No war is easy for those who fight it and each conflict brings its own challenges. Soldiers in the Vietnam War endured many hardships and faced many problems, some of them seemingly too great to be overcome. Combatants on both sides faced physical challenges posed by the climate, terrain and wildlife of the country. They also struggled with logistical problems, as well as the complex political situation in Vietnam. On top of that, the Vietnam War was a conflict with few conventional military objectives. There was no war front to advance, no safe region to defend, not even a well defined theatre in which to operate. The Vietnam conflict was a 360 degree war where soldiers – particularly Americans and Westerners – might encounter attacks, ambushes and booby traps at any place or time. It was a conflict where territory changed hands frequently, people moved freely and their political loyalties were often unclear. It was a shiftless and often vague struggle between a powerful conventional military force and a guerrilla (DEf. a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting) army that operated in the shadows.
http://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/vietnam-war-soldiers/
http://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/vietnam-war-soldiers/