2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, Ive also created a poll to help identify my website audience before leaving, can you please click, Vietnam: The War that killed Trust (GuestPost), Gold Star Families Memorial Monument DedicationCeremony. Far as Im concerned, they are all Vietnam Vets and this devisiness should STOP! Yep feet never left the ground except to do my mos. In my Book if you didnt step foot in Nam Your sure not a Vietnam Vet, Period. A number 1/2 the peak, say 250,000 still seems high but would come closer to 3,000,000 number serving. It was hot that day; the mosquitoes were going through my mind, and the sun was again brilliant. The first US advisors that I can find evidence of arrived in country in 1955. In fact, the first two advisors (MAJ Dale Buis and MSG Chester Ovnand) killed by the enemy died in an attack on their base near Bien Hoa on July 8, 1959. Then, I stopped at the 5th. My question, How many guys are I still alive refers to the ones who were in direct combat action? Of the nearly 3Mil that served, only one in twelve were in fire fights. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents Born: 04/07/1937. Bien Hoa & Phu Bai, two badly polluted areas! that conversation has stayed with me. There were approx. This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. young men and woman who were there and did get fired on, or were in danger, should be recognized . So it only makes sense that for those very few of the 9+ million in the service during those years so be able to distinguish themselves. Does anyone else remember ? I think 9+ million total in US military service during the peak years of the Vietnam War and 2.6 2.7 million in Nam and its waters and air space is right. 101st Airborne Division, 1969-70 This accurate accounting gives us persepective on the cost of current and future wars. Air crews who flew over Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam had no Fox hole or ditch yo hid behind while delivering payload after payload to help destroy supplies heading towards those in the bush, while avoid withering anti-aircraft fire and missiles. The artillery, Helo crews, combat engineers, in Vietnam are also considered Combat Vets, Well, I guess it just did not count for us Huey Teams (Sky Angels) supporting infantry/artillery units by flying in to lay down suppression fire, flying you into hot LZs, taking you out of the boonies, bringing you ammo and supplies, flying the wounded and dead back to base camp, not to mention Huey night Hawk missions to rectify an enemy ambush for our infantry that would be pinned down with no hope of survival. it eas a very loud high pitched, not human and the sound was fuck you. eventually i commented that i had flown into dong ha on resupply missions , having become bored with my mates work on merchant ships that spent long weeks at da nang. Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. Yep we got briefings then helloed into some ridge in who knows where. There are 500,000 Korean War veterans still living, but about 600 of those die every day, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. Me? it is the duty of the community to stay behind their warriors to heal them and at the back of them when they come back. What do you think? 23 Div and finally MACV Tm 87, 43 RCAT 18th ARVN Div. Leave your thoughts below in the comment section. How many Vietnam War veterans are still alive 2022? Good for him! RVN. Everyone knows this. First and most important who is a Vietnam veteran? Bob, 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. One of the things that really bothers me is the statement that we lost in Vietnam? I was C 3/17 Air Cav. The average annual payment was $18,100. by your definition, cia personal in civilian clothes were not veterans. Antonia is a firm believer in the power of education, and she is passionate about helping students reach their full potential. I pulled up to the local tailor shop to fix some of my fatigue pants. the draft board made that very clear. in ww2 more merchant men were killed than all the services combined until june 6, 1944. and they were civilians. How Many Vietnam Veterans are AliveToday? Numbers can always be manipulated. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? However, typically, the number of World War 2 veterans who die each day is approximately 100. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. How Many World War 2 Veterans Die Each Day? About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year. But the bad news is that Charlie knew exactly where they were . About 30000 Canadians came into the us to join up. i said once if you walked , you worked. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Then we went back to the Boonies. maybe, maybe not. If you served in country on a ship in the gulf or dropped 2000 pound bombs you are a vietnam vet. I know from my time with the 3/25 that you dont need to be a ground pounder to see more then your share of combat. Quite a story. Just a minor clarification, not all of us were on the groundJust being picky. Check out this post and see if you can figure this out. The wheels were bouncing crazily as the tires encounter deep furrows dug in the hard dirt from the last monsoon. It is an all-too-common misunderstanding that to be affected by Agent Orange you had to have been sprayed, and/or you are required to prove that to the VA. There were an estimated 58,318 U.S. soldier casualties alone. If you are a pretender go stand in front of the mirror and tell that lie one more time so you can watch yourself steal the respect from an actual COMBAT VETERAN A/3/22 3rd Brigade 4th ID Dau Tieng 12/66 to 1/68. I always ask if they know what a fuck you lizard was. In country Vietnam Vets are the only Vietnam Vets. The definition of Combat Veteran is NOT if you have a CIB. two weeksOver 10% of Vietnam casualties were helicopter crew members, and most of those were the door gunners that protected the helicopter, its crew, and its transports, from their exposed position. so if you wore chinos instead of camo you are not a veteran? I am an Era vet, and the closest I got was R&R in Thailand. But serving in any capacity in Vietnam makes that service person a War vet. https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War. It was a free-fire zone, and a nearby flight of gunships was engaged in shooting up the western valley. This is a reasonable number but you get very different notions of the death rate when you compare 800,000 to 2.7 million versus 800,000 out of 9.2 million. Be content with your service, and leave it there. Music That Moves the Military. Tough and crazy. But that number will probably go down by at least 50,000 to 75,000 per year. The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. Served at Quang Tri Combat Base )QTCB) 71-72) Same here. . I realized what control I had in the cosmos. Lets ask somebody on Facebook where we can get all the correct true data and facts. Each BUFF had 6 crewmen onboard. With the Americal after I got back I had maps. I changed emails and cant reach you!! 4-39th, 9th Div. Nebraska Farm Boy, that had to go to County Agent Classes before buying any chemicals. Base was 1st MAW Danang AB which got hit early Tet with rockets, mortars and sappers. I was a merchant marine officer on cargo ships, american export lines, for three years, back and forth to viet nam. I am unsure of how many Native peoples joined the US marine corps and volunteered for combat duties. Then I down shifted entered the worst section of massive ruts and the broken-up roadbed threw the truck all about its grooves. 2 tours I volunteered and my 3rd I re-enlisted. 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. Very helpful for this Viet Nam vet, at 73 and a little long in the tooth I I find that my understanding of the time I spent in Viet Nam comes into sharper focus as time goes by and the reality of what happened and what I did to participate makes me proud especially because I volunteered for Viet Nam at the age of 17. Interesting and certainly thought-provoking. Agent Orange is impacting that timeline and those serving around the world were not affected by this wonderous life-robbing gift. For the are all Vietnam Vetersns.I was stationed. Like you I am sick of ERA Veterans claiming to be in country. If I got in the ring with Cassius clay later known as Mohamed Ali. Aint this fun? No reflection on your daily activities, just a friendly piece of information. According to the American War Library website, it was concluded by the Department of Defense that their best estimate is that between 2,709,918 and 3,173,845 GIs served in Vietnam and its surrounding waters between the years 1954 and 1975. drafted in 1966, Vietnam 1967-68 with the 1st infantry Division.now 75!!!! Air medals say combat support flying night spook missions around Haiphong from 68 -71. I had a Swedish citizen in AIT, with orders to go to Vietnam. That means bullets where flying at me and I killed people in combat. 1st cav div. None of us could have done our job without the support of troops around the globe. And i can tell you , we made a lot of money. Yes. I was at 6 different LZs from Aug 67-Aug 68, with a 4th Medical Battalion aid station (D Company), and I never heard of a fuck you lizard. I rode river patrol boats from 1968-9 we were on the rivers but we were there 24hours a day days a week. Separate war. when we carried peaches and beer, no problem. Today is Sun 22 Aug 2021 but the actual date HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED as the US is SENDING GIs BACK! State-Level Veteran Suicide Data: 2020 Update It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. ooops !!!! In the first part of the journey the mountain would act as a radio (my lifeline) barrier between Camp Enari and the PDL fortified Ville. DamnIll be 76 in March. question. With an estimated 6 million Vietnam Veterans currently living in the U.S. or abroad, VA remains dedicated to serving all Veterans of the Vietnam Era., All troops were sent home in April 1973. I think there about 250,000 Virtnam Vets that saw actual combat. I agree with the rest of your post, and so did the Army. Our Honor and Integrity are important to each of us. i am not better, but i am not worse. There are questions like this that are hard to answere as being true boots on ground. Luck of the draw my twin that received a silver star got the luck of the draw made it home. What Major Is Kent State University Known For? All opinions graciously welcomed. We all had a job to do. Various percentages of actual Vietnam Veterans is bothersome. That's 390 per day. I was driving the OPs 3/4-ton, 4X4 truck down the main dirt highway from Camp Enari entering the Ville and Mark Stanley was a passenger in the cab. but some men, like myself , were told by their draft board, go to vietnam on your ship. What is the life expectancy of a Vietnam veteran? Merchant Marine officers or crew are not wearing the uniform of the USAs Armed Forces. More than 8 million people served in uniform during Vietnam and those who are alive are typically in their 60s and 70s. They're generally in their 90s and about 245 die each day according to the VA. At 95 Army veteran Lincoln "Linc" Harner still remembers the war. The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! . I was thinking that in 10 days I would be on R&R in Taipei, Formosa. SP5 Mark Kuzinski 86.6K 296 151 53 53 0 Vietnam veterans are dying at the rate of 390 deaths each day. I do not doubt that it occurred, but can anyone cite a reliable source for this? The percentage of fatalities that resulted from this was 7.9%. i do not denigrate their service or define them as inferior. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. However I know many many who have died these past 55 years & 6 months since the Battle of Soui Tre March 21, 1967 and I know what is a combat veteran. Since you were with an aviation Battalion do you remember our flight pay as Army Aircrew ? Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. for most of it i listened but not wanting to interfere. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. If they enlisted or were drafted before 1975, they likely are in their late 60s now. He earned 38 military decorations during his career, and has been called the most decorated U.S. soldier of the Vietnam War. I was C 3/17 air cav. John, I saw plenty of people providing direct combat support to the effort in. I was confused. Were you at Saigon firebase when guys set off grenade in APC ? An AK found its target in my thigh. I don't know about you guys, but it kind of gives me the chills. Those were the prime draft years, but of course there were a few older guys over there too.This does not include other American men there who are not covered by the A, like civilian contractors. Your not a vet if you never stepped foot in another country. I was on the initial invasion into Cambodia, that battle was 15 REMFS against 300 NVA> The next day we went in with the 25th infantry. According to the Pentagons Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, there are currently 83,204 unaccounted for U.S. personnel, including 73,547 from World War II, 7,883 from the Korean War, 126 from the Cold War, 1,642 from the Vietnam War, and six from Iraq and other recent conflicts, including three Defense. So yes, we did indeed see combatoften. Not sure what to think about the article. You guys were the lifeblood of our war effort. I will never forget the pop pop pop, pop pop of an AK-47 in rapid-fire, but I heard the far off rattle of a M-60 machine-gun through the roar; Why I thought of PFC Wildaboro and his escapade with the machine gun that OTHER sun-drenched afternoon! 8,113,000 are still alive (May 2000) Post navigation Only believing what Fox & Friends has to say is really what you need to question Most things in the NYT does get critical peer review and push back when questionable Fox NOT SO, look at the crap coming out of Tucker Carlson, now that is scary extreme BS, The picture tells far more than a Thousand Words, it is that thousand yard stare, and any veteran who was out there can fill in the blanks of what they were thinking at that moment Offshore ocean sailing is a lot like being out trucking thru the jungle Minutes , hours day upon day of monotony and boredom, interrupted by moments of fright & terror I know that thousand yard stare, and many a time since I have found myself back there in my mind, staring at whatever and seeing nothing but what was in my mind. 7,484 women served in Vietnam, 83.5% being nurses. Steve I only spent one overnighter. Home Kent State University How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? I was ASA, 1960-1963, Ft Dix, Vint Hill Farm, DaNang and PhuBai. Reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs say about 240 300 World War II veterans are still alive in 2021. If you served at all, anywhere, during WWII, you are a WWII vet. As a Combat Infantry Veteran those who allow people to assume that they experienced actual combat because they refer to themselves as a Vietnam Vet. A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. I was a REMF but was on my 4th pair of boots. C 3/17 Air Cav. Learn something new everyday. As I started to slowly stagger upright towards the opposite side of the road, trying with all my might to gain my balance, I went down hard. Ah. Had an easy tour given what i was trained for before I got there. Im sorry I did. Even if his job depended on them doing theirs well. Served most of my time on LZ Professional. I to served two tours 67-68 and 69-70,first with 1st of 8th cav. Pleiku, Dak To, An Khe. Combat veterans will share their experiences with other veterans especially combat veterans (CIB). The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. I had several Canadians in our Company in Vietnam. This could be a simple semantics issue, but what about the Air Force guys who flew over Vietnam. No, Wildaboro was gone, and AK-47s and B-40 rockets were sapper armaments Later, I read in a letter that Sp.4 Donnon F. Porier grabbed the M-60 machinegun, risking his life, and ran down the hillside rushing to the ambush site. I am a Proud US Army Veteran retired in 1984. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. no , i could not quit. Today, the state with highest number of Vietnam veterans is California, with 596,130, followed by Florida with 519,224. Not 499 days between dec 67 & april 68? I was drafted in May of 1966 specifically for the reactivation of the 9th Infantry..so B Co., 4/47th/9th Inf. U failed to remember the last name on the Wall was in 1975. hello, How about disabled numbers? Age 20y 11mo. What other conclusions have been made about the percentage of Vietnam veterans who are still alive? We all served in our assigned duties, some bled, and some died. it is much easier to say who was not. after spending 1968 with 3/25 0f 2nd field forces and 1970 with the 1/12 cav. Peter: 67N2F, 119th AHC 68-69. it was one of the smaller airbus aircraft. 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. The 30 September 2007 Veterans Administration estimate places the daily deaths of WWII US veterans at 1,000 per day. Floyd James ThompsonHe was one of the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history that was returned or captured by troops, spending nearly nine years in captivity in the forests and mountains of South Vietnam and Laos, and in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. as far as who is a vietnam vet is simple. We did what we felt needed doing. 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.Vietnam Veterans by State 2022. Vietnam Vet_combat. I can assure you there will be those of us alive longer than 10 years from now. Even in this age of computers and accountability just goes to show ya ,people still cant Add or do Math . My mos was 11B and the army in its great wisdom sent me to an aviation unit in the Mekong delta. Really, very easy to say if your were able to sleep at night, so being anonymous means you stand up for those words All members of the team are NOT COMBAT VETERANS, My husbands boots werent on the groundthey were in the air and he was definitely a Combat vet. Around 2.7 million troops were stationed in Vietnam either on land, within its airspace, or in its waters. BAM! We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! one of the ships i sailed on had a captain that was drunk for 5 months. Anyone suggesting that only a CIB award means you were a combat veteran is very uninformed The Battle of Soui Tre March 21, 1967 the men of the 2/77 Artillery were every bit infantry as well as Arty that day and many many other FSB battles. and for the most part, we had no weapons. It would cause great pain to them; reminiscent of what occurred to the family of my namesake, my first cousin Dante Michael Puccetti. My cousin was with the 82nd and was there when the TET offensive happened. I do not like pretenders but do not want to take on the duty of Valor Police. TRUE, yes more may have had a mortar or rocket land in the vicinity, or heard a sniper round shot, but the manpower rule is 1 out of 7 10 is an actual seek out and engage the enemy, tip of the spear veteran. 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. i appreciate i was not in a company and humped for a year. they sucked. I was there in 1969. Army personnel were awarded VN Service Medals and and Vietnam Campaign Medals. How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? Last one left was about 15 to 20 years ago. Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska. He was shot nine times, while I received the tenth bullet from the ten holes in the windshield. I give a silent prayer of thanks for all of you, every time I hear a chopper going by, even now. We all bleed red. Why do the vets who served during the Vietnam War era have to be so devisive? They wore the Vietnam Service Medal. ahead of me in the next row was a man conversing with another man about two rows ahead of him. I appreciate all the support there and around the world but Vietnam area at Fort Whatever Ohio wasnt Vietnam and no matter how brave the girls in Germany told you you were you were not a Vietnam Vet. Cheers, This part of Pleiku Province is a combination of mountains, triple to single canopy jungle and/or open valleys. What percentage of Vietnam vets are still alive? Their is a new book about to be released by Bill Comeau that tells a similar story of the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Duel with the Dragon about the Battle of Soui Tre that I fought in. The report is based on national death certificate data currently available through 2020. i thank every soldier for their service, i do not exaggerate my actions. i served and i was affected like nearly every other person who spent time there. 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. Im now 74. I recall combat pay (Hazard DutyPay) at $60 dollars a month. I do not, however, have a CIB. Im proud to be a surviving vet and the men who served with me then and those after me. AFAIC, anyone within the bounds of South Vietnam was on the ground. In or out of a compound or an LZ or anywhere else. Though Thailand was not designated a combat zone. References:https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htmhttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/how-many-vietnam-veterans-are-still-alive.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War, The Armys FY 2023 budget request is ~$177.5 Billion. Tell it like it is. 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. What is the average age of Vietnam veteran in 2021? Thanks for your responses. It was all about teamwork, whether you pulled the trigger or not. Lol. The ERA Vets know perfectly well that they were neverNEVER..in Vietnam, and that this is nothing but a desperate attempt to gain the respect those men earned. There is no definitive answer to this question as the number of World War 2 veterans who die each day varies depending on the specific situation. If he was at least in the Army, this might not work. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? I do not know how many others served with us. The dashboard gauges and the gearshift lever approached, as I hit the dashboard with my left side and my head crashed to the floor; My spirit rejoined and I was protected by the firewall. 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. Im going with 2.9 and saying the person who wrote 9.2 has the seing disease whereas they see everything in reverse. serveved in nam 67 to 68 and 69 to 70. both tours in the 1st cav. Although my time had come, my death brought a realization that, I WOULD NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO DYE IN THAT JUNGLE. I discovered a conviction, antithesis to my beliefs, that it was not the North Vietnamese Army that sealed my fate, nor the soldier that touched off the RPG that distorted my body; I had the power from GOD to go to the next phase in my journey. Their names are at least on the wall thanks to the efforts of many service organizations and Congress. Ive reached the age of truth telling, and have grown sick of pretending, and giving trophies to the undeserving I saw good men die, and their loved ones dont deserve this dishonor any longer. I am glad that you make Dante, I know the struggle has been long, but the spirit soars and the tale told Live long my brother, None of us are very far away from those days A harrowing experience that can never be diminished by time. The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A , who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. Did your foot ever touch the ground? According to the American War Library website, it was concluded by the Department of Defense that their best estimate is that between 2,709,918 and 3,173,845 GIs served in Vietnam and its surrounding waters between the years 1954 and 1975. He never did ,Thank god ,because I ended up marrying a beautiful woman and we have the most precious and beautiful daughter. I was drafted in Sep 1966, went to Vietnam Aug 67-Aug 68, and Im 75 until Oct. This battle resulted in the loss of 13 Marines (10 in combat, 3 were left behind and executed by the Khmer Rouge, 2 Navy Corpsmen, and 3 Air Force pilots. Some likely in error (or on purpose to avoid Agent Orange Claims). I remember a distorted image of reality. if you slept in the same bed more than 4 nights a week you were a REMF doesnt make you a abad guy but you are a remf. I submit, we should use the same standard for Vietnam. I believe the aircrews flying out of those places were take issue with not in harms way. In 11 days of December 1973, 16 B-52s were lost over North Vietnam during Linebacker II. I served in the 101st airborne infantry battalion in 1968, the time of the Tet Offensive. I entered an L shaped ambush. Vietnam IS a Vietnam veteran. And your comment about Agent Orange shows that you have no understanding of how the chemical poisoned everyone who set foot in Vietnam. 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. One moment is eternity- the next may never!. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Data Appendix Methods Report Report FAQs. The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A, who was born in Feb, 24, 1935.

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