During the Vietnam War, approximately 90 percent of the American troops in Vietnam acted in support of those who were actually in combat. Whether they admitted it or not, most troops in the rear were glad to be away from the fighting. Occasionally, an infantryman might feel guilty about not doing the job he was trained to do and request to be sent into combat, but many were content in their relative security. However, no matter where an American was in Vietnam, no place was completely safe from the enemy. There were no "front" or "rear" areas. During this civil war, battles and skirmishes occurred even in supposedly secure areas. Troops arriving in Vietnam for the first time remember, almost without exception, that their civilian airplanes were shot at by enemy Viet Cong as they descended for landing. American military hospitals and airfields in base...