I believe these photos– burning shit with a soldier cheesing it up– will be the photos that travel the farthest and become the most lasting thoughts of history. Three hundred years from now, every eighth-grade history book will contain some picture of Joe standing in front of a barrel of burning human excrement. Every soldier did it, and every veteran remembers the smells, the thoughts, and the odd feeling of stirring shit stew. During my tour in OIF 1, this photo was the norm. Somewhere, everywhere, the plume of burning poop let the world know “America means business.”
It’s unfortunate, I suppose, that only we veterans of IOF 1 will understand the instant emotional bond created with soldiers of earlier conflicts when shit is burned in this fashion.
I remember thinking, “Damn! This is just like in the movie ‘Platoon!'”
Soldiers of the subsequent OIF rotations shit on porcelain, like the rest of the civilized world.
Ah, yes, the unique odor of burning feces and diesel fuel, combined with the usual odors of Camp Eagle, 101st Abn Div, near Hue, RVN, 1970. Never forget it.
Your photographs above flashed me back to 1969-70 in Vietnam. I was stationed at Di An with the 1st Inf Div. Glad to the army is keeping with tradition on this selection of shit details…I mean more specifically shit burning detail. We took mama sans with us to help with the shit burning. Trip after trip from gathering and loading up shit cans from our company outhouses out to the edge of our basecamp buring shit all day. Mama sans weren’t that much help, but we were ordered to take them out with us anyway. And the beat goes on today….
Paul Cameron
Vietnam 1969-70
Try to explain the urinal system you used in the combat zone. We used ‘piss tubes’ as we referred to them. They were large fuel barrels buried in ground with screen wire across the barrel at ground level. You stood at the piss tube in front of God and everyone to take a piss. Diesel fuel was used to keep down smell. I never heard of any of them filling up to where they were to be pulled out of ground and emptied somewhere. Now that would have been a whole new detail. What an experience…I’ll never forget it either.
My OIF 1 days were spent burning excrement every other day… my soldiers burned one day; I would burn it the next. I don’t make my soldiers do anything I don’t do myself. At least those days were gone by my second tour and better still be that way for my upcoming third. Hope you don’t mind, but I want to use your picture of the three barrels burning for a class on the subject for those who have never had the distinct pleasure of spending nine months burning the stuff until porta-jons found their way up to us. I never thought about taking a picture of it back then…
Phu Tai 70-71
Mama San burnt all the shot cans except during get. My hooch was 50 to 75 feet from the latrine. When she lit the diesel and or jet fuel the black smoke rolled..right towards the hooches.
A very distinct foul smell.
The va does not have a burn out registry for Nam Vets.
To this day I cannot stand the smell of tiki torch fuel. Reminds me of burning shot pits.
December 18th, 2005 at 9:54 pm
I believe these photos– burning shit with a soldier cheesing it up– will be the photos that travel the farthest and become the most lasting thoughts of history. Three hundred years from now, every eighth-grade history book will contain some picture of Joe standing in front of a barrel of burning human excrement. Every soldier did it, and every veteran remembers the smells, the thoughts, and the odd feeling of stirring shit stew. During my tour in OIF 1, this photo was the norm. Somewhere, everywhere, the plume of burning poop let the world know “America means business.”
December 31st, 2005 at 1:47 am
It’s unfortunate, I suppose, that only we veterans of IOF 1 will understand the instant emotional bond created with soldiers of earlier conflicts when shit is burned in this fashion.
I remember thinking, “Damn! This is just like in the movie ‘Platoon!'”
Soldiers of the subsequent OIF rotations shit on porcelain, like the rest of the civilized world.
March 1st, 2006 at 11:43 pm
Ahh, shit burning detail. one of my personal favorites of all time.
-Sgt. Brian
OIF 1-2.5
april03-august04
May 14th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Yes Burning shit, I’ve done it but I think my most memoriable experiance was paying some Afghans in Paktika province to Burn the shit daily.
August 30th, 2006 at 12:13 am
Ah, yes, the unique odor of burning feces and diesel fuel, combined with the usual odors of Camp Eagle, 101st Abn Div, near Hue, RVN, 1970. Never forget it.
September 1st, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Oh men ! I love this ! My one love :Us Army ! Fuck ! I live in Poland ! Ehh…. See You Jason in United States Army ! Hoooah !
November 30th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
New MOS classification 247BS
24/7 Burn Shit!
Did it in Viet Nam 1969-1970
December 11th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Your photographs above flashed me back to 1969-70 in Vietnam. I was stationed at Di An with the 1st Inf Div. Glad to the army is keeping with tradition on this selection of shit details…I mean more specifically shit burning detail. We took mama sans with us to help with the shit burning. Trip after trip from gathering and loading up shit cans from our company outhouses out to the edge of our basecamp buring shit all day. Mama sans weren’t that much help, but we were ordered to take them out with us anyway. And the beat goes on today….
Paul Cameron
Vietnam 1969-70
December 11th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Try to explain the urinal system you used in the combat zone. We used ‘piss tubes’ as we referred to them. They were large fuel barrels buried in ground with screen wire across the barrel at ground level. You stood at the piss tube in front of God and everyone to take a piss. Diesel fuel was used to keep down smell. I never heard of any of them filling up to where they were to be pulled out of ground and emptied somewhere. Now that would have been a whole new detail. What an experience…I’ll never forget it either.
August 12th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
My OIF 1 days were spent burning excrement every other day… my soldiers burned one day; I would burn it the next. I don’t make my soldiers do anything I don’t do myself. At least those days were gone by my second tour and better still be that way for my upcoming third. Hope you don’t mind, but I want to use your picture of the three barrels burning for a class on the subject for those who have never had the distinct pleasure of spending nine months burning the stuff until porta-jons found their way up to us. I never thought about taking a picture of it back then…
SSG F.
November 27th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I tell my soldiers on a daily basis it should be mandatory for all new privates to burn shit at least once.
Desert Storm,OIF 1,3, ?
September 17th, 2015 at 8:38 pm
Phu Tai 70-71
Mama San burnt all the shot cans except during get. My hooch was 50 to 75 feet from the latrine. When she lit the diesel and or jet fuel the black smoke rolled..right towards the hooches.
A very distinct foul smell.
The va does not have a burn out registry for Nam Vets.
To this day I cannot stand the smell of tiki torch fuel. Reminds me of burning shot pits.