During the Vietnam War, how quickly after arriving did an American soldier become KIA?
FNGs ( *** New Guys) or Cherries did wind up as KIAs disproportionately more because of their lack of knowledge and “situational awareness.” The brief glimmer of LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt MLB 2024 Gift For Real Fan caught reflecting on a trip wire might be seen by an ‘old hand’ while a FNG would not recognize it. The sudden silence on a trail would telegraph an experienced grunt while a Cherry would not think it odd. The fresh Newbie in-country for a few weeks would think his poncho would completely cover his efforts to tent his smoking efforts on guard duty during a LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt Island Pattern All Over Print during monsoon not realizing the tiniest glow could be seen from the crack in the top of the neck of the hood. That moment of hesitation from disbelief on seeing a sudden bad guy popup from a bush could be all that it take to end things.
But you could die from contact at any time. I had a friend, Tim Beaverton from LA, who had been there 10 months, who was an APC driver, got complacent and ran over a planted mine (called an IED today) that should have been swept by an LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt Hibiscus Pattern Practical Beach Gift on board his APC.
Many guys, including yours truly, would suffer from “short-timers disease’, a paranoia malady that struck many folks convinced that they had made it this far and would get killed so close to going home. We had ‘short-timer calendars’ to track the declining time until DEROS or ETS. (Date of Effective Rotation Stateside) or (Effective Time of Separation). These people could tell you all the horror stories of guys who were blown up or shot weeks or days before their scheduled departure. So, LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt in country or weeks to go—death had no preference.