I was in Marine Corps shape at over 200 pounds when I arrived in July 1966. After joining my infantry company, the pounds, primarily muscle, started to disappear.
Why?
The heat and humidity. The daily/operational tempo. Lack of rations. Lack of water. Lack of rest. The wear and tear on the body from humping heavy loads during operations. Disease. Being wounded in three battles.
My wife didn’t recognize me when we met on my R&R.
I returned as one of the larger grunts at 160#, down from 230#, while some of my men were barely over 100#.
The 10% of us Marine and Army Grunts saw a vastly different war than non-infantry troops.
I could elaborate on my answers to each item, but that would make my answer too long.
