What Was Hygiene Like For US Soldiers In WWII?
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Date: 2022-12-29
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Comments and reviews: 20
Daniel
I know this is about WW11 but things didn't change much by Vietnam. In the field there was little water. Everything was brought in by Helicopter and when they couldn't get in to you, you got nothing. Trench foot was a problem since we were often walking in rice paddies. They told you to keep your feet dry but your jungle boots had ventilation holes in the sides that let water in. Many guys went with the solid black boots instead. Jungle rot was a problem. If you got a cut, scrape, or puncture, it became infected quickly and you got a painful blister that could last for weeks. Water was saved for drinking and if you got a shaving cut, jungle rot. Many guys did not shave for days. If you didn't get re d-supplied, you got water from wells and often filled your canteens from rice paddies, bugs and all. We were given pills to put in our canteens but didn't always have them and some guys never used them anyway. Same with clothes. You often didn't change for days and didn't carry any clean clothes anyway. Couple pairs of socks and maybe an extra shirt. Bathing was near impossible and you might go a week or more without cleaning yourself. The people in ww11 had our respect and I sometimes believe they had more against them then we did, but seeing this, it all sounds too familiar. The movies we saw were a joke, the cartoons were amusing but so were the others which were meant to be more serious. They were training movies from WW11 and Korea and this was 1969. One thing we all did was take the malaria pills. 2 of my friends got it and almost died.
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I know this is about WW11 but things didn't change much by Vietnam. In the field there was little water. Everything was brought in by Helicopter and when they couldn't get in to you, you got nothing. Trench foot was a problem since we were often walking in rice paddies. They told you to keep your feet dry but your jungle boots had ventilation holes in the sides that let water in. Many guys went with the solid black boots instead. Jungle rot was a problem. If you got a cut, scrape, or puncture, it became infected quickly and you got a painful blister that could last for weeks. Water was saved for drinking and if you got a shaving cut, jungle rot. Many guys did not shave for days. If you didn't get re d-supplied, you got water from wells and often filled your canteens from rice paddies, bugs and all. We were given pills to put in our canteens but didn't always have them and some guys never used them anyway. Same with clothes. You often didn't change for days and didn't carry any clean clothes anyway. Couple pairs of socks and maybe an extra shirt. Bathing was near impossible and you might go a week or more without cleaning yourself. The people in ww11 had our respect and I sometimes believe they had more against them then we did, but seeing this, it all sounds too familiar. The movies we saw were a joke, the cartoons were amusing but so were the others which were meant to be more serious. They were training movies from WW11 and Korea and this was 1969. One thing we all did was take the malaria pills. 2 of my friends got it and almost died.
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01maggie
Chemical DDT was used in Corsica to kill the mosquitoes. He sprayed his bed, clothes and himself. Ended up with leukemia, alzheimer's, macular degeneration, had high red blood cell count and got one pint of blood removed every month, teeth rotted and crumbled and he was meticulous with his oral hygiene. All of this was present by age 65-70. He died at age 85. He told me he spent 6 weeks in Mississippi swamps as training. His clothes were macerated, stunk beyond comprehension, drank swamp water by adding quinine to it. Upon returning to camp I saw a picture of him with complete black face ( no washing for, 6 weeks)and lost 30 pounds( pants hanging on him. He said it was the worst part of the entire war. He ended up in the air force in Corsica. Was a crew chief for B25 bomber. When war ended in Germany he was told to get his affairs in order because they probably were not coming back. He was sent for the invasion of Japan. They had a furlough in Panama. As they were there the atomic bomb was dropped. they were on hold. Then second bomb dropped. He said they went into the Pacific turned the ship around and was let off in New York. he went home!
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Chemical DDT was used in Corsica to kill the mosquitoes. He sprayed his bed, clothes and himself. Ended up with leukemia, alzheimer's, macular degeneration, had high red blood cell count and got one pint of blood removed every month, teeth rotted and crumbled and he was meticulous with his oral hygiene. All of this was present by age 65-70. He died at age 85. He told me he spent 6 weeks in Mississippi swamps as training. His clothes were macerated, stunk beyond comprehension, drank swamp water by adding quinine to it. Upon returning to camp I saw a picture of him with complete black face ( no washing for, 6 weeks)and lost 30 pounds( pants hanging on him. He said it was the worst part of the entire war. He ended up in the air force in Corsica. Was a crew chief for B25 bomber. When war ended in Germany he was told to get his affairs in order because they probably were not coming back. He was sent for the invasion of Japan. They had a furlough in Panama. As they were there the atomic bomb was dropped. they were on hold. Then second bomb dropped. He said they went into the Pacific turned the ship around and was let off in New York. he went home!
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EarthWalker
The long-term consequences of DDT remained unknown. Yet, they are known, so you should have mentioned that, despite its benefits, it had major consequences for the health of our soldiers and civilians. You should consider a video on these trade-offs and how the government and companies were complicit in harming people after they knew about the risks (e. g, DDT, DuPont teflon, agent orange. Yes, there were clearly benefits, but you quickly breezed past the serious consequences of using DDT, which makes your video seem one-sided on the topic. Having known Vietnam vets that died slowly from agent orange poisoning, the one-sidedness is insulting.
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The long-term consequences of DDT remained unknown. Yet, they are known, so you should have mentioned that, despite its benefits, it had major consequences for the health of our soldiers and civilians. You should consider a video on these trade-offs and how the government and companies were complicit in harming people after they knew about the risks (e. g, DDT, DuPont teflon, agent orange. Yes, there were clearly benefits, but you quickly breezed past the serious consequences of using DDT, which makes your video seem one-sided on the topic. Having known Vietnam vets that died slowly from agent orange poisoning, the one-sidedness is insulting.
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Calvin
So not much has changed. As an Army Infantryman from 05-13, there were times I went weeks without being able to shower or clean my uniform. We would go out to the field (FTX) anywhere from a week to three weeks (longer for some other units. As a germaphobe and someone who needs to shower daily, these field trainings are my worst memories of the Army. I could deal with sleeping on the ground, being rained on and running missions all day and night. I couldnt stand being dirty. To my surprise this didnt seem to bother my fellow infantryman. Ill never forget the stench that develops from weeks in the field.
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So not much has changed. As an Army Infantryman from 05-13, there were times I went weeks without being able to shower or clean my uniform. We would go out to the field (FTX) anywhere from a week to three weeks (longer for some other units. As a germaphobe and someone who needs to shower daily, these field trainings are my worst memories of the Army. I could deal with sleeping on the ground, being rained on and running missions all day and night. I couldnt stand being dirty. To my surprise this didnt seem to bother my fellow infantryman. Ill never forget the stench that develops from weeks in the field.
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Old
A lot of the men didn't spend their money very good anyway Is my grandpa would play poker And And Win They're entire paychecks They're entire paychecks He was a pretty savvy poker player I'm not gonna say he cheated But he sure won a lot Grandma said he made more money overseas than he ever made in his whole entire life He would send his check Home and like at least 2 others He also Won An old German pistol a mouser 32 It's pretty cool we still have it
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A lot of the men didn't spend their money very good anyway Is my grandpa would play poker And And Win They're entire paychecks They're entire paychecks He was a pretty savvy poker player I'm not gonna say he cheated But he sure won a lot Grandma said he made more money overseas than he ever made in his whole entire life He would send his check Home and like at least 2 others He also Won An old German pistol a mouser 32 It's pretty cool we still have it
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Honestly
It's too bad that DDT was banned from being used to control the bedbug population. It just about wiped them out when it was being used. Nowadays, there is far more damage down to our environment and out atmosphere by the massive overuse of gasoline powered vehicles. THEY ARE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING. Yet, absolutely nothing seems to be done about these major polluters.
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It's too bad that DDT was banned from being used to control the bedbug population. It just about wiped them out when it was being used. Nowadays, there is far more damage down to our environment and out atmosphere by the massive overuse of gasoline powered vehicles. THEY ARE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING. Yet, absolutely nothing seems to be done about these major polluters.
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Local
When my Papa was serving in Germany and the camps had been liberated, the US soldiers tried to give the survivors their rations but most refused because they didnt have anything to offer in exchange. The US soldiers didnt want to trade but the survivors still had their dignity and largely refused the offers. That story, along with all the others, will always haunt me.
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When my Papa was serving in Germany and the camps had been liberated, the US soldiers tried to give the survivors their rations but most refused because they didnt have anything to offer in exchange. The US soldiers didnt want to trade but the survivors still had their dignity and largely refused the offers. That story, along with all the others, will always haunt me.
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NV5150
No offense to any modern day warriors but I think they all dont really know what awful war is compared to ww2 and Vietnam. And still we have a higher number of ptsd. Of course lots are faking this. I know two relatives and a good friend who became a cop whej he got home that are definitely collecting money for the rest of their lives for complete lies
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No offense to any modern day warriors but I think they all dont really know what awful war is compared to ww2 and Vietnam. And still we have a higher number of ptsd. Of course lots are faking this. I know two relatives and a good friend who became a cop whej he got home that are definitely collecting money for the rest of their lives for complete lies
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Graeme
My grandfather was 16 when he joined the British army in WW1. He suffered from pyorrhoea of the mouth due to poor oral hygiene. He ended up having all his teeth extracted. He also described the smell of trenches unbearable due to dead bodies, rats, mud, rain and and overflowing toilet holes. He raised me from age four and died when he was 90. RIP.
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My grandfather was 16 when he joined the British army in WW1. He suffered from pyorrhoea of the mouth due to poor oral hygiene. He ended up having all his teeth extracted. He also described the smell of trenches unbearable due to dead bodies, rats, mud, rain and and overflowing toilet holes. He raised me from age four and died when he was 90. RIP.
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Seth
One of my uncles was a front line tank driver who enlisted a week after Pearl Harbor. He told of one time that he didn't take his boots off for almost a month. He was either getting shot at, shooting at someone, sleeping, eating, or trying to take a shit. (His words) He said a hot shower was almost more desireable than a hot woman. LOL.
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One of my uncles was a front line tank driver who enlisted a week after Pearl Harbor. He told of one time that he didn't take his boots off for almost a month. He was either getting shot at, shooting at someone, sleeping, eating, or trying to take a shit. (His words) He said a hot shower was almost more desireable than a hot woman. LOL.
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Talkingheads
It's facasnating the things guys had to deal with. You can study all you want. But to actually be there. I have gotten trench foot just working outside for 8 plus hours. But at least when my shift ended it was as easy as going home and changing. At least my feet started out dry at start of shift.
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It's facasnating the things guys had to deal with. You can study all you want. But to actually be there. I have gotten trench foot just working outside for 8 plus hours. But at least when my shift ended it was as easy as going home and changing. At least my feet started out dry at start of shift.
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mplwy
So, is this saying that we got our hygiene standards, as a society, from the military! Like, these weren't common practices until WWII! I know not everyone adhered to this, a lot of people didn't have the resources, but it wasn't a common thing with people who did have the resources, before the war!
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So, is this saying that we got our hygiene standards, as a society, from the military! Like, these weren't common practices until WWII! I know not everyone adhered to this, a lot of people didn't have the resources, but it wasn't a common thing with people who did have the resources, before the war!
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Noah
If those Three Little St countries, germany, japan and italy didnt try and take over the world soldiers wouldnt have had to worry about any of this. As a13 yearold kid im still wondering why tiny little countries like that thought they can rule the world
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If those Three Little St countries, germany, japan and italy didnt try and take over the world soldiers wouldnt have had to worry about any of this. As a13 yearold kid im still wondering why tiny little countries like that thought they can rule the world
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Gabe
I love the seemingly inconsequential aspects of history. Like you think what does it matter if a GI doesnt brush his teeth but its these small things that were actually vital for fighting
Edit: also makes you see how vital the non combat units were
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I love the seemingly inconsequential aspects of history. Like you think what does it matter if a GI doesnt brush his teeth but its these small things that were actually vital for fighting
Edit: also makes you see how vital the non combat units were
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Anna
My father made a joke to my mother when his parents were on vacation in France that his dad hadn't been there since the Normandy landing, and I can't deny it's funny, but still. The troops went through some real ass shit I wouldn't wish on anyone.
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My father made a joke to my mother when his parents were on vacation in France that his dad hadn't been there since the Normandy landing, and I can't deny it's funny, but still. The troops went through some real ass shit I wouldn't wish on anyone.
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Cerberus
Imagine seeing action in WWII in the USA Mobile Laundry Group, in the elite 1st Washing Machine Division! Armed with bleach and fabric softener, fighting stains and eradicating greasemarks! What heroes they were.
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Imagine seeing action in WWII in the USA Mobile Laundry Group, in the elite 1st Washing Machine Division! Armed with bleach and fabric softener, fighting stains and eradicating greasemarks! What heroes they were.
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Dr.
The only branch had it better than the relative to food and hygiene was the USAAF. That branch tended to live the shortest so things were easier I suppose. My dad was in it.
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The only branch had it better than the relative to food and hygiene was the USAAF. That branch tended to live the shortest so things were easier I suppose. My dad was in it.
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Dan
My Dad (WW2 veteran) said he had a shaker of DDT that he used on bedding and cloths. He said it was necessary. When it banned in the '60, he still was glad they had it.
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My Dad (WW2 veteran) said he had a shaker of DDT that he used on bedding and cloths. He said it was necessary. When it banned in the '60, he still was glad they had it.
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Dr.
My uncle was involved with mop up after bulge etc. Had bad foot problems. As kids were used to see a lot of stds scare left over training films from ww2. It worked.
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My uncle was involved with mop up after bulge etc. Had bad foot problems. As kids were used to see a lot of stds scare left over training films from ww2. It worked.
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Francine
the first nation of America, would like everyone to know that. before the first white men arrived on the land. persons and animals could drink from any rivers
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the first nation of America, would like everyone to know that. before the first white men arrived on the land. persons and animals could drink from any rivers
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