The physical strain of patrolling in the jungles of South Vietnam with their heat and humidity is seen on the face of the Marine rifleman pictured here. There is a radio on his back and the handset attached to his shoulder. The FM radio’s designation would have been the AN/PRC-10. Considered unreliable, its eventual replacement would be the AN/PRC-25. (USMC)

A pair of F-4B Phantom IIs of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron-542 (VMFA-542), officially nicknamed the ‘Bengals’, are on a mission over South Vietnam in January 1969. The squadron first arrived at the Da Nang air base in July 1965. It remained in South Vietnam until January 1970. The letter prefix ‘V’ in the squadron’s designation is an old US Navy label for ‘heavier-than-air’. (USMC)

The M14 rifles in the hands of the Marine riflemen pictured here possibly date the photograph to before late 1967, the point at which the Marines began switching to the M16 rifle. The Marine in the foreground, and presumably the others, are wearing the M1955 Armor-Body Fragmentation Protective, known to all as a ‘flak vest’. (USMC)

Employed by the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War would be the Carrier, Cargo, Amphibious M116 1.5-ton vehicle best known by its official nickname of the ‘Husky’. The nonarmoured aluminium vehicle weighed 10,600lb and was fully amphibious, using its tracks for propulsion in the water. Top speed in the water was 4.2mph and on land 37mph. (USMC)

A Marine Corps M114A1155mm towed howitzer is pictured here during a fire mission in South Vietnam. It weighed more than 6 tons (12,000lb) and was serviced by a detachment of eleven men. Classified as medium artillery, it was intended for engaging enemy artillery, dug-in enemy personnel and soft-skin (non-armoured) vehicles. (USMC)

Pictured here at the Da Nang air base in South Vietnam is an A-4 Skyhawk. A-4s first entered into squadron service with the Marine Corps in 1957. Prior to US military involvement in the Vietnam War there were twelve front-line Marine squadrons equipped with the aircraft. The standard version employed would be labelled the ‘E’ model. (USMC)

Taking off from the US Navy’s USS Princeton (LPH-5) in March 1966, just off the coast of South Vietnam, are Marine Corps UH-34D troop transport helicopters. The piston-engine-powered helicopter had first entered into Marine Corps’ service in 1957 and initially became operational in South Vietnam in 1962 to aid the ARVN. Its popular nickname was the ‘HUS’. (US Navy)

A young Marine officer holds a captured enemy AKM assault rifle which is missing its standard thirty-round curved magazine. The enemy was supplied with both the original AK-47 with a milled steel receiver and the later improved AKM with a stamped steel receiver. The AKM pictured here does not have the spiked bayonet normally seen on Chinese-made copies. (USMC)

A preserved example of a Marine Corps Landing Vehicle Tracked, Passenger (LVTP-5A1) as was employed during the Vietnam War. The driver’s position was on the front left-hand side and the vehicle commander’s on the front right-hand side. Entry and egress from the vehicle would be via the large hydraulically-operated ramp at the front. The gasoline engine was located at the rear of the vehicle. (Paul and Loren Hannah)

Marines manning an M60 machine gun on the defence in South Vietnam. The weapon shown here is mounted on an M91 tripod. When the barrel on the M60 needed to be replaced it required the use of an asbestos mitten as it would be too hot to touch. The loss of the mitten could make changing a barrel very difficult in the field. (USMC)

Pictured here is a Marine Corps M48A3 medium tank armed with a 90mm main gun. For improved visibility it has been fitted with a G305 turret riser located below the tank commander’s cupola and above the turret roof. Not seen here is the .50 calibre machine gun that normally armed the tank commander’s cupola. The device over the rear of the barrel is an infrared searchlight. (USMC)

In this artist’s interpretation we see a mine or booby trap going off among Marines in a patrol during the Vietnam War. From an American government publication on the Viet Cong released during the Vietnam War appears this passage: ‘Homemade booby traps, ranging from simple deadfalls and spike-boards to explosive foot-mines are often used in preparing for a battle or an ambush.’ (USMC)

Two Marine infantrymen are seen here during the battle for the South Vietnamese city of Hue in January/February 1968. Both are armed with M16 rifles that fired a 5.56mm round. Some Marine units during the fighting swapped their M16 rifles for the older-generation M14 rifles as they fired a more powerful 7.62mm round better suited to urban combat. (USMC)

Urban combat typically entailed heavy casualties for the attackers, and the Battle for Hue was no different for the Marine units that took part in retaking the city. Pictured here are Marine infantrymen huddled behind a wall for cover from enemy fire. One Marine helps to bandage another, with a Marine in the background talking on a radio hand-set. (USMC)

Pictured here is an unrestored example of a 155mm self-propelled gun M53 employed by the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. The weapon-armed turret has limited right and left transverse, unlike the later-generation 155mm self-propelled howitzer M109. There was storage for twenty rounds on board the M53. (Chris Hughes)

Here taking part in an air show is a restored OV-10A Bronco in Marine Corps markings. The twin turbo-prop aircraft had a crew of two and began service with the Marine Corps in South Vietnam in 1968. It replaced the O-1 Bird Dog, not only in the artillery observation role but also as a Forward Air Controller (FAC). (Christophe Vallier)