Yes, Vietnam War veterans are still eligible for various benefits and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including disability compensation, health care, and education benefits. Was back at LZ Bayonet the last part of my tour after being medevaced off of Professional and in the hospital at Chu Lai. An overwhelming number are buried by family and friends. I am an Era vet, and the closest I got was R&R in Thailand. but some men, like myself , were told by their draft board, go to vietnam on your ship. Music That Moves the Military. 1 How many American soldiers died in Vietnam in 1975? He objected, and was assigned as an interpreter attached to the American Embassy in Sweden. 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. Around 2.7 million troops were stationed in Vietnam either on land, within its airspace, or in its waters. Somewhat confusing. Our service was diminished while there and continues being disrespected by those who lump all Vietnam-Era vets with those whose lives were on the line. He arrived on Yankee Station, Vietnam in early May, 1972 when he was still 17 years of age. I agree, 10% in combat, sounds right! 1st cav div. After Tet it was quiet. if you read up on it you will see that ww2 merchant sailors were despised as cowards. Plane had 4 engines and rarely got shot up although we did have a pilot get a 50 in the leg. Without fanfare or much recognition. State-Level Veteran Suicide Data: 2020 Update I know I was there and have several cancers! The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. Base was 1st MAW Danang AB which got hit early Tet with rockets, mortars and sappers. Be content with your service, and leave it there. I left the Ville at 3:00pm. As stated in the previous post I too can spot a fake in 10 seconds. As you did not disclose what position you did or did not fill in Vietnam, or did not set foot in Vietnam, I will assume you are not a combat veteran, maybe not a Vietnam Veteran either. It is a deeply troubling statistic and has. This situation has been an issue for years longer than any of us has been around. How old is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? i sailed with some in vn at the end of the work lives. Peter: 67N2F, 119th AHC 68-69. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? I had encountered a learning experience, and inspirational contact with the celestial. Additionally, the American War Library approximated that around 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters during the same time are still alive today. RE: WHO are Vietnam Vets ?. One good way to detect a phony is to ask him what his MOS was. 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. He now has a 100% disability as unemployable. Not sure where we were. Bob Kerrey. 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. Your not a vet if you never stepped foot in another country. Non combat Vets served elsewhere. Though Thailand was not designated a combat zone. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. it is the duty of the community to stay behind their warriors to heal them and at the back of them when they come back. 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. However, like it or not, the U.S. government makes the final decisions on who is officially considered a war veteran and thats really the way it HAS to be. Today is Sun 22 Aug 2021 but the actual date HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED as the US is SENDING GIs BACK! Even in this age of computers and accountability just goes to show ya ,people still cant Add or do Math . We did what we felt needed doing. Just a minor clarification, not all of us were on the groundJust being picky. YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. I saw plenty of people providing direct combat support to the effort in. 15 of us REMFs were surrounded by the 33rd NVA June 13 1970. All five of the CIDGs we dropped off that morning filed into the back of the truck, but unlike the cab the back had a canvas top and sides. The wheels were bouncing crazily as the tires encounter deep furrows dug in the hard dirt from the last monsoon. I began to think that was the excuse for NOT being in combat. Findings are made available to the public in an Annual Report. Welcome home! 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 It is called the Stolen Valor Act., Dau Tieng A Co. 3/22 Inf. And your comment about Agent Orange shows that you have no understanding of how the chemical poisoned everyone who set foot in Vietnam. Air medals say combat support flying night spook missions around Haiphong from 68 -71. Its possible that the youngest living Vietnam Veteran may be 61 years old. 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 . Sgt. I remember that the minute we came around the coast and headed up for Vung Tau, as merchantmen on American Export LInes ships, we got a sizeable war zone increase in our pay. Age: 77. Cheers, we had a building where the company stored our property. fired on coming up river, a few other things. Lets ask somebody on Facebook where we can get all the correct true data and facts. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. Do you by chance remember a Jim Blackshear? One of the things that really bothers me is the statement that we lost in Vietnam? The insistence to include Vietnam-ErA vets with those who served in-country results in a ridiculous skew to any meaningful stats. I do not know how many others served with us. Current Status of Unaccounted-for Americans Lost in the Vietnam War. We need more honest Veterans. And yes I was sprayed with Agent Orange. he and the other gentleman did not seem to know about each other , but they ended up speaking about the tours in country, both had served some time at dong ha. i never saw them again, but i knew we had shared something that was filled with pride, sadness, and the passage of time. I was drafted in May of 1966 specifically for the reactivation of the 9th Infantry..so B Co., 4/47th/9th Inf. Dave, On this Memorial Day 2021, VA honors their service and recommits itself to . the draft board made that very clear. I will never forget the pop pop pop, pop pop of an AK-47 in rapid-fire, but I heard the far off rattle of a M-60 machine-gun through the roar; Why I thought of PFC Wildaboro and his escapade with the machine gun that OTHER sun-drenched afternoon! i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. And though did not serve in actual combat, as you describe it, we were shot at & mortared on occasion. 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. Nor, do they know about what is referred to as the last battle of the Vietnam war, which occurred on 15 May 1975, eight days after the legally defined end date of the Vietnam era; 7 May 1975. The first impact of a rocket was twenty meters to the left and ten meters behind as the rocket flew over its target. In the article, the writer quotes Patrick S. Brady of Vietnam Veterans of Americas magazine. My question, How many guys are I still alive refers to the ones who were in direct combat action? Of the nearly 3Mil that served, only one in twelve were in fire fights. What Was It Like To Hump The Boonies in Vietnam? There were an estimated 58,318 U.S. soldier casualties alone. I spent 3 separate tours in Vietnam. The Korean War was not supported by the ENTIRE nation, actually that is why it is known as the Forgotten War. Hometown: Detroit, Michigan. I remember a distorted image of reality. How many Vietnam vets have died from Agent Orange? How Did The Campus Shootings Demonstrate The Continued Divisions Within The Country? 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. My husband was one of those 191st Assault Helicopter Co. Bounty Hunter door gunners. And, if you think 75% of actual Vietnam Vets (especially after Covid, and more than 50 years of time) are still alive, youre kidding yourself. If you served anywhere at all, anywherre during WWI, you are a WWI vet. Nov.62 I got off a PanAm flight at Tan Son Nhut with a US passport, wearing civilian clothes and colorful floral leis around my neck after a stop in Hawaii. Ah. 499 days, and 10 days in Sydney, Australia !!!!! Past history shows ALL Veterans of previous Wars were classified as Vets of those wars regardless of where they served. There are 500,000 Korean War veterans still living, but about 600 of those die every day, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. My mos was 11B and the army in its great wisdom sent me to an aviation unit in the Mekong delta. 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. How many Vietnam Vets die per day? Alternatively, to transfigure my destiny. DamnIll be 76 in March. So, where is the discrepancy in these numbers? Our side would have collapsed without you. Does anyone else remember ? Leave your thoughts below in the comment section. A number 1/2 the peak, say 250,000 still seems high but would come closer to 3,000,000 number serving. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Then I down shifted entered the worst section of massive ruts and the broken-up roadbed threw the truck all about its grooves. We had a lot of support vets near Saigon. I always felt this was the maximal danger of the trip. The average age of our Vietnam veterans is now over 70. My 2.6 million figure refers to American vets. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. How old are Vietnam vets now? The stroke wasnt assumed until after 2000 & heart not until 2010. 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. So do not throw stones at some who got to lay in the same bunk night after night, just because we slept in a dirty hole night after night. The roar was deafening; through the shattered windshield, I saw the truck go out of control. Are these all American vets. I appreciate all the support there and around the world but Vietnam area at Fort Whatever Ohio wasnt Vietnam and no matter how brave the girls in Germany told you you were you were not a Vietnam Vet. 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. one yearA tour of duty in Vietnam for most ground forces lasted one year. More than 300,000 Veterans were wounded during the Vietnam War. My son, James, is 16 and has autism. 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. we spent sometimes a month or more in one port depending on the cargo and the need. Data Appendix Methods Report Report FAQs. His wife and family should be very proud of him. Really, very easy to say if your were able to sleep at night, so being anonymous means you stand up for those words All members of the team are NOT COMBAT VETERANS, My husbands boots werent on the groundthey were in the air and he was definitely a Combat vet. Army National Guard: 336,000, https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htm, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/how-many-vietnam-veterans-are-still-alive.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War. Why do the vets who served during the Vietnam War era have to be so devisive? Number who served in country and number who served DURING the Vietnam War regardless of where they were deployed. If one in ten saw sustained combat, then there may be as little as 60,000 of us left! We all started getting heart attacks around the same time. I would not believe the NYT. 1968, 69. I got in about 20 firefights. Or is this a total number of vets with all the other countries that supported us . (52. years later) All with the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Air Borne Division. The 30 September 2007 Veterans Administration estimate places the daily deaths of WWII US veterans at 1,000 per day. 11B20 and proud of it. But Officers do not get CIBs But for those Cav troopers who know I have my Spurs. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. 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. 4-39th, 9th Div. I dont know why we have to make this simple arithmetic drill so difficult. There are still a lot of us left by some miracle! We had it good compared to grunts..tdy pay, flight pay, combat pay plus side gigs. How many Vietnam veterans died from Agent Orange? His combat medal was an Air Medal. We all had a job to do. And a number of Navy in ships, bombing communist. 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. Why cant you be just a proud Veteran. Same aircraft were used and were not cleaned before spraying anything else. for myself, being bored sometimes, and anxious to see and do more, i volunteered and went on a number of supply missions to the fire bases. A phantom drifted over and raised me up to unconsciousness. Before I passed out, I was being picked up off the jungle floor by some entity. It does not store any personal data. For US Vietnam Veterans it's about 66 years vs just about 78 years for non vets. Serving in combat waters. Thousands of sorties departed from Thailand, Guam, and from aircraft carriers at sea to kill MIGS, bomb factories and bridges, and generally create havoc. Age: 84. Then later we were transferred to Camp Red Ball. Helicopter crewmen did not receive the CIB, but they fought every day. We did a lot of Ranch Hand missions in the iron Triangle. It only had the National Defense ribbon on the cap. Next determined those Veterans who were awarded the Vietnam Service ribbon. The Vietnam Veterans of America have cited that they will remain an organization until last man standing. If I got in the ring with Cassius clay later known as Mohamed Ali. In the enormity of the cosmos, Vietnam is inconsequential, covered over by days dust! 4 Carl Dodd Former Police Officer Author has 18.5K answers and 25.3M answer views 10 mo The group in my AIT Class were all happy about this. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Those were the prime draft years, but of course there were a few older guys over there too.This does not include other American men there who are not covered by the A, like civilian contractors. 23 Div and finally MACV Tm 87, 43 RCAT 18th ARVN Div. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? Exhausted! Stolen Valor the American Way! Okay.Ill be the one to tell it like it is, even though everyone here, as well as everyone else, knows the truth already! NO REAL VET FAILS TO REMEMBER HIS MOS. The one question I have is how many in country vets did multiple tours over there. (LogOut/ retired university professor
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