A captured Soviet-pattern AK-47/AKM assault rifle, mounted as a trophy display, exemplifies the small arms commonly encountered by American servicemembers during the Vietnam War. Weapons captured from North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces were frequently retained as mementos, particularly by reconnaissance and Special Operations personnel who operated in close contact with enemy forces along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and across the Laotian and Cambodian borders. Project: 218965