Gee. I suppose not. Perception is supposedly everything to our military, right? /sarcasm.
Well, then, the 20% who fired must have been expert marksment all.
Didn't anyone ever notice that the other 80% weren't doing anything?
S.L.A. Marshall reported a study of troops in Korea who were found to have not fired their weapons in combat- and those dead troops found in their holes had indeed rarely fired their weapons. Some, of course were killed by overhead mortar or artillery bursts and never even saw an enemy, but there have indeed been cases of soldiers watching an oncoming enemy soldier who take no action to prevent an easy rifle shot or bayonet thrust that finishes them off without a return shot fired.
That may be in part based on a combat trooper's first instinct to take cover [and improve it!] and remain as safe as possible, marksmanhip training of the period that emphasized firing at bullseye [rather than humanoid-shaped] targets at known distances on neatly-manicured ranges, the use of hastily-trained support troops in combat roles in Korea, or the use of the hard-kicking M1 Garand rifle of the period or the lightweight M1 carbine with a notorious repution for not seriously harming those shot with it. Any or all of the above may have been a part of the problem, including biting cold weather and freezing conditions that sapped troop morale- though such things were also a consideration for Finnish troops killing a million Russian invaders during the 4-month *Winter War* of 1939-40, the 101 Airborne at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and the Russians at Stalingrad.
I can only tell you that the situation reported was not the case I observed during my first hitch in the military as an enlisted man, 1966-1970. The problem in that conflict was keeping riflemen supplied with enough ammunition, cleaning supplies and spare rifles and parts as they burned up, shot out and generally sprayed lead in the general direction of any percieved hostile fire coming their way, sometimes actually hitting something. The M16 was easy to shoot and ranges in Vietnam were generally not distant.
It's also true that in any unit, some guys are experienced and agressive, while some rookies are nervous and hesitant, particularly poorly-trained conscripts. But those conscripts want to go home, preferably in one piece, and once they get motivated, they'll kill anything in their way of accomplishing that goal.
-archy-/-
Didn't anyone ever notice that the other 80% weren't doing anything?
If I recall correctly 1/3 (firing) was a bit more accurate and I believe that Marshall stated only about 1/3 would fire at one time, but it's been a few years since I read it.
The 20% firing was on the low side.