Both halves quickly swept toward the river to clear the village. Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds. Sorry,I was one of your Brothers in Arms that helped talk you out of enlisting for another year in Vietnam. Cruz quite a lot. What the hell did you hit him with? one of our men shouted. As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. Michael Doolittle..I was with 1/8 inf, 1st Brigade, and that day, March 22nd was also our darkest day. Dap, Hope this helps. I packed my own radio and got a Thank you from his Mom. located on the South End of, the Post. 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. . We were about 700 yards east of Company A when it was ambushed by an NVA battalion. 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. 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.. Everyone in the company hit the dirt. Vietnam War the helicopters that came in to transport soldiers were the hardest hit with mass casualties . 82nd 2/505th. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. Its not all written down. Still shaken, I grabbed the gun and crawled to the left inside the streambed. Sergeant Galiano's experience does not deny Brands depiction of the battle in Vietnam, but offers a typically overlooked perspective of a drafted soldier fighting in the central highlands of Vietnam. The jungle seemed to want No. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. 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. 10 1/2 months in the bush. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. One was holding a carbine. Found NVA bunker complex. Together we had passed the test. This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. Different jobs have different life expectancy. At that time, an infantry company consisted of about 150 men. May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. I never thought of it that way before but have many times since. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. I was never hit by enemy fire even though they had multiple opportunities after that I was an rto for the company commander and I have to say both jobs were not fun. We were probably not too far away on that day. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. Theres 58,276. We were very, lucky. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life. Data based on the latest United Nations Population Division estimates. As an infantry platoon Sgt of a platoon made up of all draftees my age 21 plus or minus a year We fought the largest single one day battle of the war March 21, 1967 known as the Battle of Soui Tre, fire support base Gold operation Junction City, that base was commanded by LtCol John Vessey of the 2/77 FA Vessey was a 25 year veteran of WWII fame with a DSC at Anzio, and on this day he was looking at the end of his career after that tour in Vietnam. The three of us had trained together at Fort Lewis and were good friends. Much smaller income differentials in life expectancy, 0.2 to 3.6 life-years smaller for Veterans in 2010-17 are estimated. 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. Shermans had fairly thin armor (76mm at the thickest compared to a Tiger with 180mm at the thickest with most around 100mm). Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. No. I didnt make a move without that gun beside me. To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. Be glad you served with a soldiers soldier like LTC Herbert. Great story!!! The average life expectancy of a Soviet soldier during the height of the battle was just 24 hours. Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. This is excellent! Dont know why, but generally, their aircraft were not armed (door gunners, etc.). 1: physical position (in the field / column) Phi Pow B.Sc (econ) in Economic History & Economics (college minor), London School of Economics and Political Science Author has 212 answers and 234.6K answer views 2 y Originally Answered: What soldier had the shortest life expectancy? The U.S. Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual contains gems such as infantry "patrol tips," maneuver techniques, and fighting methods for various environments. I sure feel for all you guys that went outside the wire. In total, the 7th Infantry spent four years in Vietnam. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the . Ever since that fateful day in 1967, I have often wondered what became of my beloved M60. I worried about that kind of leadership style in the highlands. sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. Roger Loves you too, Im sure. This has been going on for about a week Every time I try to watch a video on Youtube from my laptop I get instantly redirected to "gslbeacon.ligit.com." meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. We fought to an agreed stalemate. Does this mean addressing to a crowd? The planes doing the bombing near the village were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. Like most inexperienced gunners, he underestimated the power of the pig and failed to keep the barrel down when firing. Of the eight who remained, seven were wounded. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunner's life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. I was never formally trained as an RTO. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. It was a chaotic nightmare. No. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. 1 Gun became my very best friend. 2 Gun to Ranallo. Spanish Help Sholly finally agreed and stated that the next time we received replacements I could give one of them my M60. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. Our chase after the enemy unwittingly led us into a large ambush. The next morning, the blasting could still be, heard. The Regiment traces its lineage back to World War II. As the entire platoon hit the ground, I saw guys crawling back toward me. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. If it was 1941 and you were an average Soviet soldier, your life expectancy on the front line was days, not weeks, thanks to the ongoing german offence. Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. I lost my cherry very early. HOOAH!!! The average man who fought in World War II was 26 years of age. May they rest in peace. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years, after the fall of Saigon in 1975, than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. Papitto Opportunity Connections Mission: The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Islands BIPOC communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training, and entrepreneurial ventures. Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. well I wonder how long your going to last lieutenant? Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. I was an Artillery Forward Observer with the Infantry. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Sept 69 to Sept 70. Although we do tend to bomb a lot, thats only half of what we do. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. 101st Airborne Division. The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. From the Landing Zone, we were carried not too far. As I made it back to the road I remember seeing the 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. 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. I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. We (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF, according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States. 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. Different type units, different locations, different opinions on dangers. endstream endobj 4315 0 obj <>/Metadata 89 0 R/Pages 4312 0 R/StructTreeRoot 120 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 4316 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 4312 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 4317 0 obj <>stream TONY DISAGREED> hE SAID TAKE A 19 YEAR OLD, WHO HAS JUST TAKEN TWO ROUNDS TO HIS BODY, And IS watching his best friend die from multiple, bleeding wounds he wont give a shit about the Geneva Convention. It was more or less next man up . I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. I had to rely on my gun more than before. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. My friend May, I later learned, was doing the same thing in 2nd Platoon. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. 4314 0 obj <> endobj My good friend who was a RTO was killed. Great information. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. We observed the rules of the Geneva Convention while the bad guys had no interest in doing so. It means, IF (!) 97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged. What was the life expectancy of a point man in Vietnam? of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. They run into the fire to help the wounded and many get wounded or killed. In the hands of a well-trained machine gunner, the M60 was a devastating weaponso feared by our opponents that they usually aimed their first shots at the machine gunners, who were often in positions exposed to enemy fire. The average age of the men killed: 23.1 years. Anxiously extending the bipod legs on the M60, I added a 100-round belt to the one I already had in the gun. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phucs brothers were killed in this incident. How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? 1 Gun kept a lot of enemy heads down. All of the next day, we could see SMOKE from the fire caused by the explosions of the AMMO at, the AMMO DUMP. US Wings provides aviation apparel to the U.S. Government and commercial customers along with the general public. 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. Thats my experience. Screaming Eagles! Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? Interesting reading. No creo que Susana _____ (seguir) sobre los consejos de su mdico. Good article. Contents 1 Unclear objectives 2 North Vietnamese strategy 11 c mos , meaning I was also cross trained for mortars . If the NVA shot at the group retrieving the bodies, I was to fire over the heads of the grunts and engage the enemy. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. I would suspect that stating with any accuracy the life span of a grunt like me, or any other MOS, would be pretty much pure speculation. 1 Gun had registered its first kill. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. B)Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x. Jimmy aaja -M.I.A. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . He was not the type to hump a radio. 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. It was very nearly my last. I was a medic on one for two yrs and the only weapon I was issue was a six-shot .38. My bud, Price took over as RTO. Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. Work Plz. Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365).
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