Critters

[frisco-kid]

Vietnam, being a tropical country, had a large variety of animals. From mosquitoes to Asian elephants. As anywhere, the insect world was the most represented. Mosquitoes were prevalent, but not as bad in the Central Highlands. These carried several diseases transferable to humans, the most common being Malaria and Dengue Fever. We were given Malaria pills [sometimes]. I saw several cases of Malaria. Had one guy in my company die of it. I came down with Dengue Fever. Many of the bugs were HUGE. The cockroaches were 2-4in.; there were centipedes and milipeds that were 6-8in.. You would have to check your boots and clothes for scorpions before puting them on. There were many different spiders, many of them poisonous I'm sure. Leeches were quite common and disgusting. Once gorged with your blood, they could be bigger than your thumb. It was amazing where they could make their way; your crotch or an arm pit. There were ants, both red and black, big enough to to draw blood with their bite. These could be especially bothersome when you were trying to be silent and still on an ambush.

There were plenty of reptiles, several of them deadly. I saw several cobras, the largest being about an 8 footer. A guy in my squad grabbed one by the tail, not knowing what it was, as it tried to escape amongst some boulders. He was surprised and scared as hell when he hauls out about a 5ft. cobra. And it was PISSED. It reared up with it's hood flared just daring somebody to move. Finally, another guy gained his wits enough to blow it away with a shotgun. Another snake was the bamboo viper. This was also called a 2 Step, because it was said that's about how many you would take before you were dead from it's bite. There were also pythons. One of the icons of the Vietnam bush were the Fuck You Lizards. These were heavy bodied lizards about a foot or more in length. They got their name from the noise [call] that they made. I'm not making this up.

Another critter that is in the memories of many Viet Vets are the rats. Some of these were as big as cats. These guys were everywhere. From out in the bush to living in your bunker or hootch with you. They were often quite bold, too. It wasn't uncommon to see Vietnamese kids or babies with part of a nose or an ear nibbled off by these big buggers.

I saw several types of monkeys in the trees. Also fruit bats as they hung upside down sleeping in the trees. These were about the size of a small terrier, with a 5-6ft. wing span.

Although I never saw one, thank God, there were tigers. I did see some paw prints once. There are a few documented incidents of soldiers being attacked and dragged off by tigers. I don't know if any were killed. This is where Tiger Force, the recon platoon for 1/327 of the 101st, got it's name. Not long after they got in-country, one of their members was attacked by a tiger.

So it wasn't just Charlie that we had to watchout for, but most of the critters and creepy-crawlies, also. Not to mention the weather [one trooper in my company died of heat stroke] and the terrain [a trooper in another company drowned while crossing a river]. No, not a very hospitable place.

[phuloi]

Of all the afore mentioned fauna,I`d have to say the red ants gave me the most problem.They nested in trees.We knocked em down-ants and all.What a freakin nightmare! Those little rascals could definately bite.
The next most troublesome dastardly denizen to me had to be those huge bastard rats.I think they grew a little bigger down south,Tom-more the size of a small dog.
Then snakes.ANY SNAKES.Hated them all.Had one confirmed kill on a cobra myself.
Got a nasty spider bite one night while sleeping.Bit me on the upper lip and it swelled up to the size of a grapefruit and turned all purple.
Another night I woke up with one of those great big bats crawling up my chest.
A Darwinian paradise,for sure...

[splummer]

I mostley remember the mosquetos and rats. We seldom had insect repellent so we rubed disel fuel from our fuel tanks on our skin. It worked ok, but probably wasn't a good idea. I saw a rat the size of a big cat crawl out from uderneath a sand bag on the perimeter one night. I wanted to shoot it real bad but every one was so jumpy during tet 68 by Hue, I was afraid one shot would get everyone firing every where. I had a dream one night that a rat crawed across my chest. The next night, I was awake, and it wasn't a dream. [I really never have wanted to go back to V.] I still sleep with the covers pulled over my head at night.

[frisco-kid]

A couple of weeks after arriving in the Central Highlands NW of Kontum, we move into an area that was an abandoned ARVN artillery firebase. We're told that we're going to run Search and Destroy patrols from here for at least several days, so to get comfortable. The site already has a well cleared perimeter, so will be easy to secure and defend. As the arty unit pulled out they had blown all of the bunkers, so we had to dig fighting holes to live in for the time that we would be there.

As everybody sets to digging their holes and getting them as comfortable as possible, a buddy and myself find a blown bunker that hasn't been completely destroyed. We decide to put our energy into trying to make this livable, and we spend most of the afternoon doing so. After some sandbag repair and getting some from other places, and using our shelter halves as part of the roof, we have a pretty nice set-up. Something that we can get ourselves and all of our gear into, and stay pretty much dry. Good thing, because it starts to rain that afternoon.

Sometime around midnight, I come off of perimeter guard and settle into our bunker for the rest of the night. I'm beat. It seems like I had just got to sleep when I'm awakened by my buddy thrashing around and cussing. I strike my Zippo and ask, "What the Hell's the matter?"

"RATS," he replies, and his eyes are as big as golf balls. He says that a weight on his chest woke him up and when he went to feel what it was, he latched on to a "BIG ASSED RAT!"
"I'm outta here," he says. "Where there's one, there's more."

Having a real aversion to rats, I agree. We move our gear out of the bunker into the light rain that's falling. I grab the shelter halves so we have something to keep us dry. Before I know what's happening, my buddy says "FUCKERS," and rolls a grenade into the bunker!

Well, all Hell breaks loose! The whole perimeter starts firing towards the treeline. Some hand flares go up, and somebody blows some Claymores. It's several minutes before they realize that nobody is shooting back. After things settle down, my buddy and I decide to move back into the bunker. The grenade didn't damage it too bad.

About 10 minutes later the CO shows up, and he's pissed!
"What are you two dumbshits doing?", he yells.

My buddy speaks right up and says, "It was me. I was killing rats, Sir."

"RATS! RATS!," he yells almost maniacly. Then he commences to give us what was probably the worst ass-chewing that I ever received in the Army. He ends it by telling my buddy that he's going to give him an Article 15. We quietly laugh at each other after he leaves. What're they gonna do, send us to Vietnam? We're not bothered by any more rats.

About four days later we leave the old firebase for a Christmas stand down near the city of Kontum. My buddy never gets the Article 15. He's killed in an ambush 31DEC66. He was 21 years old.

[Andy]

About 2 months after leaving my Mech Infantry unit they were on patrol north west of Tay Ninh. The 20 APC's were in a single line formation, busting through the jungle, trying to make it to a large clearing by noon. As they progressed the lead vehicle ran over a small tree that had a red ant nest in it. The nest fell out of the tree and onto the deck of the vehicle. Two men were seriously injured by the ants. My good friend Dennis Duffy was an E-6 and OIC of 3rd platoon. When the old man called to find out what the hold up was Duff radioed that his lead vehicle was under attack by red ants.

The CO did not want to wait and ordered 2nd platoon to swing around 3rd and lead the company. About 15 minutes later 2nd platoon broke into the clearing. Less than a minute later lots of AK's and a couple of RPG's opened up on 2nd platoon. They suffered two damaged APC's and two destroyed. At least half the men were KIA or WIA. Duff still says those red ants saved his life.

By the way, no one has mentioned the bitting flies, sort of a Vietnam version of deer flies. I didn't like them either.

While spending time in the Hobo Woods we would often stop for lunch and a few of us would sit together on the floor of the jungle and open some C's. It seemed that almost everyday someone would observe a thing with lots of legs crawling on his leg or boot and ask, "What the hell is that"? No one ever had an answer.

Stay healthy,
Andy

[Robert Ryan]

Got bit by rat in Dak To, man I had to go through the rabies series, since I did catch or kill the damn thing, it bit me behind my leg, little b a s t a r d. That rabies series was no fun, I kid you not.