Vietnam vet prepares for modern warfare

[darrels joy]

Vietnam vet prepares for modern warfare

With a new wave of Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments on the horizon for Marines here, many of them will be operating in combat zones for the first time.

However, one Marine, Sgt. Maj. Joseph Kundrat, will be walking the sands in Iraq in the same fashion he patrolled the jungles in Vietnam 37 years ago.

Although now being on the opposite end of the rank structure and equipped with modern military gear, the Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3 sergeant major can still recall the initial training he received in 1967 when he joined the Marine Corps.

"When I went through boot camp it had been shortened from 12 weeks to eight weeks because of the big Vietnam push. After we graduated we were assigned to the Infantry Training Regiment in Camp Lejeune and then Staging Battalion in Camp Pendleton," he said.

While in Staging Battalion, Kundrat was issued his first M-16 rifle, a much different machine than the M-14 he was issued in boot camp. Along with this new piece of gear Kundrat received his combat issue full of weakened, out of date World War II era gear.

"The flacks and helmets were so worn down that bullets and shrapnel would go right through them," he said.

With gear in hand Kundrat deployed to Vietnam in 1967 to be a rifleman with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. After a year of combat duty in Vietnam, to include firefights in Khe Sahn, the Rock Pile and Dong Ha, he was medically evacuated with a case of malaria.

Kundrat left the fight as a corporal in 1968, and eventually the Marine Corps as a sergeant in 1970. After his discharge he served as a police officer in his hometown of Baltimore and was put into the Individual Ready Reserves.

After he completed his commitment to the IRR, Kundrat joined the Marine Corps Reserves in 1981 where he served his normal reserve duty until recently when he was activated to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Kundrat has seen changes in the Marine Corps one weekend at a time, and now when the Vietnam veteran steps onto the battle field he and his comrades will be clad in new interceptor flak jackets, kevlar helmets, M-16A2 service rifles and digital pattern camouflage - all a welcomed change.

"When the M-16 first came out they were having a lot of jamming problems with the ammunition," Kundrat reflected. "Now we don't have any problems like that and have the best gear and weapons out of any military in the world."

With different gear and different weapons, Kundrat knows he will face an enemy much different from the Vietnamese while in Iraq.

"In North Vietnam it was just us and them out in the jungle - there wasn't anyone else around. Sometimes the enemy would lay for days right alongside the road waiting to ambush you, they were probably the best enemy force ever," he said. "Now in Iraq there is a lot of guerilla warfare going on, much like there was in South Vietnam. The enemy now is very dedicated to their cause, and were brought up to hate Americans, but they are just as much soldiers as any other nation."

With the amount of guerilla and suicide attacks that have happened since OIF, Kundrat stated his mission just as any great leader would.

"I just want to make sure that all my Marines comes back alive," he said. "In Vietnam I learned that you can overcome anything, no matter how bad it gets. Everyone needs to just stay focused on the tasks they have."

Note: Submitted by: MCAS Miramar Story by Cpl. Jeff Zaccaro MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif.

Sgt. Major Joseph Kundrat, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3 sergeant major, spends some rare quality time with his father during the Vietnam War. Kundrat, a Baltimore native, was deployed to Vietnam with 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment in 1967 and will soon deploy to Iraq in support of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Operations. Photo by: Courtesy of Sgt. Maj. Joseph Kundrat