South Vietnamese army rangers and special forces secretly tested the rifle in combat in early 1962. The program for the U.S. ally was orchestrated by William Godel, an American intelligence official. Godel thought the gun would help South Vietnamese troops and keep the U.S. from direct involvement in the war. It didn’t work out -- and by the mid-1960s, U.S. Marines and soldiers were pouring into Vietnam. Many carried M16s, the military version of the AR-15. Years later, a dejected Godel was asked to name his Vietnam successes. “None,” he said. Read more about the gun’s strange history in American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15. Paperback out Sept. 24.
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