The Three Soldiers

The Three Soldiers
Three Soldiers memorial
Location	National Mall Washington, D.C. United States
Established	1984
Governing body	National Park Service

The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) is a bronze statue on the Washington, DC National Mall commemorating the Vietnam War. It was created and designed to complement the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by adding a more traditional component to the Memorial.

This well-known sculpture by Frederick Hart portrays three young uniformed American soldiers. While the military attire is meant to be symbolic and general in nature, the combat equipment displayed represents the figures as serving in either the U.S. Army, or U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

Of the three men, the lead figure (in the middle) represents a Marine, as he wears a Type M-1955 body armor vest, which was worn exclusively by Marines in Vietnam. He is armed only with a Colt M1911A1 .45 caliber automatic pistol, which is carried in a Government Issue (GI) M-1916 leather pistol holster, positioned on the right hip. The M-1916 holster is attached to an M-1956 GI pistol belt, and a small GI .45 pistol magazine pouch is carried on the belt's left front. The Marine wears a body-armor vest (but no shirt), along with Tropical Combat trousers and boots; he wears no headgear. Like his comrades, he carries a pair of plastic GI 1-quart canteens, carried in two M-1956 canteen covers that are attached to his pistol belt, and situated at the rear center hip.

The man on the right wears combat equipment consistent with a U.S. Army Soldier, and specifically, a Type M69 body armor vest, which was the primary armor vest used mainly by U.S. Army personnel in Vietnam, from about 1967 on. His M69 armor vest is unsecured, and worn fully open at the front, which was a typical fashion of troops in Vietnam, as a measure in which to promote ventilation (in spite of reducing the vest's overall protective levels). Draped around the collar of his M69 vest and hanging on his chest front, this Soldier carries a GI towel, which served to absorb sweat and cushioned heavy loads, and was a common practice of many Soldiers in Vietnam. In his left hand he carries an M16A1 rifle, the main battle rifle for both Soldiers and Marines from about 1967 on. His uniform consists of the Tropical Combat Uniform (jacket and trousers) and "jungle" boots. As was typically done by U.S. combat personnel fighting in the oppressive tropical environment of Vietnam, the uniform jacket's sleeves are rolled up. In his right hand, this Soldier holds an M1 steel helmet covered with a camouflage cover, that is secured over the helmet with an elastic headband (which itself retains a small bottle of GI insect repellent on the right side). He also wears an M-1956 GI pistol belt over the waist of his uniform jacket, and it retains a GI 1-quart canteen and M-1956 canteen cover, situated at the left rear hip. Lastly, on a GI neck chain set, he wears a pair of GI Identification Tags (i.e. "Dog Tags"), which are visible on his bare chest, seen through the open front of his uniform jacket and armor vest.