The M60 evolved as a result of the U.S. Army's desire to replace the aging Browning series of machineguns in favor of a general-purpose machinegun in a similar vein to the MG42 used by the Germans during World War Two.
1/7th Cavalry's support weapons were reorganized into a new D Company as the battalion prepared to depart for Vietnam. The scout platoon was reorganized as an extra rifle platoon, while the anti-tank platoon left its M40 106mm recoilless guns back in the States, picking up M60 machineguns instead. When the anti-tank platoon landed on LZ X-Ray, they were able to hold the exposed flank with the extra firepower of their machineguns.