>We had a problem in Vietnam with the M16 rifle. We were told, “No one hit with a .223 from a M16 has lived”! That was poured into our heads to be sure we felt like invincible teenagers. It would jam and that cost many American lives. The AR 15 (the civilian model) seems to continue that tradition. I have noted that three recent events using AR 15’s (one in Portland, Oregon, Colorado, etc.) have jammed when the shooter was in the process of killing innocent people. It has lead me to question what would have happened if the shooters used AK47’s? That rifle has been around since the mid 1940’s and is far superior to the M16/AR15.
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>I bet some people would consider me to be anti American or a Communist for daring to suggest that our weapon of choice is not the finest in the world. But then I think of all the guys who died in Vietnam because of it, and the people that did not die because of AR15's jamming.
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>Better yet, I would like to see no weapons. I got rid of all mine years ago.

Hi Thomas,

I was a recon platoon leader in Vietnam during the TET offensive and also a Company Commander during the same tour with 101st Airborne. I cannot recall a single incident of M-16 jams and certainly none that cost American lives. Of course it is possible I may not have been informed of a jamming incident, but I stayed pretty close to my troops. We had a policy of daily maintenance including reloading all clips.

Sidelight.. as a Company Commander, my official weapon was a Colt 45 pistol. I did not carry any weapon at all because I did not want to carry that heavy pistol and have to clean it every day. I figured that since I was surrounded by my command group (two radio men) and four platoons, if I ever needed a weapon there would be plenty of them lying around. I did however carry a couple of bandoliers of M-16 ammo. In a firefight my men would always greatly appreciate an extra clip or two.

Ken