A serious question for VFW's.

[Polishprince]

In the last 50 years, where was the worst place
on the planet to be stationed ?

The obvious assumption would be Vietnam, going by the loss of 60,000 + troops, with Iraq being a close second, but there are some pretty unpleasant-looking 'hot zones' in Africa and other places too.

My brother is a Marine veteran retired in Hawaii ( Persian Gulf War 1),
but I've never been in.

This is a dispute you'll never resolve. Veterans I know who served in Newfoundland or the Ardennes during WW2 complained about the freezing cold and snow.

Those who were in New Guinea, the Philippine Republic and other tropical locations ***** about heat and mosquitos.

One thing is certain, everyone thinks that where they are is worse that where the other fellows are.

 

[harmonica]

In the last 50 years, where was the worst place
on the planet to be stationed ?

The obvious assumption would be Vietnam, going by the loss of 60,000 + troops, with Iraq being a close second, but there are some pretty unpleasant-looking 'hot zones' in Africa and other places too.

My brother is a Marine veteran retired in Hawaii ( Persian Gulf War 1),
but I've never been in.

This is a dispute you'll never resolve. Veterans I know who served in Newfoundland or the Ardennes during WW2 complained about the freezing cold and snow.

Those who were in New Guinea, the Philippine Republic and other tropical locations ***** about heat and mosquitos.

One thing is certain, everyone thinks that where they are is worse that where the other fellows are.

Chosin Korea was much, much colder--30 below

 

[JGalt]

My dad was in South Korea, mainly in 1951. The way he described it was unbearably cold, terrible food (what there was of it), and of course the seven months of grueling combat. Dad sold all the free stuff the Army gave soldiers (cigarettes, condoms) to his comrades saved his money and spent it in Japan whenever he hightailed it there on liberty.

well--cold???? sure if you think 30 BELOW zero is cold!!!! --and that's not wind chill ....my dad was at the Chosin
I would say the Chosin was hell:
-30 BELOW zero
-'''surrounded'''/cut off by about ten times the USMC strength
-hilly/icy/snowy/terrain
-basically, only one MSR [ Main Supply Route ]
-hard to get food/water/machines working/etc with that weather
-the Chinese did a lot of night attacks
..my dad got ''lucky''--shot in the leg--flown out of Hagaru-ri, if I remember correctly

Korea was a logistical nightmare. We went into it with the same equipment we used in WW2, which was woefully inadequate for the low temperature. I have a Korean War era field jacket and even though the liner is made of wool, it's not warm. Many of the officers carried the M1 carbine too. That little 110 grain bullet plodding along at 1800 fps had no penetration against the heavy padded clothing the Chinks were wearing. Of the Korean War veterans I've talked to, they all said how miserable that place was.

 

[Dayton3]

My dad was in South Korea, mainly in 1951. The way he described it was unbearably cold, terrible food (what there was of it), and of course the seven months of grueling combat. Dad sold all the free stuff the Army gave soldiers (cigarettes, condoms) to his comrades saved his money and spent it in Japan whenever he hightailed it there on liberty.

well--cold???? sure if you think 30 BELOW zero is cold!!!! --and that's not wind chill ....my dad was at the Chosin
I would say the Chosin was hell:
-30 BELOW zero
-'''surrounded'''/cut off by about ten times the USMC strength
-hilly/icy/snowy/terrain
-basically, only one MSR [ Main Supply Route ]
-hard to get food/water/machines working/etc with that weather
-the Chinese did a lot of night attacks
..my dad got ''lucky''--shot in the leg--flown out of Hagaru-ri, if I remember correctly

Korea was a logistical nightmare. We went into it with the same equipment we used in WW2, which was woefully inadequate for the low temperature. I have a Korean War era field jacket and even though the liner is made of wool, it's not warm. Many of the officers carried the M1 carbine too. That little 110 grain bullet plodding along at 1800 fps had no penetration against the heavy padded clothing the Chinks were wearing. Of the Korean War veterans I've talked to, they all said how miserable that place was.

My dad's unit towed their 155 mm howitzers with artillery tractors that were introduced in World War Two. Though in defense of the U.S. Army WW2 had only ended five years before.

 

[Sunni Man]

Fort Polk in Lousiana.
Constantly raining, swamps, mud, bugs, snakes, gators, hoards of mosquitos, brutal heat and humidity.
Have to drive an hour away to reach civilization for shopping and entertainment. ....

 

[bodecea]

Worst place or most dangerous place?....most dangerous of course Afghanistan or Iraq 5 years ago....worst place...the Philippines....

Worse place Philippines for female members.

 

[harmonica]

My dad was in South Korea, mainly in 1951. The way he described it was unbearably cold, terrible food (what there was of it), and of course the seven months of grueling combat. Dad sold all the free stuff the Army gave soldiers (cigarettes, condoms) to his comrades saved his money and spent it in Japan whenever he hightailed it there on liberty.

well--cold???? sure if you think 30 BELOW zero is cold!!!! --and that's not wind chill ....my dad was at the Chosin
I would say the Chosin was hell:
-30 BELOW zero
-'''surrounded'''/cut off by about ten times the USMC strength
-hilly/icy/snowy/terrain
-basically, only one MSR [ Main Supply Route ]
-hard to get food/water/machines working/etc with that weather
-the Chinese did a lot of night attacks
..my dad got ''lucky''--shot in the leg--flown out of Hagaru-ri, if I remember correctly

Korea was a logistical nightmare. We went into it with the same equipment we used in WW2, which was woefully inadequate for the low temperature. I have a Korean War era field jacket and even though the liner is made of wool, it's not warm. Many of the officers carried the M1 carbine too. That little 110 grain bullet plodding along at 1800 fps had no penetration against the heavy padded clothing the Chinks were wearing. Of the Korean War veterans I've talked to, they all said how miserable that place was.

but the USMC decimated the Chinese at the Chosin ..and the Chinese outnumbered them.....and the MSR was easily cut--which it was ..the terrain was good for the Chinese to cut off the US forces

 

[Concerned American]

Worst place or most dangerous place?....most dangerous of course Afghanistan or Iraq 5 years ago....worst place...the Philippines....

I think the veterans who survived Tet 68, Hue, or Hill 13 would probably disagree with your assessment.

 

[Concerned American]

the general feeling of the place was one of utter hopelessness set to the backdrop of a geographical paradise amid bombed out ghettos and unimaginable poverty

Seems common, those were my sentiments re: Vietnam in 1970.

 

[Concerned American]

My dad was in South Korea, mainly in 1951. The way he described it was unbearably cold, terrible food (what there was of it), and of course the seven months of grueling combat. Dad sold all the free stuff the Army gave soldiers (cigarettes, condoms) to his comrades saved his money and spent it in Japan whenever he hightailed it there on liberty.

well--cold???? sure if you think 30 BELOW zero is cold!!!! --and that's not wind chill ....my dad was at the Chosin
I would say the Chosin was hell:
-30 BELOW zero
-'''surrounded'''/cut off by about ten times the USMC strength
-hilly/icy/snowy/terrain
-basically, only one MSR [ Main Supply Route ]
-hard to get food/water/machines working/etc with that weather
-the Chinese did a lot of night attacks
..my dad got ''lucky''--shot in the leg--flown out of Hagaru-ri, if I remember correctly

And the clothing and equipment that was issued to those great soldiers and Marines was not nearly up to the task of -30 temps. It is a wonder that more of our GI's did not succumb to the cold.

 

[harmonica]

My dad was in South Korea, mainly in 1951. The way he described it was unbearably cold, terrible food (what there was of it), and of course the seven months of grueling combat. Dad sold all the free stuff the Army gave soldiers (cigarettes, condoms) to his comrades saved his money and spent it in Japan whenever he hightailed it there on liberty.

well--cold???? sure if you think 30 BELOW zero is cold!!!! --and that's not wind chill ....my dad was at the Chosin
I would say the Chosin was hell:
-30 BELOW zero
-'''surrounded'''/cut off by about ten times the USMC strength
-hilly/icy/snowy/terrain
-basically, only one MSR [ Main Supply Route ]
-hard to get food/water/machines working/etc with that weather
-the Chinese did a lot of night attacks
..my dad got ''lucky''--shot in the leg--flown out of Hagaru-ri, if I remember correctly

And the clothing and equipment that was issued to those great soldiers and Marines was not nearly up to the task of -30 temps. It is a wonder that more of our GI's did not succumb to the cold.

..my dad had his parka---but I barely remembered that we ''tore'' it up somehow

 

[Flash]

I've been to Vietnam and Ft Polk.

Vietnam of course gets the top honors but damn, Ft Polk is close behind. If people were shooting at you at Ft Polk it would definitely beat out Vietnam.

 

[9thIDdoc]

In the last 50 years, where was the worst place
on the planet to be stationed ?

The obvious assumption would be Vietnam, going by the loss of 60,000 + troops, with Iraq being a close second, but there are some pretty unpleasant-looking places in Africa and other places too.

My brother is a Marine veteran retired in Hawaii ( Persian Gulf War 1),
but I've never been in.

If you're being shot at or blown up, I'd say they are all the same, it's kinda like saying "would you like to be buried up to your neck in shit or buried up to your neck in shit, but you get a cup of coffee. Which is better. LOL

Maybe I should have rephrased it more like if you were in the US Military where's the worst place I could send you ? What's the greasiest, most unbearable s h it hole you could think of being sent to right now ?

Seems to me that will be the place they hate us most.

San Francisco. After being stationed there Vietnam was fun and games.

 

[Flash]

In the last 50 years, where was the worst place
on the planet to be stationed ?

The obvious assumption would be Vietnam, going by the loss of 60,000 + troops, with Iraq being a close second, but there are some pretty unpleasant-looking places in Africa and other places too.

My brother is a Marine veteran retired in Hawaii ( Persian Gulf War 1),
but I've never been in.

If you're being shot at or blown up, I'd say they are all the same, it's kinda like saying "would you like to be buried up to your neck in shit or buried up to your neck in shit, but you get a cup of coffee. Which is better. LOL

Maybe I should have rephrased it more like if you were in the US Military where's the worst place I could send you ? What's the greasiest, most unbearable s h it hole you could think of being sent to right now ?

Seems to me that will be the place they hate us most.

San Francisco. After being stationed there Vietnam was fun and games.

You (9th ID) being stationed in the Delta saw the worse of that goddamn place.

I went there twice. I am still itching from the bug bites.

 

[Englewood]

except for the time-frame it was New Guinea.

 

[9thIDdoc]

except for the time-frame it was New Guinea.

Never been to New Guinea but the Delta seriously sucked in oh so many ways. The heat made you want to sleep uncovered but the skeeters would bleed you dry if you did assuming the leaches had left any remaining blood for them to get. Cobras on the ground. Bamboo vipers in the trees. Scorpions in your boots if you got to take them off. And rats bouncing on and off you if you tried to sleep. Uniforms and skin rotted in the constant wet and wrinkled up like you had spent a few years submerged in a bathtub. Not to mention unfriendly neighbors. Not on my recommended list of vacation spots.

 

[Vrenn]

Thule Air Force Base, Greenland.

Pituffik Space Base - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Sorry but Sondy, Greenland wins that one.

 

[Vrenn]

My dad was in South Korea, mainly in 1951. The way he described it was unbearably cold, terrible food (what there was of it), and of course the seven months of grueling combat. Dad sold all the free stuff the Army gave soldiers (cigarettes, condoms) to his comrades saved his money and spent it in Japan whenever he hightailed it there on liberty.

well--cold???? sure if you think 30 BELOW zero is cold!!!! --and that's not wind chill ....my dad was at the Chosin
I would say the Chosin was hell:
-30 BELOW zero
-'''surrounded'''/cut off by about ten times the USMC strength
-hilly/icy/snowy/terrain
-basically, only one MSR [ Main Supply Route ]
-hard to get food/water/machines working/etc with that weather
-the Chinese did a lot of night attacks
..my dad got ''lucky''--shot in the leg--flown out of Hagaru-ri, if I remember correctly

Korea was a logistical nightmare. We went into it with the same equipment we used in WW2, which was woefully inadequate for the low temperature. I have a Korean War era field jacket and even though the liner is made of wool, it's not warm. Many of the officers carried the M1 carbine too. That little 110 grain bullet plodding along at 1800 fps had no penetration against the heavy padded clothing the Chinks were wearing. Of the Korean War veterans I've talked to, they all said how miserable that place was.

During the push back, I would agree with you. Early Korea had to be the absolute worst.

 

[9thIDdoc]

 

[Vrenn]

View attachment 470687

I spent 5 days with an Army unit once. That was enough. It rained and rained and rained. I was so appreciative when my ride finally dropped in. I was cold, wet, hungry, hot, and just plain miserable. These guys did this for up to a year on a stretch. We dropped in on a Marine Detachment and saw that they weren't any better. It took me 2 weeks to recover from it. Go ahead, call me a ***** if you wish.