they sucked. In my Book if you didnt step foot in Nam Your sure not a Vietnam Vet, Period. He was drafted and qualified for Helicopter pilot school. I do not believe we were counted as vets. More than 300,000 Veterans were wounded during the Vietnam War. He was a Private First Class who was killed in action in the Second World War. When the 3rd Brigade,82 ABD moved from Camp Rodriguez (I Corps) in October 1968 my first base was Tent Citynear Bien Hoa (III Corps) then my unit was moved to Phu Loi. i have read that only one in seven guys that went to Vietnam, were actually in combat.
Over 100,000 US Vietnam Vet Suicides To Date! - Rense Active duty 70-71, Quang Tri, Khe Sahn, Danny. If one in ten saw sustained combat, then there may be as little as 60,000 of us left! but i was happy to serve. i was a merchant marine officer, technically a civilian. Anyone who served during or because of The Vietnam War IS a Vietnam War Veteran. I would say anyone who has drawn Vietnam Hazard Duty pay, 30 dollars for every month or part of any month, in or over country, should qualify. my larger point is that , in my opinion, they were veterans. Mean 69 maybe? We all started getting heart attacks around the same time. 23 Div and finally MACV Tm 87, 43 RCAT 18th ARVN Div. A Vietnam era veteran is certainly not a Veteran of the Vietnam War. Having studied the war for years, I believe that the correct figure for those on the ground in South Vietnam is 2.6 million. the average combat vet in Nam was 240 days. So Huey pilots and crew were REMFs. But Officers do not get CIBs But for those Cav troopers who know I have my Spurs. I flew as a crew chief / door gunner from dec 12 th 1965 till dec 15th 1967,I may not have had my boots on the ground out side the wire but we flew close air support , every time you grunts got your ass in a sling we were there to help you, i was on old B model gun ships low and slow ,I was shot down three times, so i dont think your cib means that much to me. The Nation supported WWI & WWII, the entire Nation was involved in the war effort. We all served in our assigned duties, some bled, and some died. You do not need to establish anything other than that. Sorry for your loss of your loved one. This part of Pleiku Province is a combination of mountains, triple to single canopy jungle and/or open valleys. 997 soldiers997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam . Dave V. 1st Battalion, 14 th FA, Americal Division, VN, I Corps. How many Vietnam vets have died from Agent Orange? Divarty (how ironic), and with my DEROS (Date I returned to the States) in the end of May boarding The BIG Bird, flying across the Pond and back to the World! by your definition, cia personal in civilian clothes were not veterans. Again, I see a jumbled view of jungle and sky, and vaguely see a solitary soldier standing over me. My performance as Dante Michael Anthony Puccetti was at its close, and resembling the theater, I was ready to take my curtain call. i am not better, but i am not worse. But the 23 months I spent doing my duty as outlined our government to assure you had a way to be resupplied means I, and those like me, am a Vietnam Veteran. One count should be those Vietnam Veterans who had feet on the ground. Perhaps the reason for guys is that there were times we had to drink out of bomb craters that were in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. As a retired Green Beret, his assessment and stats of the war are accurate. how would you define a clerk typist who stayed in saigon and never went into the field. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Nha Trang (TET 68), It was an incredibly tumultuous time in US hi >, It poses more confusion about what constitutes a Vietnam Vet! I was thinking that in 10 days I would be on R&R in Taipei, Formosa. Each BUFF had 6 crewmen onboard. It is difficult to say how many Vietnam veterans have been affected by Agent Orange. Korea had 2 divisions in Vietnam The White Horse & Tiger Divisions The Australian Military was also present but I do not know the numbers There could be others. Served until April 28, 1968 !!!!!! I was searching aria, even though these ruts are a real bitch! I was jostled and jerked by the truck over the dusty road. Combat Veteran means being awarded a CIB. I got angry at him even saying that he was a vet of the war. More than 3.4 million deployed to Southeast Asia (1) and approximately 2.7 million of those served in the Republic of Vietnam (2). The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. Each averaged 2500-3000 personnel on a yearly rotating bases, groaning and shrinking based on the missions being conducted. Well thank God congress got it right putting the definition into law, otherwise those who served there would not be eligible for many VA benefits, particularly Agent Orange claims. I was ASA, 1960-1963, Ft Dix, Vint Hill Farm, DaNang and PhuBai. one yearA tour of duty in Vietnam for most ground forces lasted one year. After Vietnam I hitchhiked for about 12 years. So, nearly 300,000 over the 14 years of their operations, a far cry above the 2500-3000 referenced in the article. Serving in combat waters. C 3/17 Air Cav. How old is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? Antonia is a firm believer in the power of education, and she is passionate about helping students reach their full potential. I got in about 20 firefights. Be content with your service, and leave it there. They are paying on Melathion settlements (Watch TV, and it as on 2 to 3% purity, used inside US) There are no living Veterans that I know of. It seems to be all about syntax. The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. Im glad you made it back! i went to dong ha several times.
How many REAL Vietnam vets are alive today? - American War Library Those who do not remember where in country they were, WHERE NOT THERE.. Or suffering from a complete mental memory disorder. That number was reasonable: About 9.2 million Americans served in the military during the Vietnam era . YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. i TO AM A VEITNAM VET. Does having your ramp down and touching a river bank count as boots on ground while we were not allowed to go off the boat when we were pumping gas to the airbase? So, where is the discrepancy in these numbers? The truth is that until Vietnam veterans can agree amongst themselves what constitutes a real Vietnam vet, the debate may continue. Infantry Division. they did not get metals. The Vietnam Nam Veteran and the Vietnam Era Veteran is defined by law ,, am I correct???? you tell me. No one paid any attention to them and this non-controversy continues. As the Department of Veterans Affairs studies, each day over 20 veterans take their own lives. As Ive mentioned before, I dont think posing this question was intended to be divisive among veterans, but it has turned out to be. What other conclusions have been made about the percentage of Vietnam veterans who are still alive? So I was in the Army National Guard during the Iraq War, So I guess I am An Iraq War Veteran. Avoiding the specifics & particulars is a sign of fraud or a deeply disturbed relationship to their past. You were in Combat!!! The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A , who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. Got home after the war, never spoke about my service, never went hunting again, never cut my feeling back on! No two people standing side by side performed the same duties. Please do all you can to inform our fellow vets that the VA presumes Agent Orange exposure if you were in-country. Luck of the draw my twin that received a silver star got the luck of the draw made it home. We havent forgotten that time of our lives, and remember full well, that most of these ERA Vets joined these other branches in a desperate attempt to avoid service in Vietnam. My uncle John was in Company A, 290th Engineer Combat Bn during WWII. The insistence to include Vietnam-ErA vets with those who served in-country results in a ridiculous skew to any meaningful stats. Everything slowed down, and I was alone, above my body that was thrown into the dashboard hitting with my left side. but some men, like myself , were told by their draft board, go to vietnam on your ship. Dec. 5, 1967 to April 28, 1968 is 144 days. I meant any one that stepped foot in Number who served in country and number who served DURING the Vietnam War regardless of where they were deployed. All I know is that Im a Vietnam Combat Vet. I served as a Navy Corpsman, Fall of Saigon. Presently, I approached the road to the top of PDL hill, and I was thinking what a beautiful day this would have been if this were some other place in some other world. I think The NY Times has conflated he number of Viet Nam veterans with those who served in the military during the years 1960-1975. NO, some who got to sleep in the same bed night after night, yet were low slow flying targets by day are NOT REMF. we spent sometimes a month or more in one port depending on the cargo and the need. So yes, we did indeed see combatoften. Ah. However, according to the Veterans Affairs Administration, there are an estimated 38,000 veterans die each day. My son, James, is 16 and has autism. Vietnam War veterans can suffer from a variety of physical and mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug and/or alcohol problems, and hearing loss. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111. I started this post a year ago, it was a simple question. in only 6-10 years.. . An overwhelming number are buried by family and friends. Perfect. Born: 09/15/1946. Are we counted as two people or have they accounted for us already. I was in Vinh Long in 1965, Mekong delta area. Unless they kept track by service or SSN, how many Vietnam Veterans are there ? I volunteered for 3 TDY tours 18 months total.
Using the 2.7 million and assuming one hundred thousand did two tours, I would use the six hundred thousand as the amount still living, due mainly to the delays in Agent Orange treatments and PTSD delays with the sucides from 1970 approx. If you served in country on a ship in the gulf or dropped 2000 pound bombs you are a vietnam vet. Got the scars to prove it too, both physical and mental. i sailed with some in vn at the end of the work lives. He was carrying a BAR, killed fighting an infantry action, and the desk jockeys decided he did not meet requirements for a CIB. One sapper shot off a whole magazine of armor piercing bullets at the drivers side windshield of the truck, and glass was flying in all directions. What numbers do the VA have? I had encountered a learning experience, and inspirational contact with the celestial. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. I had several Canadians in our Company in Vietnam. Certainly leaves some doubt about the numbers because why are we including the years from 1954 to when the actual American forces entered hostile missions? Thank you. When I opened my mouth and started talking about Nam, Id get this response, We dont talk about Nam .In my opinion we should tell everyone about our combat experience. That number stands around 306,000 killed by agent Orange (and other colors). makes no diff, if you were a grunt or cook. I served in Quang Tri (70-71) and took two types of Malaria pills. Agent Orange is impacting that timeline and those serving around the world were not affected by this wonderous life-robbing gift. Helicopter Units and losses in the Vietnam War, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo, https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. if you read up on it you will see that ww2 merchant sailors were despised as cowards. Help train personnel from many different Companies to do the same. The thing is the question/topic here is not how many Vietnam combat veterans are there, or how many Vietnam Era veterans are there; its how many Vietnam veterans are there. Tough and crazy. and i abhor those who say they served when they were plumbers in texas and talk of medals they never earned. Since Sept. 11, 2001, just over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide four times more than the number of U.S. military personnel who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trucks grill was a few feet away should I crawl underneath or try to hide in the nearby jungle? to Ken Drombosky Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These numbers do not include the Americans who served in Vietnam during World War II. When we DEROSed we were given 6-8 pills to continue taking them every week. He never did ,Thank god ,because I ended up marrying a beautiful woman and we have the most precious and beautiful daughter. Active Duty: 473,000 These numbers were not included since these service members were far removed from combat experience and did not spend any amount of time in harms way.. One of the things that really bothers me is the statement that we lost in Vietnam? We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! Interesting, no way is 75 percent f real vets are alive today? To my understanding, Army aviation unitsAssault Companies, Cav Troops, ARA units etc., had the highest casualty rates of any TO & E unit in Vietnam. Assuming were talking solely about U.S. Vietnam veterans, all I would add is that anyone who served in the military and entered the war zone is technically a Vietnam veteran. However, like it or not, the U.S. government makes the final decisions on who is officially considered a war veteran and thats really the way it HAS to be. 100,000 or more to suicide and most of those occurred after the men came home. We and they generally slept in the same bunks in the same tent if we werent up on call during the night. These are numbers never heard before & I would not include those before the advisers were sent over in the early/mid 60s. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. As an analogy I will use familiar figure of that time. (LogOut/ Combat Vets served in country. What Was It Like To Hump The Boonies in Vietnam? I agree, 10% in combat, sounds right! What report or reference confirms it? Please do your own due diligence on the American War Library before citing them on ANYTHING, ever. I was a REMF but was on my 4th pair of boots. I remember lots of the names Evana, Eagle, Bastone, Granite, Ripcord, Maryanne.
How many REAL Vietnam vets are alive today? - American War Library