Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". 1 gun! Everyone laughed. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. Thats 390 per day. My 31-months in-country was in three Direct Support US Army aviation units, 15TC BN, First Cav, 335TH, Americal and 17TH Cav 101ST ABD65-71In the last battle I was directly involved, LAM SON 719, into Laos, cost army aviation units over 600-helicopters shot down or battle damagedthe NVA were waiting for our SECRET mission in early 71I was glad to go home at battles end, in March 71 , almost unscathed, I was TDY for my absurd third tourTo the point, many ARVN Rangers, airborne and their other best died in Lam Son 719US Army Infantry were forbidden entry to Laos in 71.. the ARVN were massacredand many US Army pilots and crew mambers were KIA & WIAeven MIA. Why is my internet redirecting to gslbeacon.ligit.com and how do I STOP THIS. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Address: 9241 13th Ave SW 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. Nervous, I set up my gun on the hill and loaded a new hundred-round belt. The Statistics in the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF 11/93) show an average age of death much higher than that of news reports. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence.
The U.S. Army Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual Review - HistoryNet There were usually 3 man (At least 2) point teams. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Fighters and planes dont make up the Army, thats the Air Force. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. We were about 700 yards east of Company A when it was ambushed by an NVA battalion. NFS. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it.
Was the 7th Infantry in Vietnam? - 2023 AS LEADERS IN AMERICAS SERVICES WE MUST BE PROFICIENT AND READY TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSIONS- An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. 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. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? On average US troops served 1-2 years in Vietnam, and the percentage of troops killed was actually fairly low for a war this size, 2.14% of all who served were killed, the life expectancy was roughly around 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks (taking into account the 1-2 year difference in some troops's serving times) Sponsored by Primal Labs 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. The first thing my platoon sgt. I was told my life expectancy was about 45 secs during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. He was wounded and suffered permanent disability shortly before his tour was up. 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. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. Anxiously extending the bipod legs on the M60, I added a 100-round belt to the one I already had in the gun. One afternoon, while Company B was still in the Tuy Hoa area, we received orders to gather up our gear and get ready to board choppers for an assault into a hot landing zone. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. Amazingly, the NVA men then walked a short distance away, sat down and ate lunch. EACH OF US CARRIES OUR OWN MEMORIES AND THEY RUN THE GAMUT. February 5 th, 1967, Galiano was headed to Saigon, Vietnam with 90 fellow Americans on an Air Force c-131, but orders were quickly altered . This article appeared in the October 2021 issue of Vietnam magazine. THANKS! Total fantasy. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? 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%. https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. Had multiple Ks and Ws. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phucs brothers were killed in this incident. 2 Gun.. Two rounds smashed into a log inches above my head. E)V_5lu[vC3+"vg2L& Rules may have changed, I was in the Delta region. 2: role (MOS?). Thank God I made it. Combatants on both sides faced physical challenges posed by the climate, terrain and wildlife of the country. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans group. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. You can find the polarity of a compound by finding electronegativities (an atoms desire for an electron) of the atoms; Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.5, compared to Fluorines A) Enter the the Ksp expression for the solid AB2 in terms of the molar solubility x. I didnt want any medals.
As it was, less than 40 did not need evacuation. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. I was trained as a RTO in 1970 at Fort Ord then went to Fort Gordon for teletype school, my MOS was 05C20 when I finished. I had yet to fire a shot with No. The three of us had trained together at Fort Lewis and were good friends. There must have been a real mathematician to come up with those calculations. U.S. Wings is a manufacturer and a supplier. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! And dug Berms, in the area. We were expecting, an attack. Database. So do us all a favor and please learn to be tolerant, intelligent, and active.
What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in World War II? I was an FO back in the day. I put the M60s bipod legs down, lifted the weapon and positioned it on the ground outside the streambed facing the NVA. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. We all die, so its not even worth worrying about when in my opinion, id rather do something that i knew was worth it and risk dieing instead of living in fear of death. The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. Welcome home. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism. It weighed 24 pounds, was 43.5 inches long and had bipod legs that folded down to stabilize the weapon when firing from a prone position. Very Good , I was a radio operator up in I corps in 68 & to me the worst thing was the walking . I look over to 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. 4314 0 obj
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I traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained there for 10 months before deploying to Vietnam as specialist 4. The one that should be there is the combat medic. A former expert with the M60 machine gun shares his experiences wielding the fearsome weapon in Vietnam. Great information.
PDF Sobering Statistics Concerning Vietnam Vets As of April 2016 An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. I never even got a shot off. Carrying a dead man some 300 yards through thick jungle in 100-degree heat was extraordinarily difficult. 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. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Some of my men didnt. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). Comments were more interesting than the article it self. This makes our site more accessible to the blind, visually impaired, motor disabled, people with cognitive disabilities and more. I handled Top Secret Commo on a daily basis. Each company had eight M60s. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. 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. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . The next morning, the blasting could still be, heard. The other group of aeromedical evacuation were divisional, i.e. DeLong had only fired the weapon once in training, so I let him fire off a few rounds to practice. I didnt make a move without that gun beside me. They were well-armed, well-trained and knew how to fight. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. Or is it on display in a Hanoi museum so curious citizens of that city can inspect a weapon captured from American imperialists? He was killed in an ambush along with three others. 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 Vietnam War was the first American war in which Black and White troops were not formally segregated, and even saw significant growth in the number of African Americans engaged in battlefield combat, [1] though some de facto segregation still occurred. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose.
Statistics about the Vietnam War - VHPA Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No. While traveling through the boonies the first few men were usually always shot first. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. Some gave all. Forget the statistics, we all had a job to do, we went where we were told. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of . I was drafted on Nov. 10, 1965, and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. They run into the fire to help the wounded and many get wounded or killed. we were getting it with machine gun and mortars. Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. I met a Marine a few years ago who was stationed North of Da Nang. The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. I know the scouts in my company had a slightly longer rate but not much. I wasnt sure if the VC had moved to right or left, so I sprayed the elephant grass in both directions. He pulled the company into a perimeter and dispatched 4th Platoon to recon the trail to the west, while 1st Platoon performed a similar mission to the east-southeast.
Army Infantryman (MOS 11B): 2022 Career Profile - Operation Military Kids Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. In total, the 7th Infantry spent four years in Vietnam. 0
None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. They were held in special regard after the Normandy landings, when 225 Rangers scaled cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on June 6, 1944 under intense enemy fire. He decided to stay even though he had a deep feeling he wasnt going to make it. Really no mention of the regular rifleman. wmy:LsN{/^yzJ] 6.7>n-:FqOa#CW>ia?wt?Xa@ghCd bF)`Schl4*f. well i have been army infantry for 12 years with 2 deployments, and still going strong. Lt lost a finger, same time. See my calculation below in the comments bogus indeed. This is excellent! Staying alive was kinda of important. Often as not he was right beside you with a stolen chicken and a bag of rice. In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. The machine guns were numbered within each platoon. The average age of the men killed: 23.1 years. Every mission, I had the same thought. Does this mean addressing to a crowd? Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. 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. Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. located on the South End of, the Post. I for one commend you for your courage and thank you for your service to your country. Company A searched in vain for the platoon in the dark and finally found the shattered unit on the morning of May 19. Two of my classmates were killed within 2 weeks incountry and three wounded I know of. 79% had a high school education or better. 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. Lucky you. If you were an administrative officer or clerk in an air-conditioned trailer in Saigon, your war might be a lot like peacetime duty. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. then youd carry an extra 200 rounds of M60 ammo for the machine gunner , plus drag grenades , one smoke grenade plus etc. 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. However, it was the discretion of the individual crewmen if they wanted to carry personal weapons or not. Spent my year in a Recon platoon 2/35th 4th ID. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. Interesting but something is missing. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). As I carried a PRC25 radio for over seven-months in the > Nam, I was curious to find out what I did RIGHT to surv >, One MOS I figured was a sure short timer was POL{Fuel} Truck Driver. approaching a village and a firefight starts). 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. 4 Bill May and Spc. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. Quickly learned to control rate of fire. Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some The answer that we have always been given is that 1 year in the Infantry is equivalent to 3 years of hard labor. Four platoons in a rifle company. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. It didnt matter who you were or where you were. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. Though I flew only about 1/2 dozen missions as a Huey door gunner, I was initially told to sit on my flak jacket I always did so (personal protection first). 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. That was a hell of a responsibility to take on.
How many draftees died in Vietnam? - 2023 As mentioned, who kept track of that in the first place? Be glad you served with a soldiers soldier like LTC Herbert. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. As we approached the battle, we heard intense firing. I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. My assistant gunner and my ammo bearer also carried 300 rounds each. 4 Charlie Ranallo, were on No. Expenditures for a body in a combat zone? 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. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. I packed my own radio and got a Thank you from his Mom. Hats off to them. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. When I was assigned to the M60 in advanced individual training, I decided that if I had to be a gunner I would learn everything there was to know about the weapon. The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. Your email address will not be published. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. An interesting comment I had. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. 5 seconds. The one number that is really important is 56,220 and we all know what that number represents. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 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.. When I popped back up to put out some automatic fire, a bullet whizzed by my earno more than an inch from my headand slammed into the tree next to me, shattering the bark. where can i find red bird vienna sausage? Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. I was constantly untangling the barrel and bipod of the gun from grasping vines and branches. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975.
Vietnam War Facts, Stats and Myths - US Wings Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. !We dont abuse prisoners Now, if he reaches for his weapon to continue the fight BLOW HIS ASS AWAY THIS AINT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!! I personally carried 300 rounds of ammo at all times, one belt in the gun and two across my chest. If anything went wrong, I could easily kill some of our soldiers. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. https://www.historynet.com/no-1-gun-an-m60-machine-gunner-in-vietnam-tells-his-story/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. wias. On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. Explore the Life of a U.S. Infantryman in Vietnam. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy.
What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during Vietnam Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Once we turned on the radar they could hit us with a harm missile. Joe DeLong joined the company, and Sholly informed me that he would be the M60 gunner. I had scary thoughts about myself humping the bush as a RTO, I was a real puny guy back then. Artillery, and ground forces. Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. In the 1st Cav medics were right behind the rto making them a very easy find also. It means, IF (!)
Vietnam War soldiers The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. Originally I went to the 543d TC.
Postservice Mortality in Vietnam Veterans : 30-Year Follow-up - JAMA I was a grunt with c co. 4/31 196th it inf bade. It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. estimated education differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14 are close to those of U. S. population in 1979-89. We had one RTO killed because he was too close to a 2ND Lt, same thing happened to another RTO. said to me. We were all in our Bunkers, and at the ready with our weapons. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. They were also in a circular formation. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. You just do the best job you can and if you got hit, so be it! 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. Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. Great reading. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. Welcome home!! 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 !!! I kept the radio because I understood the power of having the first communication with the support mechanisms of the military. All of the next day, we could see SMOKE from the fire caused by the explosions of the AMMO at, the AMMO DUMP. 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. Life Expectancy of the World Population. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures). Take out the power center, youve got the edge. Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. We wanted a break. 1 Gun was firing. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67.
happened. Very memorable comments. We are a woman-owned small business and Veteran-owned incorporated in Ohio. If the NVA shot at the group retrieving the bodies, I was to fire over the heads of the grunts and engage the enemy. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the If youre a foreigner, I respect what you think, but make sure you read ALL your facts, and dont come to rash conclusion until you know everything from BOTH sides. We soon learned that the NVA troops were very different from the local guerrillas we had fought around Tuy Hoa. 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class backgrounds. Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. Great story!!! 2 tour Nam Vet, The Navys First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet CongGuerrilla, The Navy's First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet Cong Guerrilla, A Day in the Life of an Infantry Point Man in Vietnam, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo. The rolling fire burned everything to the ground and undoubtedly killed scores of NVA. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. No creo que Susana _____ (seguir) sobre los consejos de su mdico. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. 10-4. I am 81 now and survived the encounter by terminated the sniper. 4. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. And yes, please God, bless America. We were very, lucky. El subjuntivo Both halves quickly swept toward the river to clear the village. Es ridculo que t ______ (tener) un resfriado en verano. 1st Cav, 101st, etc. means: 1 gets killed the 1st second, another one after 9 seconds avg. What unit lost the most soldiers in Vietnam? I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). 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. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. They were a great bunch. But I made it back in one piece. I think the number of Army and Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corp was very high, with the ratio of the number of them over there.
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