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4. Changes of Weaponry, April 1967
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51 4: Changes of Weaponry, April 1967 T he changeover from the M14 to the new and untested M16 rifle caused a great deal of uproar and made a significant negative impact on the 1/5 Marines’ daily lives. During April 1967 a total of 946 brand new M16 rifles were issued to the Marines of the battalion. Within the first few days of the month, all personnel within the battalion armed with the M14 rifles received M16 rifles, and all M14 rifles (except for a handful) were sent to Fleet Landing Support Group B at Tam Ky. This dramatic change in the basic weapon of the combat Marines fighting in Vietnam would cause some consternation and much discussion and uncertainty amongst the Marines. The M14 had long since proven itself to be an utterly reliable and powerful weapon in a combat situation. All Marines knew that in any combat zone, under any circumstances, with any weapon, keeping your weapon clean was very important, but in some situations the Marines confronted in Vietnam, this became difficult if not downright impossible. The Marines had come to love the M14, not only for its sturdy feel and looks, but also because it would always fire when needed, even under very adverse conditions. Some Marines told stories of accidentally dropping their M14 in the mud while taking cover under fire, only to pick it up and fire it at the enemy. It worked every time. But it was heavy, weighing (with full magazine, cleaning equipment, selector, and bipod) 11.85 pounds. This new M16 seemed a very different beast altogether. First of all, it looked like a toy. Made out of black plastic and metal parts, as opposed to the M14 with its traditional wooden stock, the M16, at just under eight pounds (with sling and loaded thirty-round magazine), weighed much less. Marines knew that when it came to long patrols, your combat load needed to be balanced with speed. It looked like you would be able to carry much more ammo, maybe giving you an edge. But the M16 just looked like it wouldn’t stand up to the stresses and demands of combat in Vietnam . It had too many spare parts, jammed easily, and was damned hard to clean, and Charlie One Five: 52 the stock was too short for many Americans, so the Marines tended to shoot high. Lieutenant Colonel Hilgartner recently put the M16’s combat effectiveness in its early usage into stark perspective. He stated, very bluntly, “We lost many good men because of that piece of crap.” The Marines of 1/5 made the change as quickly and smoothly as possible, under the circumstances, to the new M16. Like Marines from all eras, they understood that “ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die.” As a hedge against the unknown reliability of the M16, Lieutenant Colonel Hilgartner tried to feed as many M14s into each unit as he could get away with. In the first few months of use, many problems with misfires, double-feeds, and other jams in the M16 rifle cropped up. Some veterans contend that some bad lots of the 5.56 mm ammunition arrived along with the new weapons, which only made a bad problem worse. At some point, an important spring in the firing assembly proved defective, requiring replacement. The most important lesson learned about the M16 rifle was that it needed to be cleaned almost constantly, an impractical requirement in any combat zone. If clean, it worked well most of the time; if dirty, it could easily jam and ruin your whole day. Because the M16’s too-short stock caused the Marines to shoot high, after Operation Union I, Lieutenant Colonel Hilgartner mandated that a tracer round be loaded every fifth round in an M16 magazine. That way the NCOs and officers could see exactly where their men’s shots were going and make adjustments accordingly. This order stuck, and it became standard operating procedure. Hillous York, outspoken about the changeover from the M14 to the M16, said, “Shortly after I rejoined the company at Tam Ky, just before Union I kicked off, we gave up our M14s and received M16s. Some reporter came in and wanted to do a story on the new weapon because of some reports of jamming. I told him that it was a good jungle weapon but that it would get even better when they got the bugs out...