Women make up a growing share of veterans. I should also mention that all these interviews took place in air-conditioned comfort, in places with names like Caravelle, Equatorial, Omni, Saigon Prince, etc. Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. Had The US sustained casualties of 13% of its population, there would have been 28 million US dead. It is not normal behavior for Americans to idolize mass murdering despots, to champion the cause of slavery, to abandon friends and allies, or to cut and run in the face of adversity. By 2040, that number is projected to rise to 17 percent. The northern part of South Vietnam normally had its rainy season from September to January, the southern part from May to September. Most of these sentences were for the rape and or murder of civilians. These Marines and soldiers were squad leaders, first sergeants, platoon leaders and company commanders directing maneuvers, distributing ammunition, calling for fire or performing the many other tasks that success in a firefight demanded. What percentage of vietnam veterans actually saw combat? How did American soldiers treat the Vietnamese? The concern was fundamental to the nations military readiness. Multi-million dollar salaries (e.g., Cronkite) are paid to entertainers, stars and superstars. And in fact fear could also have just the opposite effect, as was the case with a veteran who recalled that he was too damned scared to do anything else than shoot and hope I did not get shot.. If he fired, he risked shooting his own men. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. His Vietnam experience goes back to 1965 and includes nearly 16 years in-country. The author has degrees in engineering & business and holds a Ph.D. On this Memorial Day 2021, VA honors their service and recommits itself to . 3. November 19, 1967 was one of the bloodiest days for American troops in the Vietnam War. Usually, the Army has the most members responsible for land-based operations. . However, among these five branches, there are sub-branches and units. Those six all shared borders with either Laos or Cambodia or had contiguous borders with provinces that did. They were like sacks of water. Victor Ubach, a Pan American World Airways pilot who was flying behind and above the crippled Air Force plane said the C-5A pilots "had done one heck of a job" to avoid a worse disaster. Add either a mommy or a poppa, and throw in another sympathizer in the form of a girl (or boy?) One does not get to be, much less continue to be, a superstar unless one gives one's audience what it wants. For those who think that Vietnam was strictly a civil war, the following should be of interest. During this fight, the ARVN 18th had 5,000 soldiers at Xuan Loc. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. The following is a guest post by Andrew Huber, Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). If you wish to share any thoughts, leave a comment. His description of the mass and maneuver were exquisite. Veterans of the Gulf War share a similar risk, with 12 percent of them developing PTSD, or 660,000 of the 5.5 million American military personnel in that conflict. Comments to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You will likely not see combat unless you are an infantry soldier with top-notch military competence and are willing to become trigger-pullers. Other comparisons are; Malaysia's per capita consumption is nearly 13 times that of Vietnam and even China's consumption is about 5 times that of Vietnam. Source of these numbers is the Southeast Asia Statistical Summary, Office of the Assistant Secretary or Defense and were provided to the author by the US Army War College Library, Carlisle Barracks, PA 17023. As for brutality: During WW II the US Army executed nearly 300 of its own men. A total of 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era, with over 2,709,000 Americans serving in Vietnam, about 9.7% of the generation. During WW II, in the European Theater alone, over 20,000 US Military men were convicted of dissertation and, on a comparable percentage basis, the overall WW II desertion rate was 55 percent higher than in Vietnam. What was the bloodiest day in the Vietnam War? What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. (Answered). The Americans had left under the terms of the Paris Peace Agreements, and then were barred by the US Congress, from ever returning. At the end of thirty days, not one single communist flag was flying over any of those 155 cities, towns or hamlets. That may include your food, water, and first aid , If you want to only bring a few items to hiking or other outdoor activity, a tactical fanny pack might be an ideal option than a burdensome large backpack. How old is the average Vietnam vet? Source: National Archives and Records Administration, Note 1: This group is comprised of the following individual units with no further break down, 17th Field Hospital (An Khe)22nd Surgical Hospital (Phu Bai)71st Evacuation Hospital (Pleiku)91st Evacuation Hospital (Tuy Hoa)95th Field Hospital (Qui Nhon)3rd Field Hospital (III Corps)7th Surgical Hospital (III Corps)45th Surgical Hospital (III Corps)93rd Evacuation Hospital (III Corps)80th Engineer Group121st Assault Helicopter Company18th Military Police Brigade89th Military Police Brigade8th Transportation Group48th Transportation Group11th Aviation Group12th Aviation Group23rd Artillery Group108th Artillery Group35th Engineer Group45th Engineer Group34th General Support Group506th Field Depot, Source: Combat Area Casualty File of 11/93, National Archives, US Army Infantrymen (MOS 11B, 11C, etc.) Packed with options that allow you to completely customize your website to your needs. Nearly 75% of the public agrees it was a failure of political . 14.6% (1,530) of non-combat deaths were black. Blacks accounted for 10.5 percent the combat deaths in Vietnam. Once the draft dodging gang's numbers reached critical mass, the media and politicians started playing to the numbers. The likelihood that a man survived to return home alive dramatically increased if he lived long enough to discover the lessons of war. Helicopter crew deaths accounted for 10% of ALL Vietnam deaths. These men served as riflemen, machine-gunners, helicopter door gunners, vehicle crewmen or others who were to kill the adversary with the weapon they carried. This, of course, is a lie. It was not unusual for an ambush party to let the enemy pass because the Americans were so greatly outnumbered that engaging would have led to disaster. In addition to PTSD, OEF/OIF Service members are at risk for other mental health problems. Many of these false 'war veterans' claim their alleged Vietnam service was "classified", and therefore never recorded. Day in, day out it did not matter how long they had been soldiers, how many months of combat they had seen, or even that the enemy was about to overrun their position. No reaction. Anyone who thinks the US lost the Vietnam war should reconsider their definition of "lost". Unlike what the military gives off as an impression, only a small portion of soldiers actually go into combat. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60% . Over 8.7 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era from 1964 to 1973 (1). 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will. A total of 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era, with over 2,709,000 Americans serving in Vietnam, about 9.7% of the generation. Thus, it is necessary to dress up for the occasion. According to 2019 statistics, only 10% of the entire military force engage in battle. Looking back it is now clear that the American military role in Vietnam was, in essence, one of defending international borders. In not one instance did the people rise up to support the Communists. Only one other B-52 tail gunner had scored a successful kill against a Vietnamese fighter, though more than 30 B-52s had been shot down throughout the conflict. Philosophy (Area of concentration in Vietnam). percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. Roughly eight-in-ten (79%) say they would advise a . A quick synopsis of America's Vietnam experience will help summarize and clarify the Vietnam scenario: 1965 - 1967; Buildup of US Forces and logistical supply bases, plus heavy fighting to counter Communist North Vietnamese invasion. What percentage of soldiers fired their weapons in Vietnam? How many Desert Storm veterans are still alive? 87% of the public now holds Viet vets in high esteem. Before the Normandy invasion (D Day, 1944) the US Army (In WW II the US Army included the Army Air Corps which today has become the US Airforce) in England filled its own jails with American soldiers who refused to fight and then had to rent jail space from the British to handle the overflow. 7,874. During its Normandy battles in 1944 the US 90th Infantry Division, (roughly 15,000+ men) over a six week period, had to replace 150% of its officers and more than 100% of its men. Required fields are marked *. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. New men were too frequently overwhelmed by the sudden roar of a contact, the flying debris of dust, leaves and wood. What month is the cheapest to fly to vietnam? Is vietnam airlines part of star alliance? On the best day ever, there were 43,500 ground troops actually engaged in offensive combat operations, i.e., out in the boondocks. Jan 1973; All four parties formally sign Paris Peace Agreements. rate for males in 1970 was 58.9 per 100,000). What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? Answer (1 of 4): Australian troops string out behind tanks in a practice advance over North African sands, on January 3, 1941. Ninety-one percent of these Army officers were warrant officers, second lieutenants, first lieutenants or captains. But they do not appear on TV and in military posters. The Best Tactical Belts for Any Tactical Situation. The list is not exhaustive, but it helps to explain why a unit might have several men not engaging despite being under fire. Charlie referred to communist forces in general, both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. The figures for relative strengths assume the following: On January 1, 1969 there were 110 battalions in Vietnam (98 Infantry, 3 tank, and 9 artillery). The most common military personnel are mechanics. 1972 in the Vietnam War saw foreign involvement in South Vietnam slowly declining However, veterans groups estimate that today approximately 9 to 12 million Americans fraudulently claim they served in Vietnam. Roughly 40% of those who join the military never get deployed to a combat zone at all. With the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union along with the opening up of China, records are now becoming available on the type and amount of support North Vietnam received from China and the Soviet Block. Had to drive through a river to get the stuff out of my tracks. He also writes After a while I could tell the difference between mud and bodies, logs and bodies. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. Hence, besides the information that she shares, viewers pay attention to her appearance and what she wears. If the 1st Cavalry Division respondents reflect the majority veteran view, such men generally performed their duties well and were often respected for their convictions. Other items: Only 25 percent of the US Military who served in Vietnam were draftees. How to play rising storm 2 vietnam with friends? For kowtowing to the wishes of those craven hoards of dodgers and for bugging out and abandoning their former ally. Decades after the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) many former soldiers still wonder why they were fighting. One reason America's agonizing perception of Vietnam will not go away, is because that perception is wrong. It should not matter if you are firing or helping others fire. And approximately 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters are alive today. Eventually, in a classic example of the military art of Mass and Maneuver the NVA massed 40,000 men and overran Xuan Loc. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. What did the . Some American soldiers reacted to their situation by lashing out violently against the Vietnamese, while others took out their anger on U.S. military leaders. These figures were deliberately falsified during the war by the North Vietnamese Communists to avoid demoralizing the population. 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost. "Deeds need to be done in addition to words," says Wowwk, who is 100 percent. 174,000 were US Sailors (this figure includes the US Coast Guard), Total: 58,156 (including men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez, Highest state death rate: West Virginia--84.1. An artillery battalion had approximayely 300 men. 17 What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? Some did it over and over. Without a doubt, you will more likely be going into combat if there is a war involving your country. To help you visualize, that is 1 in 10 soldiers. We already know that duty position had such an effect, but the likelihood that someone engaged varied even among those whose primary job was to shoot to kill. Using combat records for the first time, a landmark study in the journal Science comes up with a number lower than the onetime estimate of 30 percent but still significant: close to 20 percent. If you want to hold your equipment to such utmost standards, here is the place to start. The below information is from www.lzsalley.com (101st Airborne), 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (28 February 1961 - 7 May 1975), 8,744,000 personnel were on active duty during the war (5 August 1964-28March 1973), 3,403,100 (including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the SE Asia, Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, flight crews based in Thailand and sailors, 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam, Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964, Of the 2.6 million, between 1 and 1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in, combat, provided close combat support or were at least fairly regularly. On November 13th, 1982 thousands of Vietnam Veterans participated in a march that ended at the memorial. Only nine of the 1st Cavalry Division veterans reported that they never personally fired on the enemy, a far different result from what Marshall had written was the case in the Pacific and Europe. Contrast that number with the 50-million plus draft dodging anti-war crowd and you have the answer to why the American view of its Vietnam experience is so skewed. Did any American soldiers stay in Vietnam after the war? It was the only year during the U.S. participation in the conflict in which more than 10,000 Americans lost their lives. # 5: The 173rd Airborne Brigade. During the WW II Battle of the Bulge in Europe two regiments of the US Army's 106th Division surrendered to the Germans. From these responses it seems that Americans in Vietnam had little hesitation to engage their enemy. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than, in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. In the Philippines, Army Generals Jonathan Wainwright and Edward King surrendered themselves and their troops to the Japanese. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? But what factors influenced how many times a man had the opportunity to engage the enemy during his time in Southeast Asia? During the entire period of the American involvement in Vietnam only 2,594,000 US Military actual served inside the country. Fifty four percent of the Americans killed in Vietnam were killed in the four northernmost provinces, which in addition to Quang Tri were Thua Thien, Quang Nam and Quan Tin. Blacks accounted for 10.5 percent the combat deaths in Vietnam. Mar 1973; Last US POW released from Hanoi Hilton, and in accordance with Paris Agreements, last American GI leaves Vietnam. The results of that study were published in 2000 in the book Reading Athenas Dance Card: Men Against Fire in Vietnam. Roger Simpson, These veteran PTSD statistics indicate that the Gulf War and Iraq War were similarly traumatic for service members. On 9 Apr 75 the NVA 341st Division joined the attack. 2. The fact that many did survive such a crash was indeed a result of his flying ability. Ce dernier bilan comprend a la fois les victimes de la guerilla vietcong et les soldats nord-vietamiens qui les eacute paulaient. In addition, Congress cut off all AID to the South Vietnamese and would not provide them with as much as a single bullet. REAL Vietnam War veterans are all those who are officially authorized the Vietnam Service medal and possess official military-issued documentation to confirm their medal authorization. Because of faulty record keeping there is no confirmed number of Americans who served in Vietnam. Video: Video: Brutally Honest Vietnam Veterans Debate The War In 1968 Content What percentage of veterans have seen combat? The question was whether there might be an existing problem in the U.S. armed forces. It seemed that all was well. The NVA (North Vietnamese Army) attack fell on the ARVN (Army Republic of Vietnam) 18th Division. In Vietnam no US Military units were overrun and no US Military infantry units or tank outfits were captured. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. There were a large number of REMFs in Vietnam. Those reporters wrapped up in that hazy Namstalgia are largely responsible those distortions (and in many cases outright falsehoods) that are out there in America's Vietnam memory banks. Special divisions are created and grouped into combat troops, many with elite status. Plus, the majority of these members enter the arena as supporting units. What is the life expectancy of a Vietnam veteran? Compelled to determine whether a problem existed, I conducted a survey of 258 1st Cavalry Division Vietnam veterans in 1987. Note that this was "authorized strength". What was the life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam? All You Need to Know! None of these claimants were able to confirm their alleged war history with any military-issued documentation presented by themselves, or found in military archives by The War Library. When asked for his reaction to McNamara's book In Retrospect, Clinton's response was I feel vindicated. (of his cowardly act of dodging the draft). (The national average death. In all, China sent 327,000 troops to North Vietnam. All Rights Reserved en.trandaiquang.org - 2023. Numbers are battle deaths only and do not include ordinary accidents, heart attacks, murder victims, suicides, etc. Often every man fired during a contact; at other times, only a few had the opportunity. He had, in 1972, for the first time in the War, mined Hai Phong Harbor and sent the B-52 bombers against the North to force them into signing the Paris Peace Agreements. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? My duty was to lead riflemen. For a very different reason, chaplains rarely engaged the enemy. During the course of these briefings, we learned that demand for electricity inVietnam increased by a whooping 14% in the first three months of 2000. American soldiers encountered malarial mosquitoes, leeches, ticks, fire ants and 30 different kinds of venomous snake. By 8 Apr, Operation Baby Lift had resumed with the arrival of 56 orphans to the U.S. At the time of the crash over 18,000 orphans were being processed for evacuation from South Vietnam for adoption in the U.S. and other countries. If indeed Life's concern was for the sanctity of American lives why not publish the 1,082 portraits of the folks who were killed in one routine week on the nation's highways? Determining the location of heavy weapons such as machine guns was especially desirable; those were primary targets during any attack because of their greater killing potential. Beginning in 1965, the operation involved over 300,000 sorties conducted by the U.S. A good example of this number pandering can be found in a 1969 Life magazine feature article in which Life's editors published the portraits of 250 men that were killed in Vietnam in one routine week. Similarly, good tactics at times meant that a soldier did not use his primary weapon, if he engaged at all. Additionally, the Vietnam Service Medal has never been 'classified' it is not secret. The second-largest group is specialists in science, information technology, and engineering. These numbers vary according to which news articles you read as totals vary between 305 to 319 on-board. A total of 5,086 choppers, about 42%, were destroyed by enemy fire, bad weather, mechanical snafus and the other bad hands war routinely deals those sent to fight it. For one to feel vindicated, as opposed to being vindicated, one must have first been feeling guilty. Thesoldiersproject.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In detail, there are 10 wings leading up to combat. So, the apex Vietnam-era veteran will be 78.6 around Sep. . Regulations proscribed men in those positions from carrying weapons, though some felt compelled to do so in a war in which medics and chaplains, who were not legitimate targets under accepted rules of war, were shot and killed nonetheless. Your email address will not be published. Enlisted men, warrant officers and commissioned officers who flew or crewed aircraft tended to have considerably more engagements on average. For every 1,000 Americans in Vietnam in 1968, 28 died, a higher ratio than in any other year. It sits astride Q. L. (National Road) #1, some 40 odd miles to the northeast of Saigon (on the road to Phan Thiet), and was the capitol of South Vietnam's Long Khanh province. It's ironic that in spite of all the hype and hullabaloo about the Viet Cong and the American Soldiers both were absent from the final battles for South Vietnam. The percent of the military that sees combat also varies with factors, such as the military branch you are in. These numbers should dispel the notion that Vietnam was some kind of flaming inferno or a huge cauldron of burning dissent. Can you brush your teeth with tap water in vietnam? But what some people may not be aware of is the purpose , A tactical flashlight comes in handy for doing missions or outdoor activities in the dark.

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