So do us all a favor and please learn to be tolerant, intelligent, and active. Together we had passed the test. Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some It was on the Job Training ! 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. Now, to calmly answer your question, air strikes have actually been an efficient technique used by us for years now. As an infantry platoon Sgt of a platoon made up of all draftees my age 21 plus or minus a year We fought the largest single one day battle of the war March 21, 1967 known as the Battle of Soui Tre, fire support base Gold operation Junction City, that base was commanded by LtCol John Vessey of the 2/77 FA Vessey was a 25 year veteran of WWII fame with a DSC at Anzio, and on this day he was looking at the end of his career after that tour in Vietnam. Although we do tend to bomb a lot, thats only half of what we do. I am 16 years old an 150 pounds qith some good muscle. Every mission, I had the same thought. Jimmy aaja, jimmy aaja. 1 Gun onto a small hill and provide security while others retrieved them. And us the living that served, who suffer from PTSD ,that figure or percent-aged would be about the greatest of all. The body felt as though it weighed considerably more than it looked. to the empployees was very informative. Theres 58,276. maybe your question i vauge. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. I sure feel for all you guys that went outside the wire. He was killed in an ambush along with three others. Suddenly I realized that my platoon sergeant was screaming at me to stop firing. Two points: 1) at least in Army units, Medevacs (dust offs) flew unarmed aircraft. We looked for cover and returned fire the best we could. Umm..maybe its because we also learn from experience. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. I was an FO back in the day. No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. For example: 7*x^2. They were Kims cousins not her brothers. I had yet to fire a shot with No. Different strokes for different folks in war fer sure. 1 Gun and I survived our first firefight. Date: March 8, 2020 Author: pdoggbiker 97 Comments Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. Different jobs have different life expectancy. Soon after, Pfc. They kept coming up the hill bringing more bodies to me until all seven had been found. We were about 700 yards east of Company A when it was ambushed by an NVA battalion. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. Thats why they called us GRUNTS ! News media have reported tha an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc.Those are incorrect. I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. As we were, steadily building up, our area for protection. Here is an 18 The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. 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. 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:? Love this analysis. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas? Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was . It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. Spent my year in a Recon platoon 2/35th 4th ID. Some of my men didnt. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . I carried the PRC-25 Radio most of that time. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. By mid-April 1967 I was pleading with the captain to get a replacement gunner for my M60 in 4th Platoon. 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. I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. V. Victor Renza was sent home after he was wounded on May 18, 1967. I was told to show the new guy how to use it properly. (You can unsubscribe anytime), The US Wings website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant and adheres to their standards for accessibility of the internet so people with disabilities can surf the web more easily & efficiently. 1 Gun became my very best friend. What is the life expectancy of Vietnam veterans? sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. LUCK pure LUCK. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. We had been carrying machine guns for over seven months. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (CACF) Going backwards (Apr. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. BS but ia a way you are correct. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. Or is it on display in a Hanoi museum so curious citizens of that city can inspect a weapon captured from American imperialists? Lucky you. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years, after the fall of Saigon in 1975, than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. Ron. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. Got hit inside 15 minutes, first ambush we walked up too. Some gave all. Forget the statistics, we all had a job to do, we went where we were told. is sharing facts, thats truly good, keep up writing. It was very nearly my last. Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. We were told in training that the life expectancy of a machine gunner was about seven seconds from the moment the first round was fired. Data based on the latest United Nations Population Division estimates. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. We had 5 kias and roughly 50 wounded in our company so about one in three got hit. We all gotta die sometime, Red. SSgt Barnes, Platoon, its nothing to really concern yourself with, on a long enough time line everyones survival rate is 0%. Men and women die everyday. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. 1 Gun and I now faced a new and more formidable foethe North Vietnamese Army. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. Its not all written down. Soldiers also act in the mobilization of vehicles, weaponry, troops, and more. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. No. I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. (tirotactico.net). So I guess I defied the odds. located on the South End of, the Post. both tours. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. He decided to stay even though he had a deep feeling he wasnt going to make it. I didnt want any medals. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). In all that time, the Tet 1968 fighting in Saigon was the only time the unit fought a pitched urban battlevery unusual during the war. I was a grunt with c co. 4/31 196th it inf bade. It was just part of the job. An interesting comment I had. I watched in horror as four NVA soldiers ambled through the branches of a downed tree that partially concealed us. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Activated in 1915, as the 173rd Infantry Brigade, the unit saw service in World War II but is best known for its actions during the Vietnam War. Background [ edit] Not long after the artillery barrage ended, the North Vietnamese swept through 4th Platoon and executed some of the survivors. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans group. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. Interesting reading. Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. 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 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. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. Posterior Thigh _____ 4. One was holding a carbine. In the First Armored Division, now part of the 23rd Infantry Division, commonly known as the Americal Division, combat medics were called into action every day because the fighting was now. The answer that we have always been given is that 1 year in the Infantry is equivalent to 3 years of hard labor. More importantly, Grandstaff was very gung-ho. 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. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Not much different than his unit. I've never heard about the life expectancy of 6 weeks (even with a short google search). I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. A "Sapper" is a combat engineer soldier who is with the front line infantry troops. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers. How old are Vietnam vets now? Really? I was sitting on the ground one day trying to dry out my gear and better configure my ruck when my squad leader came walking over to me and said, Gow, youve got the radio. As he turned and walked away! The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365). I remember we were always short of replacements throughout 1968 because of the high Kia & wounded rate we suffered at that time ! The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. And I know what youre going to say, Because the American cs! Bullcrap!!!! In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. The next three weeks passed uneventfully. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. I also was 2/327 B company. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. He said when they were ambushed they took defensive positions, returned fire, called for assistance when needed, and retreated when necessary. Five RTOs. US Wings provides aviation apparel to the U.S. Government and commercial customers along with the general public. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. 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. Four platoons in a rifle company. Like most inexperienced gunners, he underestimated the power of the pig and failed to keep the barrel down when firing. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. Express your answer in terms of x. Thank You Roger!!! I couldnt disagree. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the VietnamWar? Great story!!! Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. Seattle, Washington(WA), 98106. No trees or anything on the ground. Thanks. No. 67-67 11B 4th Id. In Vietnam 70% 0f the casualties were Infantry BUT it might be 70% of ALL the Infantry that served in Vietnam. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. When we reached Company A, we placed our dead in the center of the two-company perimeter. Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. Often as not he was right beside you with a stolen chicken and a bag of rice. Suddenly, I heard my name shouted from the Company B command group. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. He served as a sergeant with the Big Red One in Lai Khe, Vietnam. Much smaller income differentials in life expectancy, 0.2 to 3.6 life-years smaller for Veterans in 2010-17 are estimated. meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. 101st Airborne Division. Sure but so was everyone else who went 12 months without getting killed or wounded. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! Black fatalities amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in Southeast Asia, a figure proportional to the number of blacks in the U.S. population at the time and slightly lower than the proportion of blacks in the Army at the close of the war.. It was a chaotic nightmare. We could not see any enemy soldiers, but we could see smoke coming from their weapons through the trees. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. 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. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. The Bn & Company I was assigned to, was on the last row of Bldgs. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. Most of us have memories of these kind of experiences. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the M60 machine gun. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. Can I use this word like this: The addressal by the C.E.O. 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. Overrun and utterly destroyed, the 30-man 4th Platoon had suffered 21 killed and one missing. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. The NVA had wedged a blocking force between our company and Company A, preventing us from advancing any farther. I never even got a shot off. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. He then said that they were generally on patrol moving through their area, both attacking and being attacked depending if the VC knew their location. 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. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. It had a crew of 4 (forward gunner, the coxswain (steering and driving) and the two aft gunners. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. Well, according to current mortality and morbidity statistics for the USright around 77.5 Years! We used to provide cover for these guys. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. 99% of infantry men will currently live to die of natural causes. approaching a village and a firefight starts). The Bronze Star was awarded to ALL that were awarded the CIB in WWII because the Infantry accounted for over 70% of the casualties in WWLL BUT NOT 70% )F ALL THE INFANTRY !!! No. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. It was the silent power of the pig, I suppose. Why is my internet redirecting to gslbeacon.ligit.com and how do I STOP THIS. African Americans played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. Needless too say I depended on Sgt. The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country. 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). I want to know what the life expectancy of a us infantry army soldier is. _____ 1. Life Expectancy of the World Population. The life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War ranged between five to six seconds all the way up to a slightly-more-optimistic thirty seconds, depending on your source. Before he was drafted Renza had worked as a hairdresser for women in his hometown of Peekskill, New York. Staying alive was kinda of important. If the enemy was near, we never saw any. 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. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. 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 The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No. 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. 15 May he was killed by friendly fire, and a host of us were WIA, myself included. Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. And yes, please God, bless America. The dead were placed on ponchos. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. 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.
River City Marketplace Restaurants Jacksonville, Fl,
Pickleball League Greensboro, Nc,
Affordable 55 Plus Communities In North Carolina,
What Language Does Merlin Speak When Casting Spells,
Colorado Beer Festival 2022,
Articles L