. Got home after the war, never spoke about my service, never went hunting again, never cut my feeling back on! Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (Mit), Missouri University Of Science And Technology, State University Of New York Health Science Center At Brooklyn, Suny College Of Environmental Science And Forestry, The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte, The University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston, The University Of Texas Health Science Center At San Antonio, The University Of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University Of Texas Medical Branch At Galveston, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Uniformed Services University Of The Health Sciences, University At Buffalo Suny School Of Engineering And Applied Sciences, University Of California, Los Angeles (Ucla), University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, University Of Maryland Baltimore County (Umbc), University Of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester, University Of Tennessee Health Science Center, University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. My brother was stationed in the Air Force in 1975 and flew missions over Vietnam. What is the life expectancy of a Vietnam veteran? PDF Sobering Statistics Concerning Vietnam Vets As of April 2016 Was I counted each time or once? We had a dustoff attached to us. Which Statement Best Describes How Americans In The 1960S Felt About The Vietnam War? A veteran of the Vietnam War is a person who PARTICIPATED in the Vietnam War. 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. VA's Veteran Population Projection Model estimates that there are approximately 6.1 million living Vietnam War-era Veterans, as of 2021. I made a mistake !!!!! the merchant marine needed every officer and sailor they could find. of the 1st cav div. 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. 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). Estimating the number of suicides among Vietnam veterans The New York Times, as always, gets it wrong. we both served and i think that is what distinguishes us from draft dodgers or people that claimed bone spurs or kept getting deferments those are the people i despise. Born: 09/15/1946. Educate your self and search the web for the last battle of the Vietnam war. But often, it does. Navy ships were classified as Blue Water ships. Our med company was on 6 different LZs during the year I was with them, supporting the 3rd Bde 4th ID. A number 1/2 the peak, say 250,000 still seems high but would come closer to 3,000,000 number serving. I have had stage III melanoma, stage III squamous cell throat cancer and now stage II bladder cancer. Base was 1st MAW Danang AB which got hit early Tet with rockets, mortars and sappers. So Huey pilots and crew were REMFs. i was a merchant marine officer, technically a civilian. i am not better, but i am not worse. Lying on my back in the underbrush, watching the blue sky, bleeding on the jungle floor alone. guy next to me was shoot dead I think that counts. I got in about 20 firefights. The average lifespan of a door gunner on a Huey in Vietnam was just two weeks. My time stands still. If you have any doubts, take a closer look at your DD-214. Born: 04/07/1937. A veteran who served in the Vietnam War would be in their early 70s to late 90s today, depending on their birth year. Mean 69 maybe? We were sprayed every 2 weeks with Melithon (Insecticide) that was 96 percent pure. 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 World War 2 Veterans Die Each Day? 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. The thing is the question/topic here is not how many Vietnam combat veterans are there, or how many Vietnam Era veterans are there; its how many Vietnam veterans are there. About 30000 Canadians came into the us to join up. We all served in our assigned duties, some bled, and some died. (1st time to operate a river boat 2nd time to evacuate injured Marines. I did work with Korean Troops. This was with conversations with them while waiting our turn to be seen in the VA. Im proud to be a surviving vet and the men who served with me then and those after me. I think I know the answer but like youjust being picky. He was a Private First Class who was killed in action in the Second World War. Yep we got briefings then helloed into some ridge in who knows where. As anti-war vet , all these years later, I respect yall and your stories. 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. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Motherfucker? Veterans support veterans, their stories and we bristle at those who would steal their history, we are not Valor Police, but those who pretend are an insult to those of who struggle with that past. Today is Sun 22 Aug 2021 but the actual date HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED as the US is SENDING GIs BACK! We need more honest Veterans. Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! Why do the vets who served during the Vietnam War era have to be so devisive? From what my son in law says (Apache gunship pilot) they also flew a tremendous number of combat hours everyday, And I know from what few stories he did tell (hes now deceased) they often had mortar rounds incoming. I served until April 28, 1969 !!!!!!!!!!!! Still, other sources like the New York Times claim the number of Vietnam veterans is actually somewhere around 9.2 million. I was the first male born to the Puccetti family after his death, so my parents received permission to name their son after Dante. Oliver Stone. Some advisors embassy guards, but all combat units left. They are paying on Melathion settlements (Watch TV, and it as on 2 to 3% purity, used inside US) There are no living Veterans that I know of. It was difficult for me to move. The Vietnam War was the nation's longest and costliest conflict of the Cold War. I dont remember the exact number but remember it was over 500,000 in country and the number was the most ever at one time as the article was about Nixon beginning troop withdrawals that would continue until 1975. The difference David, is that you could quit at any moment, most Veterans who served in Vietnam did not have that choice. There was a huge difference between tours of duty also. The stroke wasnt assumed until after 2000 & heart not until 2010. It does not store any personal data. Combat Vets served in country. Well, the government 20 or 25 years later sent us, if asked, a ribbon, card, and metal saying we did. If they enlisted or were drafted before 1975, they likely are in their late 60s now. To that we can add those who served in adjacent waters and countries, but 2.6 is likely the closest figure to those in country. She has worked in schools all over the world, and has developed groundbreaking curricula that have helped countless students excel. That's 390 per day. Nha Trang (TET 68), I have read about Canadians coming south to fight in Vietnam but have never seen any real authority to support this. I was in Nam in 1968 and 1969 as a combat Marine. BTW, Why would this conservative believe anything the New York Times says anyway! When you spend most of the time out in the Bad Lands, bad things happen. I to served two tours 67-68 and 69-70,first with 1st of 8th cav. I could never guess the number of actual Vietnam Vets there are, nor the % still alive. Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. More than 3.4 million deployed to Southeast Asia (1) and approximately 2.7 million of those served in the Republic of Vietnam (2). How Many Vietnam Veterans Have Been Affected by Agent Orange? How were WWII veterans & Korean War Veterans accounted for? 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 saw plenty of people providing direct combat support to the effort in. This is a suicide rate of 1 EVERY 65-80 minutes (APPROX). The 30 September 2007 Veterans Administration estimate places the daily deaths of WWII US veterans at 1,000 per day. I got angry at him even saying that he was a vet of the war. September 27, 2022 by Editorial Team. My demons were better left alone and buried away after two tours back to back. Combat Vet, Vet on ships that never touched country, military who were passing through and were on airport tarmac? I KNOW MY STATS BECAUSE I WAS THE LONGEST SERVING MEMBER (20 YRS) on the New Jersey Agent Orange Commission, including four years as Chairman. Many Vietnam Vets do not even know about the secret operations from Thailand, now declassified, that probably helped save their rears during some of their combat operations. Likewise, drafted Sep 66, Vietnam Aug 67-Aug 68, and Im 75. Of the 2.7 million men and women who served in land forces in Vietnam, only about 600,000 are still alive. Special Forces orderly room to picked-up theyre new frequencies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Thousands of veterans die alone every year, with their remains This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. Damn it, government could have sent anyone serving at any time to Vietnam. Copyright 2022 MilitaryPerson.com 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. These numbers have come about due to the extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources by the American War Library which concluded that about one-third of those who served in the Vietnam War are still alive today. Id like to know what the 1 in 14 men figure is based on. I think its just a generalization but should be cleared. I PULL GUARD DUTY THE FIRST NIGHT ANY ONE EVERY STAYED THERE. Overall, the death rate of Vietnam veterans seems to be rather consistent if not better than other people their same age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. War is Heck!!! The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111. There are still a lot of us left by some miracle! 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. He now has a 100% disability as unemployable. One of the things that really bothers me is the statement that we lost in Vietnam? His combat medal was an Air Medal. I only spent one overnighter. Bless you and your family Those of us who live day to day with that medical time bomb know the pain you suffered before he passed, and the endless pain of loss ever after. 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. Combat Veteran means being awarded a CIB. Some, like myself did not serve a full 12month tour. And though did not serve in actual combat, as you describe it, we were shot at & mortared on occasion. Good disxussiin. Is It Hard To Get Into Kent State University? Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. it eas a very loud high pitched, not human and the sound was fuck you. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. The debate depends on only two numbers. Dec. 5, 1967 to April 28, 1968 is 144 days. So yes, we did indeed see combatoften. There were an estimated 58,318 U.S. soldier casualties alone. Was an Armored Cav Platoon leader Nov 67-Mar 68 Lost 4 APCS 4 men in my platoon KIA 12 wounded I think I was in a little combat . When we DEROSed we were given 6-8 pills to continue taking them every week. We need a better more definitive for VIETNAM Vet. I remember lots of the names Evana, Eagle, Bastone, Granite, Ripcord, Maryanne. Those an in the Era the we were in Vietnam but they are not Vietnam Vets by any stretch of you imagination. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. at DaNang If we came in they set up tents to sleep in and had a big blivet bag for a shower. 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. Lets ask somebody on Facebook where we can get all the correct true data and facts. 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. ONLY Vietnam Vets are separated into two categories. Vietnam was very different, it was not supported by our Nation, the draft of so many young men to fight in a country that few could ever find on a map, let alone now anything about. Also, some do not consider those who served in Thailand as Vietnam Vets. My new Iraq War novel, Three Wise Men should ne out sometime next year, I was at Camp Eagle, and worked in Production Control. The article states that The youngest Vietnam Veteran is aged in the late 60s today. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her work, including being named one of the "Top 10 Educators to Watch" by Education Week magazine. Your numbers are way off on the number of Air Force personnel serving in Thailand during the Vietnam war. How Many Vietnam Veterans are AliveToday? Dave, Jul 1971-19 Dec 1971) 29th CA Co, XXIV Corps (Danang). What other conclusions have been made about the percentage of Vietnam veterans who are still alive? Not affiliated with any government agencies.All Rights Reserved. I have done lots of research, read a bunch of historical history, and met and talked to well over 1000 NAM VETS !!!!! We did what we felt needed doing. And just as the bell rang he got out of the ring , technically I won the fight. i do not denigrate their service or define them as inferior. I flew with the 220th Aviation Company (Cat Killers) in 1968. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. 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. 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. When he first got out we roomed together, and I came home from school one day s clss was canceled. One moment is eternity- the next may never!. 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. Who really cares who stepped foot on land. Numbers can always be manipulated. Not sure what to think about the article. Using the 2.7 million and assuming one hundred thousand did two tours, I would use the six hundred thousand as the amount still living, due mainly to the delays in Agent Orange treatments and PTSD delays with the sucides from 1970 approx. Then upon returning I would be stationed in Camp Enari, away from most of the intense fighting, and protected by the whole 4th. Bill, Im now 74. Served until April 28, 1968 !!!!!! I agree Vietnam vets are fewer. Ive seen start dates for the VN war as 1954, 1959, 1961, 1964 and 1965. they did not get metals. Scavenger1, I agree with you. I served in 67 69 & had stroke in 93 then heart attack in 2002 with 2d in 2004 . I served in Quang Tri (70-71) and took two types of Malaria pills. Awakening, I was the only person there, so the enemy was concentrated on me. Change). Bob Kerrey. There is a bird in India that says Did you Do it? We, the U.S. have lost over 158,000 American lives to the Vietnam war and that count is still rising. 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. As a child I knew several WWII veterans. Gordon, I agree. the draft board made that very clear. The wheels were bouncing crazily as the tires encounter deep furrows dug in the hard dirt from the last monsoon. Perfect. My number one issue is running into a FAKE. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The truth is that until Vietnam veterans can agree amongst themselves what constitutes a real Vietnam vet, the debate may continue. Im sorry I did. Various percentages of actual Vietnam Veterans is bothersome. Thats what we did in Vietnam we left and am glad we did. How many REAL Vietnam vets are alive today? - American War Library If you are diagnosed with a condition that they know is caused by exposure to the chemical, they will presume that condition is service-connected. What that included Im not sure today but understood it to be in naval & in country. To not count us is disrespecting us who also answered the call. I do not know how many others served with us. The fear returned, as I knew he was of small stature. to 1984 approx. in any event, i went as soon as i was contacted by the draft board. i am not saying i was a hero, but i am saying that i did the job and i did not argue. That is exactly what I was going to post. And i can tell you , we made a lot of money. Not sure where we were. 101st Airborne Division, 1969-70 It too bad that guys that never fought think for some reason they deserve credit for being in Vietnam when they werent. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? In addition, the US lost two F-111As, three F-4s, two A-7s, two A-6s, one EB-66, one HH-53, and one RA-5C. It has a life of its own. All who served In Country and the those outlying areas in support should be considered Vietnam Vets. The New York Times reported that claims like those of the American War Library are false and that, instead of only one-third of Vietnam vets remaining, the number points to more like 75 percent of Vietnam veterans still living and breathing today. That means bullets where flying at me and I killed people in combat. The way many of us were treated on returning from that war, but in truth it was only a war for very few of those who served there. I was on merchant ships for three years in viet nam. All the millions of other Vietnam Era Veterans are Cold War Veterans. How many Vietnam vets have died from Agent Orange? We just hoped the pilot put us where we were supposed to be. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. how would you define a clerk typist who stayed in saigon and never went into the field. I can somewhat understand your position since you experienced actual combat. SP5 Mark Kuzinski 86.6K 296 151 53 53 0 Vietnam veterans are dying at the rate of 390 deaths each day. Apparently, its been agreed upon that 800,000 Vietnam veterans had passed away by the year 2000. It should be duly noted that these numbers do not include the 2500 to 3000 US Air Force troops stationed in Guam, Thailand, and other countries that were involved in the Vietnam War effort. An overwhelming number are buried by family and friends. As Ive mentioned before, I dont think posing this question was intended to be divisive among veterans, but it has turned out to be. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? Since you were with an aviation Battalion do you remember our flight pay as Army Aircrew ? I rode river patrol boats from 1968-9 we were on the rivers but we were there 24hours a day days a week. Only military remaining were Marines at the Embassy. Finally got all the right stuff together; received benefits couple months ago. Sorry for your loss of your loved one. Just a minor clarification, not all of us were on the groundJust being picky. 997 soldiers997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam . There were approx. As soon as I was wounded, I was thrown into a world that I was alone! Vietnam War Veterans, and honoring all who served: Memorial Day 2021 How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive? - MilitaryPerson.com I was drafted and sent to Germany 66-68 because of the Vietnam War in the 4Armored Division. And your comment about Agent Orange shows that you have no understanding of how the chemical poisoned everyone who set foot in Vietnam. As a retired Green Beret, his assessment and stats of the war are accurate. For a mile or so the road cut through the jungle like a tunnel; the vegetation brushing against the sides and roof hid what lurked in the shadows. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. The 30 September 2007 Veterans Administration estimate places the daily deaths of WWII US veterans at 1,000 per day. Im 71 and waiting to see if Ill be the last one standing. 3rd Brigade 4th ID attached to the 25th ID 111.40 & 112.40 later these became 11B.40 & 11C.40. This situation has been an issue for years longer than any of us has been around. we had a crew of about 42, spent weeks at anchor in vung tau or da nang. How many Vietnam vets are still alive today? Im a 1967-68 Vietnam combat veteran. I was with 4th Med Bn. and US, 7 Valuable Life Lessons My Navy Dad Taught Me, Understanding The Five Branches of The Military, 3 Things That Could Happen To the Military in a Recession. Most likely Les considers those who werent in-country as REMFs. What was the cause of preventable deaths in the Vietnam War? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The insistence to include Vietnam-ErA vets with those who served in-country results in a ridiculous skew to any meaningful stats. April 1st was my day to rejoin 4th. Wiki User. Even in this age of computers and accountability just goes to show ya ,people still cant Add or do Math . The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A, who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. 35th CBSG, 315th CAMS Working on C-123,s. Having served two tours on the ground, as they say, I find it depressing. it was printed in the ny times and cherries writer. I was hoping for more accurate numbers. How many VN vets die each day? - Answers The percentage of fatalities that resulted from this was 7.9%. I used this experience and we cut down the Helicopter replacement time from about 2 1/2 weeks to 2 to 4 days. Are we counted as two people or have they accounted for us already. He is absolutely obsessed with military and different men who have served, The definitive statistics come from the VAs Million Vietnam Vets database, which will continue until we are all gone. We and they generally slept in the same bunks in the same tent if we werent up on call during the night. 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 If field infantry personal awarded a CIB having engaged the enemy are a ten (10), what are the field artillery units at a fire base like FSB Gold in Operation Junction City. However, typically, the number of World War 2 veterans who die each day is approximately 100. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. Got the scars to prove it too, both physical and mental. 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. I Never got to Korea but I have friends who got a medal for service in Korea. He was shot nine times, while I received the tenth bullet from the ten holes in the windshield. They used the same aircraft, and there was anything left in the aircraft, whatever the spray for the day was added, so you got both.