Vietnam Veterans’ Day
The Vietnam War used to be the longest war in our history until the media decided to call the war against terror our longest war. The war in Vietnam lasted from November 1955 until April 30, 1975, when Saigon collapsed. 3.4 million Americans served in the theater and 2,594,000 served in Vietnam and off it’s shores between 1965 and 1973. They were 9.7% of their generation. Only 38% of draftees served in Vietnam.
47,378 of the US military died in hostile actions. One nurse was KIA. 17,539 were married men. 17,725 were draftees. 5,977 were Reservists, 101 were National Guardsmen. 61% were aged less than 21 years.
79% of Vietnam veterans had completed a high school education or higher. 75% came from families who were earning above the poverty level. 97% of Vietnam veterans were honorably discharged. 66% of Vietnam veterans said they would serve again if asked. 82% of those who saw combat say we failed in Vietnam because of political will, 75% of Americans agree with them.
2,338 were listed as Missing in Action. 766 were listed as POWs, 114 died in captivity. Statistics from this link.
Category: Historical
They will not be forgotten.
Never forget! Thanks for blazing the trail for us youngins! Hope we make you proud. Semper Fidelis, and welcome home.
34% OF Blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.
Interesting. I wonder what the war on terror’s #’s are. I have my assumptions based upon my service.
To all Vietnam vets, thank you for your service and welcome home.
I havent seen any news reports, has anyone else?
I got this from one of the radio station sites (WABC or WBS) that I visited earlier this morning. Just a small blurb about MACV casing the colors and this picture. Other than that, nada.
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/file-march-29-1973-file-photo-american-flag-photo-181151250.html
One of those Must-Go-Places-Before I-Die.
#1 ROS: “They will not be forgotten”.
Sir/Mame, with all due respect, we are forgotten; as are all the brothers and sisters in arms that have answered the bugle call since then.
The price of a latte (whatever the hell that is) is more important than what any of us did/do in uniform…no matter how menial that was, it supported the effort.
Re:#6 This is the article the picture was posted in.
http://news.yahoo.com/40-years-vietnam-memories-still-strong-150946156.html
I lost my uncle in the war, it was one of the most profound experiences of my childhood and changed my family forever. He left behind a wife and two babies. I’ve been to the Memorial several times, it is heartbreaking to see all of those names.
I will never forget.
RIP Uncle Jon E. Swanson, Medal of Honor recipient
By the way…I’m a geezer and was in the Pentagon and jogged to DC’s Mall almost everyday. I was appalled that the “Wall” won the competition and followed its construction. I was wrong. The “Wall” is breath taking…no matter how many times I go; no matter how many years ago.
#10 Common Sense
Wow. Just Wiki’d your Uncle and his MOH. I didn’t know that Huey’s could carry someone with that big of balls. Hooah!
Helo pilots did many amazing things there. Hot LZ’s were the norm yet they sat there exposed in their bubble as calm as could be.
This was just posted on ABC’s Facebook Page.
Forty years ago, on March 29, 1973, the United States ended military involvement in Vietnam. Looking back in photos: http://abcn.ws/Ykqr3O260
God bless them all.
There’s just something about that Wall.
Having been a Regular Army guy back then, it seemed most of my closest buds were draftees. I had the privilege of pushing troops at Ft. Lewis when I got back for about 9 months. Saw some fine young men come through, they did their job even though most of them were drafted. My only regret is that I didn’t beat the shit out of some dirty stinking hippies because I was too concerned about getting arrested. In retrospect it would have been cool!
40 years. Hardly seems that long. Look at how much has changed in that time.
So much for the media perpetuated myth that most soldiers in Vietnam were uneducated and living in poverty. Thanks to everyone who served in Vietnam!
Comrades in Arms:
When is Viet Nam Veterans Day?
I never heard or saw anything about it.
However, here is something on my own personal web site, “OUR ETERNAL STRUGGLE”, which may interest you.
I named the post, “TRUE GRATITUDE”, and the URL for it is:
http://writesong.blogspot.com/2013/03/true-gratitude.html
Thank you.
John Robert Mallernee
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Gulfport, Mississippi 39507
Comrades in Arms: Way back during the late Nineteen Eighties, I had the distinct privilege of being allowed to serve on the committee that was planning, funding, designing, and erecting the Viet Nam Memorial, “BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – – – “, currently located on the grounds of the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gosh, gee whillikers, if you’re ever there in Salt Lake City, please do go visit the Viet Nam Memorial, because I was a part of it. I can look at it and say, “I helped build that.” Actually, I really didn’t do much except attend the meetings, and help with whatever little bit that I could, which sure as Sam Hill wasn’t very much. During actual construction, I stood guard, and on the day of the dedication, I helped direct traffic. When volunteers read the names of the dead, I helped a buddy of mine, who was dying of Huntington’s Chorea, stand at the microphone and read the name of his boyhood pal who was killed when they were together at the battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord. Both the sculptor and the model for the statue, “BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – – – “, were actual Viet Nam combat veterans. The sculptor was Clyde Ross Morgan, and you can read about him at this URL: http://www.clyderossmorgan.com/ The model for “BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – – – ” was O’Connor Dale. You can read about him at this URL: http://archive.library.nau.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cpa/id/63441/rec/12 Anyway, I want you to see some photographs. These first two (02) photographs are of my souvenirs, presented to me in appreciation for serving on the committee. This framed photograph of, “BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – – – “, is on the wall of my room: http://www.flickr.com/photos/writesong/5269168616/sizes/o/in/set-72157625492294863/ This souvenir plaque lays atop my footlocker. It was mounted on the wall, but the wall can’t hold it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/writesong/5269168464/sizes/o/in/set-72157625492294863/ This next URL is of a collection of photographs taken by vistors of the “BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – – – ” Utah Viet Nam Memorial. http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/default.aspx?f=1&guid=0e51e746-e086-4715-bf39-670f924ecea4&gid=2 Please be sure and click on those photographs, so you can see a much… Read more »
Comrades in Arms: If any of you are, or know of someone who is, a member or in some way associated with The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints (i.e., the “Mormon” church), then you, or they, may find this especially interesting. When I arrived at Cam Rahn Bay in the Republic of Viet Nam, my first assignment was the Phu Lam Signal Battalion in Saigon. I would attend church services in downtown Saigon, and I was a witness to history being made in our church. I took a photograph of the Relief Society president and a presiding elder (I think – – – I can’t remember) sitting at their desk busily translating the Book of Mormon and the Testimony of Joseph Smith from English into Vietnamese. Here is the URL where you can see that picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/writesong/687077666/sizes/o/in/set-72157600591053018/ Why is that picture important? Because of THIS story, “OUT OF THE TIGER’S DEN”, which you can read at this URL: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/06/out-of-the-tigers-den?lang=eng The folks who arranged her escape were members of a specialized organization that no longer functions, Veterans Association for Service Activities Abroad. Here is the URL for that organization: http://www.vasaa.org/ I’m proud to say that I am a “LIFE” member of that group, although I lacked the necessary skills and expertise to really be of much help. We were basically a small group of volunteers, mostly Viet Nam veterans, and mostly Latter-day Saints, initially organized to try and assist the Latter-day Saints who were left behind when Saigon fell. Our organization also helped in other Third World countries, going places where the Church could not go, and doing things the Church could not do. But, now, we’re all old, sick, or dead, and since our work was HIGHLY specialized, there’s no one to replenish our ranks, and most of the work was pretty much finished, so we folded our colors. Also, for those of you who are Latter-day Saints, or know someone who is, here is the URL where you can watch a MOVIE (!), “SAINTS AT WAR: VIET NAM”: http://byutv.org/watch/1f2fd5e4-55bf-46bd-9017-80e4b18866fd#ooid=5lMnJ5MjrnvfZIdrD0W8WMTWLIPu5rPi I’m not in the movie, but I am… Read more »
#8 SJ- I can assure you that you are not, and will not be as long as I draw breath. That is one thing I know for certain, though I could not tell you the price of a latte.
Thank you, and welcome home.
@7, 15, I’ve been there, seen it while I was an Active Duty “Joe”, and any real person won’t leave there unchanged.
One memory popped into my head.
A short distance off shore just below the DMZ, condition three set. Walked out on deck for some air and to enjoy night at sea. The stars and the wake were doing their thing. With he rumble of the screws it was peaceful.
The shore was just a shadow until I noticed orange fire balls; a string of the things going off just inshore.
Found out a bit later that it was a B-52 Arc Light raid.
Like so many details of the Viet Nam War, the beginning and end dates are often misreported. As Jonn notes above, it began in the 50’s, not the 60’s, and was going fairly well in the hands of Special Forces.
The “end” of the war is often reported as 1975, while the last Servicemember left on March 30, 1973. The iconic last images “of the war” are of Marines evacuating the US Embassy in Saigon, taking every person they could save with them. While the pictures paint the picture of a military defeat, it was a political surrender.
A few years ago, I met and had the honor of talking with a US Army NCO, who had been a South Vietnamese Officer in 1975. His unit had a record of never retreating from a battle, and had the resolve to never surrender. And they never quit, until that day, when every round of ammunition had been expended. The US Congress had cut off supplies and funding for our ally, and they had nothing left.
And when the inevitable was apparent, that there was no longer any means to fight, the Battalion Commander assembled his officers, and told them to disperse into the population. He was caught, but somehow escaped the death sentence imposed on almost all other officers. After years in a political re-education camp, he was finally able to escape the communist country. And he joined the US Army to pay back to his new country for his Freedom. When I talked to him, he was preparing for a combat tour in Iraq.
SJ: yeah, Hueys could carry a helluva load, even one composed of cojones muy grande. And in Vietnam, they often did.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=32357
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=32214
Of course, so could a C-123
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=29872
To my Viet Nam Brothers, who came before me, Welcome Home, and Thank You, for all the lessons I learned from you. You fought well.
And Thank You again, for defending this generation of Veterans, as they returned from these wars, from the treatment you experienced when you came home. You were the first to stand in our defense, and it was YOU that rallied Our Citizenry to stand with you.
Thank you to all of you that fought in that terrible war. I shudder when I see the political machinations going on now that resemble the crap that went on in Vietnam.
I was stationed in Alaska but I got in under the Vietnam Era flag.
The bravery of many of those that stayed in to continue their service was apparent.
My Squad Leader, Sgt Schaenour had a Silver Star and was one of the favorites in my tour in Alaska.
I thank all of you, your families and those that lost all in that war.
I am humbled to call myself a Veteran of that era.
The first American serviceman killed in Vietnam was an OSS operative possibly a Navy Officer on August 1945.
The first Man killed during the war period died June 8, 1956 who was killed by a fellow Airman.
Over all The day just doesn’t and will not mean anything to people who have no connection to that war.