Vietnam era. How dangerous was service in Germany?

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Some things we remember, many things we forget. 65-68 I was in Germany. April 67 I made E5, big deal.  I was in 1/36 artillery, 35th Arty group, 7 corps arty, 7 corps, 7 army, usareur.

 

During the the summer we had some events that I remember. There was a gasthaus across the street from the barracks in Neu Ulm. I visited it often, 3 beers and a schnitzel sandwich.  Sometimes I would skip the sandwich because my weight was going up. A PFC was killed crossing the street, by a drunk driver.  I didn’t know the kid.

 

A later event, a wire team was on a training exercise stringing wire, the squad leader had said lookout for overhead power lines. A pfc did not hear that and was pulling up his wire.  300,000 volts hit him. Went through his body and put three big burns through his foot into the nails in his boots. Didn’t know him either. He was immediately sent to Burke (?) gen hospital that handles burn victims.

 

A sgt E5 in another battalion was returning to his barracks after an evening at the NCO club, fell, fractured his skull, got to his barracks, died in his bunk.

 

Another sgt E5 returned to his barracks, intoxicated and died after choking on his vomit.

 

 

i know that compared to the crap that went on in Nam this is piddly crap.

 

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

Being in the military in one of the combat arms contains a particle of risk, be it overseas or in the states. Heavy equipment, big guns, little guns, explosives, pointy things, parachuting, scuba diving, generators, barb wire, mountain climbing, missles, planes, depth charges, trucks, atvs, helicopters, etc, etc. 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Life and death are random, no matter the occupation or circumstances. 

[Widder, SASS #59054]

I was in Morocco from 69-71.

 

During the summer, there is a 'special season' where a desert wind blows inland and temps

range from 90-125 everyday for about a month.   Its called 'Sorrocs'.

 

Anyhow, the most dangerous place to be after your work hours is standing idle in front

of the cold beer machine.    You're liable to be trampled..... 

 

..........Widder

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

A 1st LT in 'Nam fell down the stairs in our two story barracks and died from the fall.  He'd been in country about three weeks shy of his full one year tour.

 

Also had a SP4 get run over by a truck coming out of our CONEX yard.  He lived about three days.

 

Not everyone who died or was crippled in 'Nam was a combat injury.

[Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663]

I was in a HAWK Air Defense Artillery missile battery about 16 klicks from the E. Germany border.  If the balloon went up, we knew we'd been little more than just a speed bump.  During the 1968 Czech Crisis, the pucker factor was pretty high.  I didn't sleep those nights while on duty, sitting in the Battery Control Central (BCC) watching on our scopes Soviet fast fliers crossing the boarder and our fast fliers chasing them back.  We went to Battle Stations a few times.  At 2:00 a.m. one morning, we were alerted to move to our battle location.   Thankfully...

'

[Pat Riot]

When I was in the Navy 79-83 no one close to me died but there were a couple bad injuries. One guy fell down a shipboard elevator shaft. He was an Ops Specialist. I guess all the barriers and caution tape wasn’t enough of a give away...he was an Ops Specialist...

Another guy got hit on the head with a 12” adjustable wrench that was dropped from a yard arm 90’ above main deck. Fractured the guy’s skull. We were pretty sure it was done on purpose. The guy that got hit was an as....uh, butthead. 

 

We did do do lifeguard patrol and man overboard searches for the carrier USS Eisenhower. Three different times we searched for men overboard but they were never found. One guy got blown overboard by jet wash. One guy backed a forklift off the main deck. He was probably seatbelted in and never had a chance. Another was an apparent suicide.

Doing these searches at night is such ominous duty. 

 

After I left my ship one of the Boatswains I knew got hit by a bus in Naples Italy. He walked out of a bar and stepped in front of a bus. 

 

 

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

I read , a long time ago, that on one day during the Battle of the Bulge  there were 50,000 Noncombat deaths due to accidents, homicide, suicide etc.

 

 

Imis

[Trailrider #896]

Some of those accidents could (and have) happened to civilians. PSA's sometimes caution people about using metal stepladders near power lines.  In the Air Force in the late '60's we had an airman lose his leg when the forklift he was driving overturned. Statistically, you have a better chance of being killed or wounded on the South Side of Chicago than in Afghanistan!   Three things ensure you will live to a ripe old age: genetics, lifestyle, and pure damned luck! The first two don't count if you get hit by a bus!

[Wapaloosie73]

Not taking away anything from the military. But I saw a lot of death and havoc in the oilfield.

 

Everytime you pump a gallon of gas or diesel, or turn on your heat in yer house. Say “thanks”.

 

 

[Sixgun Sheridan]

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was one of the few conflicts we fought were we actually lost about as many servicemen to accidents as we did to hostile fire. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I remember something like over a hundred deaths during the buildup before a shot was ever even fired.

[Utah Bob #35998]

59 minutes ago, Wapaloosie73 said:

Not taking away anything from the military. But I saw a lot of death and havoc in the oilfield.

 

Everytime you pump a gallon of gas or diesel, or turn on your heat in yer house. Say “thanks”.

 

 

Statisticaly, oil field jobs are among the most dangerous.

[Utah Bob #35998]

5 hours ago, Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 said:

I read , a long time ago, that on one day during the Battle of the Bulge  there were 50,000 Noncombat deaths due to accidents, homicide, suicide etc.

 

 

Imis

Having just read a very detailed account of the Bulge I would find that very hard to believe. unless they were talking about in all theaters combined. 50,000 in one day approaches Hiroshima stats.

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

15 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Having just read a very detailed account of the Bulge I would find that very hard to believe. unless they were talking about in all theaters combined. 50,000 in one day approaches Hiroshima stats.

 

Somehow I thought the 50000 included domestic USA deaths. It is unrealistic in terms of theater deaths.

[Sixgun Sheridan]

The US lost 418,500 during the entire war. 50,000 in just one battle sounds a bit farfetched, unless you're talking about anything the Russians took part in.

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

Yall I agree 50.000 seems huge. That number is stuck in my head, I cant substantiate it, may include groups like Russian civilians , I dunno. I was hoping somebody better at finding obscure facts could find or debunk it.

 

Imis

[Ramblin Gambler]

My dad was stationed in Germany during the Vietnam war teaching classes on chemical warfare.  The only dangerous stuff he ever told me about was entirely of his own doing. 

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

My father served in Germany in the 50's and it was not particularly dangerous unless you were a spy traveling into East Germany.  He was not and left us a number of slides taken all over Europe during his 2 year tour of duty.

[Irish Pat]

One of my friends flew an OV-10 at night along the East and West German border listening for electronic signals from the Russians. One night his controller radioed him to immediately return as he had two Russian night fighters behind him.

[Sixgun Sheridan]

My dad was stationed in Japan just after WW2, and came within inches of getting his head shot off by an idiot playing with his M1 Carbine. He always remarked how he missed the war, only to nearly be killed after all the shooting was supposed to be over.