9 Weapons Grunts Carried in Vietnam That the Army Never Gave Them

Binh Duong Province, 1968. A platoon sergeant walks down the line before the helicopters come in, and half of what he sees never came out of any supply room. A Bowie knife mailed from Ohio. A sawed-off shotgun. A submachine gun from the last war. Nine weapons grunts carried in Vietnam that the Army never issued them: the knife from home, the pistol in the pocket, the shotgun, the cut-down M79, the weapons from the last war, the Swedish K, the CAR-15, the enemy's own AK-47, and the claymore in the rucksack. If you served, tell us what you carried that was not on the supply list. 0:00 Binh Duong Province, 1968 1:58 #9 The knife from home 3:35 #8 The pistol in the pocket 5:25 #7 The shotgun 7:01 #6 The cut-down grenade launcher 8:42 #5 The weapon from the last war 10:26 #4 The Swedish K 12:04 #3 The CAR-15 13:49 #2 The enemy's own rifle 15:36 #1 The claymore in the rucksack 16:53 Back to the line Sources: U.S. Army small arms histories; veterans' oral histories.