Footage of ROK Marines in action in South Vietnam in 1969 shows what is possibly one of the first improvised explosive devices ever captured on film.

When you think of the IED as a weapon system, it's easy to only think of it in the context of a weapon system used by insurgents throughout the Global War on Terror in place like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. That however is not the case, as the improvised explosive device has been around almost since the dawn of explosives. The first time a fighter rigged a grenade to be used as a claymore was probably the true inception of the IED as we know it today.

This video is one of the earliest pieces of combat footage I have seen featuring an improvised explosive device. I'm sure if I went back through a lot of World War Two footage, specifically throughout the island hopping campaign, I might be able to find some footage from the Japanese using a similar tactic. As of today however, I have not seen anything like that. This footage was recorded in Southern Vietnam by ROK Marines in 1969. Two ROK Marines were killed, and another nine were injured as a result of the blast.