Phu Bai, Vietnam: A Marine rifleman of the 1st Bn., Ninth Marine Regiment uses the M-16 rifle to fire at North Vietnamese troops during Operation Prairie II. Behind him an artillery forward observer using binoculars spots targets for the rifleman. The M-16 is replacing the M-14 as the basic weapon in 3rd Marine Division infantry units. The M-16 is lighter and uses smaller caliber ammunition, thus lightening the combat infantryman's load. March 13, 1967 © Bettmann/CORBIS


Original caption: U.S. Navy Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Lawrence Malone fires M-16 rifle into a known Viet Cong stronghold during a junk patrol in South Vietnam.  August 15, 1967 © Bettmann/CORBIS


Original caption: New Rifle. Khe, South Vietnam: SP/4 Rodney W. Henning, of Chippewa Falls, Wisc., a rifleman in the 1st Cavalry Division here, holds the latest Army weapon, the XM-177E2, an improvement over the much criticized M-16. It weights about 6 pounds, 1 1/2 pounds less than the standard rifle, and can fire as rapidly as a submachine gun.   October 12, 1967 © Bettmann/CORBIS


Two American soldiers take cover from Viet Cong fire. Vietnam, 1967. © CORBIS


Here are close-ups of Marine Corps Commandant General Wallace M. Greene Jr., as he displays the controversial M-16 rifle during a news conference at the Pentagon on May 26th. General Greene said that the weapon has proved to be a "reliable, hard-hitting, lightwieght weapon" for U. S. troops in Vietnam. May 26, 1967


U.S. 1st Cavalry Infantrymen huddle a group of frightened South Vietnamese children into a ditch to protect them from enemy sniper fire. The battle scene is 10 miles South of Da Nang. October 30, 1967


TAM KY, SOUTH VIETNAM-11/14/67-: Although it's only practice, it's being done on "location" as U.S. 1st Cavalry troopers test fire their weapons during a break in search-and-destroy mission here recently.


General Melvin Zais, the commanding gerenal of the United States Army 101st Airborne Division, serving in Vietnam, is greeted by a fellow officer.
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS


Troops tend to a fellow soldier, wounded during fighting, in Vietnam.
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS  April 11, 1968


Original caption: 5/11/1968-Saigon, South Vietnam: Photo shows troops in a trench next to a bridge, with their machine guns, awaiting orders or action.
© Bettmann/CORBIS Date Photographed: May 11, 1968


With weapons at the ready, U.S. Marines advance down a street in Hue on February 14th. Leathernecks broke the stalemate in the battle for Hue with a pre-dawn ground assault, a helicopter borne attack and jet planes splashing the Communist positions with flaming napalm.
© Bettmann/CORBIS Date Photographed: February 21, 1968


Original caption: A US soldier encamped in the Vietnamese jungle.
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS  Date Photographed: October 25, 1968


Song Be, S. Vietnam: Assist To Evacuation Helicopter. An American Green Beret (right), and a South Vietnamese soldier assist wounded Vietnamese soldier to medivac helicopter following fighting near the Special Forces camp at Duc Phong, 40 miles north of Saigon, September 9. South Vietnamese spokesmen said government casualties reached a two-month high 502 dead and 1,210 wounded--during fighting last week. It was the highest casualty toll since the week ending June 14 which saw 516 dead and 1,424 wounded.  © Bettmann/CORBIS  Date Photographed: September 11, 1969


Original caption: Saigon, South Vietnam: The shot of a sniper puts troops of the U.S. Ninth Division on the alert for a possible ambush, as they patrol in the delta area in the summer of 1969. No ambush occurs, however. © Bettmann/CORBIS Date Photographed: ca. 1969


The Face of War. Chi Long, South Vietnam: Looking like a Malay pirate, an American advisor sports a black headband and necklace of grenades as he wades through high grass while on patrol near the Cambodian border recently. © Bettmann/CORBIS
Date Photographed: September 17, 1969


DA NANG, SOUTH VIETNAM: With a cocked .45 caliber pistol and an M16 rifle aimed at his head, a suspected Viet Cong is questioned near here, August 5th, during a U.S. Marine sweep of the area. Only scattered action was reported August 5th.
© Bettmann/CORBIS


Original caption: 4/27/1971-Landing Zone Kershaw, South Vietnam: A GI from the 101st Airborn Division steps over a log during combat assault at this landing zone about five miles north of the A Shau Valley. A joint U.S.-South Vietnamese operation in the area is taking place under a cloak of official secrecy. © Bettmann/CORBIS Date Photographed: April 27, 1971


Original caption: American division GIs ford a river about 11 miles west of Da Nang on patrol for Communist troops in this photo. The GIs, members of Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, are among the last U. S. combat troops still operating in the field. U. S. B-52 bombers blasted suspected Communist troop concentrations near the demilitarized zone, on August 15th, following more shelling and ground assaults earlier on August 15th. More than 750 rounds of mortar and artillery fire have been directed at South Vietnamese outposts along the demilitarized zone August 14-15th.  © Bettmann/CORBIS Date Photographed: August 15, 1971


Protecting Da Nang. Da Nang, S. Vietnam: GI guides helicopter into landing zone here Nov. 9th during operation in this area five miles west of Da Nang. Troops of "A" Company, First Battalion, 327th infantry of the 101st Airborne Division, are protecting Da Nang from Communist rocket attacks. © Bettmann/CORBIS  Date Photographed: November 11, 1971



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Congressman Richard H. Ichord in Vietnam investigating faults of M-16 rifle. (Photo by Co Rentmeester//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images) 1 Jan 1967


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American soldiers guarding a captured member of the vietcong.1 Jan 1967  (Photo by MPI/Getty
Images)


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US riflemen from the 173rd Airborne Brigade charge toward Viet Cong positions, holding machine guns in a wooded area of War Zone D during the Vietnam War, March 21, 1967. (Photo by U.S. Army/Getty Images)



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4th November 1968: American soldiers of the 22nd Infantry Division on board helicopters during the Vietnam War. (Photo by Terry Fincher/Express/Getty Images)


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5th January 1969: A soldier in the U.S. Army 1st Air Cavalry holds his rifle above his head as he serves as a 'traffic cop' for helicopters landing in a field during an operation north of Saigon in the Vietnam War, South Vietnam. The helicopters were bringing members of the unit to the area that they were to patrol. (Photo by APA/Getty Images)


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Soldiers Lance Corporal Murphy (R) and Sergeant Paige patrol a jungle area, carrying a rifle and a pistol during the Vietnam War, 1968. (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images)


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VIETNAM - 1973:) U.S. Army soldier Corporal Cooley (holding a Pepsi soda can) of the 101st Airborne Division in the mountains above Hue, Vietnam 1973. Cooley was a member of a Recon outfit. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

Quoted: Very interesting pictures.  When did 30 round magazines first come into the inventory?  Several pictures clearly show troopers w/30-rounders.  I didn't see them in the Army until the early '80's.

Its my understanding they started to show up with Spec Ops units in the late  1960s, but didnt make it to the line infantry units until around 1971, and even at that point, they were still rare.


Anyone notice the XM177 with the birdcage flash suppressor and the M203 in the 1971 photo?

Im digging out my Jimi Hendrix and Doors CDs and watching Hamburger Hill tonight....

Quoted: Quoted: Anyone notice the XM177 with the birdcage flash suppressor and the M203 in the 1971 photo? In which picture?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Anyone notice the XM177 with the birdcage flash suppressor and the M203 in the 1971 photo? In which picture? pro.corbis.com/images/U1644212.jpg?size=67&uid={3d0a3778-181b-4fe9-88e7-de26b08ba557} Maybe I'm blind, but where's the M203?

Two different photos I was speaking of.  Look at the 2nd to last...the soldiers standing in the stream.

More added.

Quoted: Is everyone else getting red x's for the newly added pics?

You may have to right click them and copy the address line into a new browser window.  Getty Images is hit and miss for showing up for people.