MEMOIRS OF A SOVIET ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNNER
By the end of October 1965, the formation of the 3rd Anti-aircraft Missile Regiment of the Vietnamese People's Army (VNA) was completed, and some Soviet military specialists from our division were transferred to train it. Among them was my starting calculation.
Soldiers and sergeants of the third year of service and some officers went to the Union, and we went to a new Training center for basic training, located in the mountainous region of Chaikao. The duties of the regiment commander were performed by Major I. K. Proskurnin.
The new regiment had to start from scratch. But there were other difficulties, and, first of all, these are diseases.
In severe climatic conditions, as a result of huge physical exertion and frequent stress, the body quickly weakened, and diseases were not long in coming. Most of all, we were plagued by skin diseases: rashes all over the body and fungus on the legs. Some suffered greatly and were almost unable to walk because of a continuous rash in the groin area, on the inner surfaces of the thighs, under the arms. This rash quickly turned into a continuous non-healing ulcer. The fungus was also rampant, and the soles of the feet presented a terrible picture: there was, as they say, no living place on them. And, most importantly, there were no effective medicines against this infection.
But the most unpleasant thing was that we had cases of dysentery.
The reason for this was the marching conditions and shortcomings in cooking and eating related to the combat situation. Several people, including myself, were admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of amoebic dysentery. This happened when the divisions of the regiment were already in combat positions,and every man was counted. But everything worked out, and after 17 days I returned to the regiment. However, when I returned from the hospital, I weighed only 49 kg at a height of 177 cm. But, as they say, not to fat...
We settled down in several one-stor ...
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