Thank you for taking the time to read this. The truth is that until Vietnam veterans can agree amongst themselves what constitutes a real Vietnam vet, the debate may continue. to most of them, it was another port and another war. He arrived on Yankee Station, Vietnam in early May, 1972 when he was still 17 years of age. In the enormity of the cosmos, Vietnam is inconsequential, covered over by days dust! Got home after the war, never spoke about my service, never went hunting again, never cut my feeling back on! back and forth to the us, carrying every thing you could imagine. We, the U.S. have lost over 158,000 American lives to the Vietnam war and that count is still rising. they sucked. It was 3:30pm when I entered the slowest aspect of the trip. Based on them, and allowing for a couple of intervening years, there appear to be about 600,000 veterans still living who actually set foot in Vietnam or flew in the skies above it. How many WWII veterans die each day? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". I agree Vietnam vets are fewer. Next determined those Veterans who were awarded the Vietnam Service ribbon. I would say anyone who has drawn Vietnam Hazard Duty pay, 30 dollars for every month or part of any month, in or over country, should qualify. These numbers were not included since these service members were far removed from combat experience and did not spend any amount of time in harms way. The one question I have is how many in country vets did multiple tours over there. All who served In Country and the those outlying areas in support should be considered Vietnam Vets. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Far as Im concerned, they are all Vietnam Vets and this devisiness should STOP! He objected, and was assigned as an interpreter attached to the American Embassy in Sweden. Which Statement Best Describes How Americans In The 1960S Felt About The Vietnam War? (LogOut/ The average lifespan of a door gunner on a Huey in Vietnam was just two weeks. They wore the Vietnam Service Medal. One good way to detect a phony is to ask him what his MOS was. Having served two tours on the ground, as they say, I find it depressing. The VA sent out a news release on March 29th, 2022, entitled DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO VIETNAM WAR VETERANS. It included the following line, which should put this question to rest. The youngest Vietnam War veteran was a 15-year-old child named Dan Bullock. I was on a boat floating up and down rivers for 19 months. Some idiot in DC decided to do this. I am a Viet Nam combat veteran. Interesting, no way is 75 percent f real vets are alive today? 7,484 women served in Vietnam, 83.5% being nurses. The remaining 6.5 million were serving either at-home or abroad but not in Vietnam. 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. He never did ,Thank god ,because I ended up marrying a beautiful woman and we have the most precious and beautiful daughter. I had several Canadians in our Company in Vietnam. Estimating the number of suicides among Vietnam veterans Unconfirmed reports that 50,000 or more Vietnam veterans have committed suicide give the impression that these veterans are at exceedingly high risk of suicide compared with other veterans and nonveterans of the same age. On this Memorial Day 2021, VA honors their service and recommits itself to . scipione@geneseo.edu, Yes a Vietnam Veteran, but not a Combat Veteran. i know what a combat veteran is. We were sprayed every 2 weeks with Melithon (Insecticide) that was 96 percent pure. David, please do not compare this to Merchant Seaman in WWII who braved the many packs of Submarines etc as that is how so many died in WWII. I agree with the conclusion taken by the Website Admin. We dont respect the combat Vets and they shouldnt disrespect us. Oliver Stone. Vietnam era vets are not the same as Vietnam vets, but they are important. My brother was stationed in the Air Force in 1975 and flew missions over Vietnam. He was carrying a BAR, killed fighting an infantry action, and the desk jockeys decided he did not meet requirements for a CIB. nothing exists or will exist in another time. Vietnam IS a Vietnam veteran. After Vietnam I hitchhiked for about 12 years. Has every CIB wearer actually done that? What do you think? Also consider the thousands that served multiple tours. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. No reflection on your daily activities, just a friendly piece of information. A veteran who served in the Vietnam War would be in their early 70s to late 90s today, depending on their birth year. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. A half century after serving in Vietnam, hundreds of veterans have a new reason to believe they may be dying from a silent bullet test results show some men may have been infected by a. Over 8.7 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era from 1964 to 1973 (1). my point is that they were shot at and in country. Was I counted each time or once? it really did not matter, every officer had a masters license. I always felt this was the maximal danger of the trip. I dont have a CIB to show for it, but I most certainly was in combat. So, where is the discrepancy in these numbers? This part of Pleiku Province is a combination of mountains, triple to single canopy jungle and/or open valleys. Alternatively, to transfigure my destiny. We all started getting heart attacks around the same time. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. The 30 September 2007 Veterans Administration estimate places the daily deaths of WWII US veterans at 1,000 per day. I would hope they are considered Vietnam combat Vets. As well, those who served in Thailand in late 1973-1975 are often looked down upon as not being real Vietnam Veterans. We are, as we helped conduct many support missions in the region, helped with draw assist during the fall of Cambodia, S. Vietnam and Laos. Some, like myself did not serve a full 12month tour. in one way or another. Just because some idiot politician or people want to say you were not a war vet unless you saw combat dont feel bad most of those people found ways to evade even getting drafted. My mos was 11B and the army in its great wisdom sent me to an aviation unit in the Mekong delta. I changed emails and cant reach you!! Not sure where we were. Where is this one in twelve figure from? Lets ask somebody on Facebook where we can get all the correct true data and facts. The number of Viet Nam veterans, those who served in combat and combat related services (such those flyboys from outside the territory/waters of Viet Nam is about 2.7 million. I was there in 1969. However, any veteran who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, is presumed by the VA to have been exposed to Agent Orange. All Lawyer adds is for 2 percent, do you think that this was a greater risk for Cancer. The Nation supported WWI & WWII, the entire Nation was involved in the war effort. And a number of Navy in ships, bombing communist. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. But I didnt beat him he just left. Why the Shame? Be content with your service, and leave it there. Had an easy tour given what i was trained for before I got there. REAL Vietnam War veterans are all those who are officially authorized the Vietnam Service medal and possess official military-issued documentation to confirm their medal authorization. Interesting and certainly thought-provoking. It is estimated that there are around 610,000 surviving Vietnam War veterans as of 2023. Presently, I approached the road to the top of PDL hill, and I was thinking what a beautiful day this would have been if this were some other place in some other world. I find it best not to remember that time. I do not know where that number 1 in 14 came from, but in my time in the Army 1962-1970 it was in the range of 1 in 8 to 10 using the total manpower % . Nobody can bad-mouth Huey pilots and crews. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. These are numbers never heard before & I would not include those before the advisers were sent over in the early/mid 60s. The last three I knew had lost a lot of weight, two had each lost a lung. Dr. Paul A. Scipione Having spent a year all over Thailand in support of Communist Suppression Operations Center along the Laotian border, and training Thai infantry to deploy in RVN. The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A , who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. We all served in our assigned duties, some bled, and some died. Born: 08/27/1943. Everything slowed down, and I was alone, above my body that was thrown into the dashboard hitting with my left side. Since you were with an aviation Battalion do you remember our flight pay as Army Aircrew ? Where do they thinly get Ella enemys came from? 1 How many American soldiers died in Vietnam in 1975? The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. Serving in combat waters. (LogOut/ I am trying to see if the NJ Adjutant Generals Office still has a couple copies around. if you read up on it you will see that ww2 merchant sailors were despised as cowards. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. guy next to me was shoot dead I think that counts. If you have any doubts, take a closer look at your DD-214. Gordon, I agree. I read a statistic somewhere that one in seven where in actual combat. Some advisors embassy guards, but all combat units left. 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. Exiting the jungle, still at the foot of the mountain opposite from my defenses; the mountains bulk acted as a radio barrier between help from S3 at Enari or the SFs at the Ville. Somewhat confusing. Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. The first advisors were sent in country much earlier than 1962. As stated in the previous post I too can spot a fake in 10 seconds. off the ship i went out with airforce on resupply, went out with troops through rubber plantations, ran from gunfire in saigon and chulon. We need more honest Veterans. If I got in the ring with Cassius clay later known as Mohamed Ali. Thats sad and should stop. yep I wonder also. The average age of our Vietnam veterans is now over 70. How many Vietnam veterans died from Agent Orange? I have lived with the 2.7 million number having served in Vietnam all along and believe the Times estimate refers to Era vets having served around the world during those war years. I was drafted and sent to Germany 66-68 because of the Vietnam War in the 4Armored Division. What was the cause of preventable deaths in the Vietnam War? Makes it worse, they were all wheelchair bound. 240 300 World. Waiting for a slight pause in the clamor in my ear, I decided to escape towards the cover of the Bush. Currently, it is estimated with data provided by the United States Census Bureau, that there about 100,000 Oregon Vietnam era veterans alive today. Well, the government 20 or 25 years later sent us, if asked, a ribbon, card, and metal saying we did. So Huey pilots and crew were REMFs. i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. By the time I got to vin long the nva was gone and Charlie was pretty much non existent, he new we had snakes, the closest I got to him was when I was on the perimeter waiting for him to crawl thru the wire. What was the life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam? Arne Fuller, Tucson AZ. 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. We dont forget, and resent the tail gating by those who, during the war, did all they could to avoid it, and now desperately hope others will conveniently forget this fact, and give them some of the respect they never earned. Posted in these groups: Vietnam War American History Posted >1 y ago They are NOT Veterans. Finally figured out what was wrong with me, received help but refuse to dwell on the dark demons that quite frankly just did not give a dam for humanity. I have one, but I fought a ferocious battle at FSB Gold at the beginning of Operation Junction II March 21, 1967, the artillery guys in Vietnam were every bit an infantryman as well, they suffered mortar & rocket attacks, enemy probes and attacks They were lucky in some ways that they did not have to crawl through the shit every day. In my book, they are all Vietnam Vets, just like the guys back home who never went overseas are WWII or WWI veterans. I do not like pretenders but do not want to take on the duty of Valor Police. Its possible that the youngest living Vietnam Veteran may be 61 years old. It makes a big difference because stating that only one-third of Vietnam veterans are still alive today is much harsher than stating that three-quarters of Vietnam veterans are still alive and well. I concur with the 610,000 as the 850,000 remaining vets have been used for years and would be much lower by now. Vince. Their names are at least on the wall thanks to the efforts of many service organizations and Congress. 240,000 survivingAbout 70 million people fought in World War II and, as of 2021, there are still approximately 240,000 surviving veterans in the United States alone. Serving during the TET offensive and time after. i appreciate i was not in a company and humped for a year. When the 3rd Brigade,82 ABD moved from Camp Rodriguez (I Corps) in October 1968 my first base was Tent Citynear Bien Hoa (III Corps) then my unit was moved to Phu Loi. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. There he was wearing my dress uniform jacket SSG, CIB, BS three rows of ribbons 8 years service, 10 overseas hash marks and he had 3 very underage teeny boppers girls smoking weed telling them war stories and bragging about his combat exploits. The site is owned and run by a crook and charlatan named (?) We hauled cargo to the bases and for a few months I hauled hitest gas to the airbase at DongHa. we got one daily the other one weekly. I was a Pilot, Licensed Aircraft Mechanic and Maintenance Inspector before going into the Army. Approx 58,000 in Vietnam. It's estimated that tens of thousands of veterans have returned to Vietnam since the 1990s, mostly for short visits to the places where they once served. 2.8 million tour because some guys just couldnt get enough! all of the participants in this thread are veterans. Antonia Leonard is an education expert who has dedicated her life to helping students achieve their academic goals. He was killed in action just a few months later. Yes. About 30000 Canadians came into the us to join up. Combat veteran means far more than having a CIB. Does receiving a few mortar rounds inside the wire of our compound count? 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. 2025. go to the top of this article and choose the magnifying glass and search for Canadians in Vietnam to read an article on this website about them. Without fanfare or much recognition. I served a second tour and know quite a few Marines that did also. There was a huge difference between tours of duty also. You may not care but us guys that stepped foot in Nam AND had bullets flying at us, we care, and we are genuine vietnam Combat Vets. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. We just hoped the pilot put us where we were supposed to be. Some likely in error (or on purpose to avoid Agent Orange Claims). BTW, Why would this conservative believe anything the New York Times says anyway! What qualifies you as a viet Nam vet would be if you stepped foot on the soil. We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! The commander of the sapper ambush signaled the weapons man to fire the first RPG, and it impacted behind the target. A Vietnam era veteran is certainly not a Veteran of the Vietnam War. I think its just a generalization but should be cleared. Was back at LZ Bayonet the last part of my tour after being medevaced off of Professional and in the hospital at Chu Lai. Not affiliated with any government agencies.All Rights Reserved. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Age: 77. 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. Separately I am working on an article that analyzes how many States are over or under represented in terms of their number of KIAs during and right after the war., Dr. Paul Scipione at DaNang If we came in they set up tents to sleep in and had a big blivet bag for a shower. I WOULD SURVIVE! How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? FEAR Part of the SOP on the Plei Do Lim (PDL) Flash Outpost (OP) was to make a supply run every four days back to the survey section at HHB. I was all over in 7 years. RVN. I Never got to Korea but I have friends who got a medal for service in Korea. Certainly leaves some doubt about the numbers because why are we including the years from 1954 to when the actual American forces entered hostile missions? why not compare them?. So, here well dive a little bit deeper into how many Vietnam veterans are estimated to still be alive based on various approximations and predictions. My sister found enough info to get my brother in laws ship re-classified as a brown water ship and proved he was sent in country by the ships commander (Newport News). 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. Or did you spend 24/7 365 days in the boat? So, nearly 300,000 over the 14 years of their operations, a far cry above the 2500-3000 referenced in the article. How many Vietnamese citizens died in the Vietnam War? was i a veteran? Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. My body, accompanied by my mind, was pitched out the right-side door, sliding between the seat and under the dashboard to land on the shoulder of the dirt road alone. IF you didnt get any extra pay better have a good excuse .like to hear it. But to me, Nam is my whole universe i.e. However, he did not return to the United States until March 22, 1979. I was out of my earthly shell. These numbers were not included since these service members were far removed from combat experience and did not spend any amount of time in harms way.. I know . The average number of Vietnam War veterans who die each day is 390 deaths. How many Vietnam veterans are still missing? 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. Splitting out the numbers of combat and era vets are separate questions. Im now 74. Bob Kerrey. I dont see how there can be any dispute about this. The total number of is estimated at 2.8 million US veterans who were exposed to the poisonous chemical while serving and later died. YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. Enjoy today's Memorial Day and please take time to "Remember". Everyone that served and was in combat which means they were in the line of fire (received it and returned it in some form or fashion) deal with their dark side in various ways. How many Canadian WWII veterans are still alive? I turned left into the open valley dirt road that lead to the OP, crossed the blue line (river or stream on a map) and raced through the dense, triple canopy jungle to the open valley floor. in ww2 more merchant men were killed than all the services combined until june 6, 1944. and they were civilians. 4 Carl Dodd Former Police Officer Author has 18.5K answers and 25.3M answer views 10 mo There is a statistic that has been widely quoted in the veteran community that highlights an estimated 22 veterans a day are committing suicide. they deserve that recognition. The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! According to DCAS Vietnam casualty files, the following casualty were sustained outside of S. Vietnam: 728 in Laos, 523 in Cambodia, 1,120 in N. Vietnam and 10 in China. So, when we talk about Vietnam vets who are living or dead, we should be talking STRICTLY about Vets who participated in the Vietnam War. Age 20y 11mo. 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. How Many Vietnam Veterans are AliveToday? Perhaps the reason for guys is that there were times we had to drink out of bomb craters that were in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. A few days later I was in fatigues on a C-123 to Da Nang, and a month later driving Hai Van Pass to Phu Bai with 3rdRRU Mobile Det (ASA). I understand that they only got about 300,000 of us, but that is a huge, decent number, considering how cynical we Nam vets can be about studies. Last I heard the database indicated that the Median Age of Death of Nam vets was reached at least three or four years ago. 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. Dec 1967 Dec 1968 & Jan 1969 Nov 1969. I was confused. maybe, maybe not. 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. Each averaged 2500-3000 personnel on a yearly rotating bases, groaning and shrinking based on the missions being conducted. Combat Vets and Non Combat Vets. I was there in 1964-1965 then 1967-1968 then my last tour was 1971-1972. John, How old are Vietnam vets now? Dont know about the MM but everyone got the same combat pay whether a grunt or clerk. Plane had 4 engines and rarely got shot up although we did have a pilot get a 50 in the leg. what i am saying is that there were all kinds of service, and if you think the definition is being in country and being shot at, then i qualify and so did my shipmates. We certainly were in close combat often during my tour in 69-70. So, with the lower estimate of 610,000, over 2.1 million VN vets have died since 1975 thats an average of 44,000/year. Straining to regain my feet again, I staggered a few strides to my right and throe myself forward, with all I was worth, collapsing finely into the vegetation face up. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. How many ww2 vets left 2021? The New York Times, as always, gets it wrong. How many Korean War veterans are still alive? it is branded on you. i said once if you walked , you worked.
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