I carried the PRC-25 Radio most of that time. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? Stop staring at your computer already, get up. Well he didnt make it. We were very, lucky. We soon learned that the NVA troops were very different from the local guerrillas we had fought around Tuy Hoa. Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation. They were held in special regard after the Normandy landings, when 225 Rangers scaled cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on June 6, 1944 under intense enemy fire. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. I think the number of Army and Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corp was very high, with the ratio of the number of them over there. Prayers for all. Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21 years old. Helicopters, F4 fighters. 1 Gun and I survived our first firefight. Very memorable comments. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . My father was on a lrrp team!65-67never was shot but killed alot.He never really got over it though died in 2012! Death by a Bottle! Different type units, different locations, different opinions on dangers. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. Life expectancy at birth. This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between 95 and 00. Shortly before 11 a.m. on May 18, the point squad in Company Bs 2nd Platoon spotted three NVA soldiers walking on a trail near the Cambodian border and attempted to capture them, but the NVA dashed off into the jungle. Dont know why, but generally, their aircraft were not armed (door gunners, etc.). In the 1st Cav medics were right behind the rto making them a very easy find also. Umm..maybe its because we also learn from experience. Thanks for the reply. Hats off to them. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. I was never hit by enemy fire even though they had multiple opportunities after that I was an rto for the company commander and I have to say both jobs were not fun. It weighed 24 pounds, was 43.5 inches long and had bipod legs that folded down to stabilize the weapon when firing from a prone position. In my humble opiniona maneven leaders should often recalculate their adversaries capabilities and limitations and his own limitations as wellwhen 10,000 miles from home against a determined worthy foein a strange landThe objective of Lam Son 719? I was constantly untangling the barrel and bipod of the gun from grasping vines and branches. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. The group found the first man killed and carried him up the hill, placing his body right next to me. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. When I popped back up to put out some automatic fire, a bullet whizzed by my earno more than an inch from my headand slammed into the tree next to me, shattering the bark. I traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained there for 10 months before deploying to Vietnam as specialist 4. I pumped 200 rounds into that riverbank. An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. I assisted Vessey and Capt Cartwright by helping prepare the Bee Hive Rounds (first time they were ever used), firing 4 rounds at proximity 0 range into a human wave attack on or weak side after 5 hours of relentless attacks on the opposite side of the perimeter Those 4 rounds killed @ 400 enemy soldiers, of the 881 total enemy losss John Vessey later became a 4 Star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs appointed by Reagan 1983, and at retirement became Chair of the POW MIA Commission for 14 years, Passing away in August 2016 just 6 months before our 50th Reunion. Supported by a shoulder strap, No. I served in A Company 3/22 of the 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry 12/66, then Hq Co 2/12 of the 3rd Brigade 25th Inf until the night of the TET offensive end of January 1968 and returned home July 18 1968. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. That means you lose five RTOs in 5 seconds. Four platoons in a rifle company. Out of the 3,000,000 men and women in our armed forces and reserves, we have lost 4,500 in this 9 year war. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the VietnamWar? After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. 1 gun! Everyone laughed. May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. Tony told me that either he or I would greet all incoming troops and we did- and here is the speech we gave to them. It was just part of the job. Sgt. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunners life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. I never saw any correlation as to what MOS a soldier was and their survival rate. then youd carry an extra 200 rounds of M60 ammo for the machine gunner , plus drag grenades , one smoke grenade plus etc. I quit trying to make sense of all the numbers that have been generated about Vietnam. 6 Answers They say Kali Ma Theyre referencing this scene from the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: What is the life expectancy of an army infantry soldier? Spent my year in a Recon platoon 2/35th 4th ID. 4 Answers aaja Come. . The man with the carbine immediately dropped it, and the two VC surrendered. Sept 69 to Sept 70. approaching a village and a firefight starts). As it was, less than 40 did not need evacuation. We are a woman-owned small business and Veteran-owned incorporated in Ohio. The rolling fire burned everything to the ground and undoubtedly killed scores of NVA. 23,24 This study found that the death rate for Vietnam veterans was 1.3 times that for non-Vietnam veterans; however, the excess deaths were limited to Engineer Corps members (RR, 2.5). Here is an 18 Together we had passed the test. The Vietnam War was the first American war in which Black and White troops were not formally segregated, and even saw significant growth in the number of African Americans engaged in battlefield combat, [1] though some de facto segregation still occurred. As soon as he did, a round hit him in the forehead, blowing out the back of his skull. According to the American War Library, as of February 28, 2019, it is estimated that approximately 610,000 Americans who served in land forces during the Vietnam War or in air missions over Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 are still alive to this day. Like you, I carried a PRC-25 for about 5 months and never got hit. First Sgt. Then he said youre on a FB, the enemy always knows your location, can pretty much attack at will, and you really dont have the capability to retreat. Flipping the safety off, I scanned the jungle in front of me. the life expectancy of a LT in Vietnam in major combat was 16 minutes. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I am convinced the same NVA soldier who shot at me moments before had killed my good friend, a budding doo-wop singer from Long Island, New York. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. US Wings provides aviation apparel to the U.S. Government and commercial customers along with the general public. He decided to stay even though he had a deep feeling he wasnt going to make it. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). As far as I knew that was done in the whole battalion in 1968 . Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. Was Billeted near an Army medevac Unit and was offered a chance to lay on my stomach with an M16 and door gun for them I decided not a good Idea. happened. TONY DISAGREED> hE SAID TAKE A 19 YEAR OLD, WHO HAS JUST TAKEN TWO ROUNDS TO HIS BODY, And IS watching his best friend die from multiple, bleeding wounds he wont give a shit about the Geneva Convention. Es ridculo que t ______ (tener) un resfriado en verano. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. As of April 14, 2017, there are 1,611 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War across Vietnam (1,258), Laos(297), Cambodia(49), and China(7). The early days of May 1970, I arrived at the Airport, next to Saigon. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study). Originally I went to the 543d TC. I saw killed and wounded everywhere in our combat operations. well I wonder how long your going to last lieutenant? Then the tempo changed suddenly and violently. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. As a point of reference, Patterson explained that combat troops in World War II, on average, spent 36 days in a combat environment; the average infantryman in Vietnam spent 245 days in constant. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was . "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. But it was my jobso I tried not to think about it much. We could not see any enemy soldiers, but we could see smoke coming from their weapons through the trees. Like most inexperienced gunners, he underestimated the power of the pig and failed to keep the barrel down when firing. Overrun and utterly destroyed, the 30-man 4th Platoon had suffered 21 killed and one missing. Posterior Thigh _____ 4. Nothing could be further from the truth. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! Some were constantly exposed to combat, some not so often. Quickly learned to control rate of fire. The other group of aeromedical evacuation were divisional, i.e. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. February 5 th, 1967, Galiano was headed to Saigon, Vietnam with 90 fellow Americans on an Air Force c-131, but orders were quickly altered . THE MAN I INHERITED THE GUN FROM WASNT SO LUCKY. 1 Gun. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, RTO, John Scheur. Walked point way to many times but never had contact. Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. Great story!!! I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. hb```8fB cBLd2>Tb jz1@E; aK6Tmc.Nn"&gn7hj'wm,h d6p4u0`&88:,TMV& y@ b=e>a&^ >{2b`ZHE3psn QZ 4322 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E412331B845E54EBDFDC79FA0627A18>]/Index[4314 16]/Info 4313 0 R/Length 65/Prev 560501/Root 4315 0 R/Size 4330/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. By the time we reached Vietnam in October 1966 I felt the gun had become a part of me. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. Your Dad and I had the same job. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. No. Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. I was an Artillery Forward Observer 13F20 E-5 at that time. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. Your email address will not be published. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Eventually I found a spot where the bed leveled off and began firing on the NVA. I was in the AF a Reo in a F4-C. Who had time to worry about the life I never even got a shot off. I know this is a standard cliche, but it is so true, All gave some. Interesting reading. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. What was the life expectancy of a point man in Vietnam? Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. I was an Artillery Forward Observer with the Infantry. To an, open area. My second tour was as the S3 for LTC Anthony Herbertone of Americas greatest leaders and WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. Our home base was Quang Tri fire Base, But I spent about 6 months out at Mai Loc with the rig. Much smaller income differentials in life expectancy, 0.2 to 3.6 life-years smaller for Veterans in 2010-17 are estimated. After a couple of hours, the Viet Cong stopped shooting and melted back into the jungle. Nixon Presidential Papers. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. DeLong had only fired the weapon once in training, so I let him fire off a few rounds to practice. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. Database. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent . Me molesta que mis padres no ______ (cuidar) su alimentacin.. 3. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds. He said fighting was especially deadly in the war-torn city of Bakhmut, dubbed "the meat . I got shot on a mission with 45 days left. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. The Davis Station in Saigon was named for him. Each company had eight M60s. My 31-months in-country was in three Direct Support US Army aviation units, 15TC BN, First Cav, 335TH, Americal and 17TH Cav 101ST ABD65-71In the last battle I was directly involved, LAM SON 719, into Laos, cost army aviation units over 600-helicopters shot down or battle damagedthe NVA were waiting for our SECRET mission in early 71I was glad to go home at battles end, in March 71 , almost unscathed, I was TDY for my absurd third tourTo the point, many ARVN Rangers, airborne and their other best died in Lam Son 719US Army Infantry were forbidden entry to Laos in 71.. the ARVN were massacredand many US Army pilots and crew mambers were KIA & WIAeven MIA. If it was 1941 and you were an average Soviet soldier, your life expectancy on the front line was days, not weeks, thanks to the ongoing german offence. Back home he returned to hairdressing and got a job at Kenneth Salon in New York City working with top models and fashion magazine editors. The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. They were all up there scanning the terrain and looking for signs. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1974. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. Suddenly, I heard my name shouted from the Company B command group. I handled Top Secret Commo on a daily basis. I was a 2nd Lt. Infantry platoon Leader. I was an FO back in the day. I also was 2/327 B company. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. I lost my cherry very early. Papitto Opportunity Connections Mission: The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Islands BIPOC communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training, and entrepreneurial ventures. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. Oh, and even the Air Force has ground units. They were Kims cousins not her brothers. This has been going on for about a week Every time I try to watch a video on Youtube from my laptop I get instantly redirected to "gslbeacon.ligit.com." I would suspect that stating with any accuracy the life span of a grunt like me, or any other MOS, would be pretty much pure speculation. Knowing I had a 100-round belt in my M60, I opened up on that hillside, my gun getting so hot that the barrel smoked. That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story.
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