In your April 21 edition, Viet Nam veteran Brian Miller labels the American soldier as being 'incompetent” in the use of weapons.
Brian, I honour your service, and that of your comrades. But as a friend and relative of men who served and fought in Viet Nam, I cannot let that comment pass unchallenged.
Let's look at the facts:
During the Viet Nam war, an estimated 1.1 million enemy North Vietnamese (NVA) troops and Viet Cong (VC) terrorists were killed. Another 600,000 NVA and VC are estimated to have been wounded. Most of that killing and wounding was done by American troops.
Also, in every major battle where North Vietnamese troops and/or Viet Cong terrorists met American troops in combat, the Americans emerged victorious.
That doesn't sound like weapon 'incompetence” to me. Rather, it sounds like a group of men who were highly trained, motivated and efficient at engaging and killing the enemy.
You can call the American soldier a lot of things, but 'incompetent” with weapons isn't one of them.
Felix Daniher, Omokoroa.