The dead were placed on ponchos. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. Every mission, I had the same thought. They were not randomly selected but simply the best at doing it. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . Id love to see the casualties listed by Corps ? 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served. The one that should be there is the combat medic. 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. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. Quickly learned to control rate of fire. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. See also: Population Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. More importantly, Grandstaff was very gung-ho. 8h%5HF8r,X'q#Vtgz%)P/Oi#rU(uO&*Xx1t^=xVLi It began just as, it was getting dark. We had run patrols for about a month when I first saw action. They run into the fire to help the wounded and many get wounded or killed. It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. 1 Gun more than I did. We wanted a break. I met a Marine a few years ago who was stationed North of Da Nang. We used to provide cover for these guys. Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. Ron. Were talking averages, obviously so, an RTO, with an expectancy of 5 seconds (!) He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. No. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. endstream endobj 4315 0 obj <>/Metadata 89 0 R/Pages 4312 0 R/StructTreeRoot 120 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 4316 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 4312 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 4317 0 obj <>stream Grab some friends and go outside. Sergeant Galiano's experience does not deny Brands depiction of the battle in Vietnam, but offers a typically overlooked perspective of a drafted soldier fighting in the central highlands of Vietnam. I am proud to have fought alongside of them. It was on the Job Training ! The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. In Vietnam, 1 in 400 of the wounded died of their . Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. Mech. 1 Gun kept a lot of enemy heads down. Some very close calls but I am alive at age 74. wmy:LsN{/^yzJ] 6.7>n-:FqOa#CW>ia?wt?Xa@ghCd bF)`Schl4*f. His body was torn to pieces. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. Spent my year in a Recon platoon 2/35th 4th ID. Then we learned, appx: 1 mile to our North was, an American AMMO storage area. As I was running to the rivers edge, ready to unload on the VC hiding in the elephant grass, I ran past a grass hut and never bothered to clear it. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. DeLong was later killed attempting to escape from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Cambodia. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. In Vietnam he cut the hair of everyone in his company for free. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. We had been carrying machine guns for over seven months. Two of my closest friends in the company, Spc. I personally carried 300 rounds of ammo at all times, one belt in the gun and two across my chest. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! Cruz quite a lot. Was a door gunner and crew chief for just shy of 18 months (I extended to get out early). endstream endobj startxref But it was my jobso I tried not to think about it much. three, he believes he is doing what his country wants him to dojust like you So you better damn well treat him with the compassion you want for you!! 1 Gun and I survived our first firefight. There were also wounded. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. The one number that is really important is 56,220 and we all know what that number represents. 1: physical position (in the field / column) The fact that PDoggbiker cant find any decent calculation/explanation, tells us a lot. The U.S. Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual contains gems such as infantry "patrol tips," maneuver techniques, and fighting methods for various environments. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. 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). Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. I think convoy truck drivers had one of the most dangerous job. We were all in our Bunkers, and at the ready with our weapons. It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. Great story!!! Wortman, another RTO never made it back to The World. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. Welcome home. Very memorable comments. US Wings is a verified SAM Contractor and DLA Supplier and is officially listed as a manufacturer/retailer in the US Department of Commerce's Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) Made in the USA database. Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. Background [ edit] What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. 1 Gun had registered its first kill. 4329 0 obj <>stream They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. Soon after, Pfc. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. A former expert with the M60 machine gun shares his experiences wielding the fearsome weapon in Vietnam. Many were killed or wounded ! Why is my internet redirecting to gslbeacon.ligit.com and how do I STOP THIS. Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. The two platoons were to advance no more than 200 yards from the main body of the company. Oh, and even the Air Force has ground units. 2 Gun.. I was lucky too but VN never left me. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. hmK#1+yNvA Thank You Roger!!! (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. 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. The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No. Interesting reading. When the Company B units that landed on the opposite side of the river got to the bank, some troops reached in and pulled the enemy from the water. I was over there twice serving as a Hospital Corpsman with a marine unit. For example, life expectancy of Veterans at age 25 population, thus 3.6 and 0.5 life-years smaller income differentials for male and female Veterans, respectively, shown in Tables 17 and 18. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1974. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. Great reading. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. There were usually 3 man (At least 2) point teams. Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". I am 81 now and survived the encounter by terminated the sniper. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. Sorry,I was one of your Brothers in Arms that helped talk you out of enlisting for another year in Vietnam. Vietnam War the helicopters that came in to transport soldiers were the hardest hit with mass casualties . I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. At Fort Lewis, every recruit learned to operate various weapons. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. 1st Platoon, C Company, 2nd Battalion 327th Infantry. Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. He was killed in an ambush along with three others. Welcome home brothers and sisters. Hack volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1968, joining the 1st Infantry Division. Contents 1 Unclear objectives 2 North Vietnamese strategy I applaud the courage and difficult and all so dangerous job of Roger Herforth when he served as an RTO for the Hawk Recon Platoon of the 101st airborne division in Vietnam.. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. Nixon Presidential Papers. As some said, averages are meaningless. No trees or anything on the ground. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures). By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. U.S. Wings is a manufacturer and a supplier. (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). I traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained there for 10 months before deploying to Vietnam as specialist 4. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. Here is an 18 Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. All that other stuff about seconds and minutes were story tellers, embellishing things to impress some listeners back home. I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. Originally I went to the 543d TC. After every officer in our company was either killed or had serious wounds, our 1st Sgt , David McNerney took over the company and without his leadership, and knowledge of war, and unbelievable courage, our company would probably have been wiped out. I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. 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. 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! Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. Totally bogus. If the enemy was near, we never saw any. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. Our 5th night there, the AMMO area started burning / blowing up. Such as in the song Jimmy by M.I.A look at aaja in the dictionary My indian boyfriend told me is meaning come to me, 6 Answers I have never had or heard of that particular brand, but have had several here in Canada, plus a number in the Caribbean and Asia, and there all the same, small cut hot dogs in a can, no need q now please.. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas:? I was an RTO for 9-1/2 months for Hawk Recon 2/327 101AB from dec, 1969 to sept 70. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. And I know what youre going to say, Because the American cs! Bullcrap!!!! The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. Walked point way to many times but never had contact. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. They were a great bunch. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. An interesting comment I had. _____ 1. 10-4. My dad died of cancer at 52. Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunners life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. If there was anything to this life expectancy of a few minutes then myself and many of my friends that are still alive today would be a long time dead. Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. 2. If you have other information let me know. Eventually I found a spot where the bed leveled off and began firing on the NVA. David H. McNerney, who assumed command of the company when all of its officers were killed or wounded, was presented with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony in September 1968. What Was It Like To Hump The Boonies in Vietnam? Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. 0 I was an M-60 machine gunner for a battalion recon platoon in 1967, for the First Infantry Division, Known as The Black Scarf Battalion. Address: 561 E Hines Hill Road Hudson, Ohio 44236 Phone: 1-800-650-0659 / 330-655-5050 Fax: 330-653-3750 Email: [emailprotected], Retail Store Hours: Monday-Friday: 9am - 5pm EST Saturdays: 10am -3pm (Oct-Jan) Sundays: Closed. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. Really no mention of the regular rifleman. They kept coming up the hill bringing more bodies to me until all seven had been found. 5 seconds. 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. I lost my cherry very early. Comments were more interesting than the article it self. 97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged. by Zita Ballinger Fletcher 1/18/2022. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. I wasnt sure if the VC had moved to right or left, so I sprayed the elephant grass in both directions. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Some of my men didnt. As soon as he did, a round hit him in the forehead, blowing out the back of his skull. The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. I applaud your courage as I know an RTOs job is essential, difficult (carrying the weight of his radio transmitter, his rifle, his ammo, and his rucksack), and dangerous as the enemy surely wanted to knock out any communications for support. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. Done ranting. Our battalion operated at a base camp near Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province along the South China Sea from October 1966 to January 1967. Or is it on display in a Hanoi museum so curious citizens of that city can inspect a weapon captured from American imperialists? To my surprise, I qualified as an expert with the M60 machine gun, nicknamed the pig because of the size, weight and sound of the weapon. In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. I agree with all of the comments, however I would add Tunnel Rats to the group I was one and saw many of my friends die in those tunnels I was very fortunate or very lucky and was never a lead but was at the tail end. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers. In Vietnam 70% 0f the casualties were Infantry BUT it might be 70% of ALL the Infantry that served in Vietnam. A soldier or Marine in Vietnam had a 98% chance of survival if he was evacuated within the first hour of being injured the best odds in the history of American warfare up to that time. To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. I always felt that Infantry units were in more danger because of ambush issues and no permanent defensive structures. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. If you look at all of the things the radio operators were tasked with, it becomes abundantly clear why commo guys weren't expected to last long. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. Sometimes on Family Guy when there about to take someones heart out they say, calimar or maybe its spelled different. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. Also , it I might add that the, Government big wigs, have a quota [percentage]of a lot of the Military equipment etc that had a certain amount of time to function until it was disable, blow up, wrecked, junk, etc. I was never formally trained as an RTO. Deltoid muscle _____ 2. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. We were very, lucky. where can i find red bird vienna sausage? This is excellent! Veteran Owned Since 1986. HOOAH!!! My good friend who was a RTO was killed. Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). The 4th Platoons single machine gun crewthe platoon had entered the fight short a gunhad been killed in the fighting, and I was to be moved there. But, once the enemy lays down his weapon, I want YOU TO REMEMBER THREE THINGS: 1, HE IS A SOLDIER, JUST LIKE YOU.2, HE IS AWAY FROM HOME And family, just like you. In January 1967, the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, was airlifted to Pleiku province in the Central Highlands. Five RTOs. Was No. You seen the enemy you shots him and vice versa. Phi Pow B.Sc (econ) in Economic History & Economics (college minor), London School of Economics and Political Science Author has 212 answers and 234.6K answer views 2 y Originally Answered: What soldier had the shortest life expectancy? Suddenly, I heard my name shouted from the Company B command group. Cause-specific . Its not all written down. I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. We took fire all the time and responded. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. All the comments and replies are of absolute truth, I was only 18 when I got to Nam ,Im a country boy from NC so here I am Keep in step with US Wings Join our newsletter to receive all our latest news and offers, Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from US Wings. Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. And yes, please God, bless America. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine.? It was always quick/quick, load the bodies in and get the hell out. Hurrying forward with No. 1 Gun onto a small hill and provide security while others retrieved them. I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. His comparison to a FB was that if we were fired on we returned fire and requested assistance when needed. maybe your question i vauge. 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. As I made it back to the road I remember seeing the In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans group. Nobody attacked, where we were. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. S/F, There were no door gunners on dustoffs. 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. I carried the proc 26 radio after I was asked by my field 1st ( E 7 ) if I would for my platoon . I remember hearing somewhere about an RTO who wasnt getting the info out correctly and the Lieutenant (Kennedy) grabbed the mic and said My RTO Is Foxtrot Uniform. I always found life expectancy numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated.
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