Vietnam Punji stick

Object/Artifact

-

Chester Historical Society

Vietnam Punji stick_dorsal side: The image shows a large, aged wooden stake with an attached handwritten tag and color calibration chart.
Vietnam Punji stick_dorsal side

The image shows a large, aged wooden stake with an attached handwritten tag and color calibration chart.

Name/Title

Vietnam Punji stick

Entry/Object ID

chs-014496

Description

Louis DeLuca, a recon Marine brought this Punji stick back from his tour in Vietnam.

Context

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Punji stick or Punji stake is a type of booby trapped stake. It is a simple spike, made out of wood or bamboo, generally placed upright in the ground. Punji sticks are usually deployed in substantial numbers. In the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong would also use this method to force the wounded soldier to be transported by helicopter to a medical hospital for treatment, which was viewed as being more damaging to the enemy's cause than death. Punji sticks were also used in Vietnam to complement various defenses, such as barbed wire.[3]

Collection

DeLuca Family Collection

Category

War: Vietnam 1964-1975

Acquisition

Notes

3/10/2013 Loaned by Louis DeLuca for the 2013 "Those Who Served" Exhibit.

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1968

Dimensions

Height

2.2 cm

Width

41.6 cm

Depth

0.5 cm

Create Date

January 14, 2025

Update Date

July 12, 2025