most of the people then in Vietnam were just like being stationed at Fairchild AFB in Spokane. The never saw combat, never saw combat, the dead soldiers, nothing, nada.

Only the people in actual infantry divisions experienced these things. Will follow up with combat support.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the 1st Infantry Division, and is business owner in Priest River.