13062
W. Britain
The United States Marine Corps’ foray in Vietnam began on 2 August 1954 in an advisory capacity. Following 1964’s Gulf of Tonkin incident, their relationship with Southeast Asia changed considerably. This Marine carries the M14 rifle used during the earlier stage of the war. The M14 became the standard battle rifle for the U.S. Military in 1957 replacing the M1 Garand of World War II and Korea (the U.S.M.C. would adopt it in 1965). The rifle was of similar construction to the M1 but chambered for the .308 round with magazine extension. It had a loud report and a lot of hitting power but proved too heavy and cumbersome for the jungle environment and would be replaced in 1967 by the M16 assault rifle.