JUNGLE AMBUSH The South Vietnamese jungle is hot and tramp through the thick brush They steamy American soldiers on patrol stay alert for traps or land mines The only sounds are chattering birds marching boots and rustling leaves Mosquitos buzz The enemy could be hiding anywhere The US troops are searching for members of the group they call the Viet Cong This enemy group calls itself the People’s Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam PLAF The PLAF fighters are South Vietnamese allies of The average age of US soldiers in the Vietnam War was 19
Hueys became valuable tools in the hills and jungles of Vietnam North Vietnam South Vietnamese president Ngo Diem gave them the name Viet Cong Suddenly banging gunfire echoes through the air The Americans have walked into an ambush They drop and press themselves into the ground Several fire their M60 machine guns or M16 rifles Bullets whiz past After a few minutes the firing stops A radio buzzes Voices talk quickly back and forth The sound of a helicopter grows louder in the distance Then a Bell
UH-1 Huey appears above a nearby clearing Long grass bends from the wind generated by its whipping blades The Huey has arrived to fly out the wounded A LONG BATTLE The Vietnam War 1954 1975 was fought in Vietnam Laos and Cambodia It goes by many different names The Vietnamese call it the American War Others call it the Second Indochina War or the Vietnam Conflict
