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Whenever you see photos or drawings, the Viet Cong are almost always depicted wearing sandals instead of combat boots. Did North Vietnam just not have boots?

Of course they did. So why sandals? That's what we're looking into today. During the Vietnam War, most of North Vietnam's military logistics were reliant on the USSR and China.

Since North Vietnam's industrial base became 'industrial base (formerly known as)' every time *this guy* (US bombers) flew over, they had to get everything—from weapons and ammo to clothing like belts and boots—shipped in from communist allies like the Soviets and China.

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The boots they were supplied with were mostly Chinese Type 65 'Liberation Shoes.' These were the follow-up to the Type 50s used in the Korean War, which had received good reviews. Production was simple: shape canvas into a foot, dunk it in molten rubber, and—ta-da!—shoes. They were the standard issue for the PLA back then because they were easy to mass-produce, lightweight, and actually pretty comfy.

But in this cursed land, there was a massive downside that canceled out all those pros. As you saw from the manufacturing process, the sole is pure rubber and the body is canvas. What happens if you cross water in those? The rubber sole traps the water inside, and the canvas body takes forever to dry. And if you keep walking around in wet shoes...?

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You get the 'Athlete's Foot Ending,' obviously. Soldiers hated getting athlete's foot so much that...

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They started making or finding 'Ho Chi Minh Sandals' made from scrap tires, and that's how the iconic image of them wearing these sandals got burned into our memories.