Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. Before he was drafted Renza had worked as a hairdresser for women in his hometown of Peekskill, New York. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. There were also wounded. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. I was drafted on Nov. 10, 1965, and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. I know this is a standard cliche, but it is so true, All gave some. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. 1 Gun and I survived our first firefight. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. I got shot on a mission with 45 days left. A "Sapper" is a combat engineer soldier who is with the front line infantry troops. He was killed in an ambush along with three others. Fortunately, it was recorded on Spotify and can be listened to here: Thank you for both articles: (1)Going up river to port and (2) the flight from Italy back to Nam. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. . Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. A Marine on patrol crosses a rice paddy in Vietnam holding an M60 machine gun in 1966. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. Then the tempo changed suddenly and violently. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. 4322 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E412331B845E54EBDFDC79FA0627A18>]/Index[4314 16]/Info 4313 0 R/Length 65/Prev 560501/Root 4315 0 R/Size 4330/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Back in 1965, I was a door gunner on Medevac recovery operations. Your email address will not be published. I was one of the lucky ones I came home without a physical scratch. At that time, an infantry company consisted of about 150 men. Some very close calls but I am alive at age 74. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. Wortman, another RTO never made it back to The World. Look for the blue accessibility symbol floating on every page of our website and click on it to tailor your viewing experience to your particular disability. Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x.? Lt lost a finger, same time. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. I had a 20% death rate in my Hospital Corpsman Class. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. Now we know. Id love to see the casualties listed by Corps ? The average life expectancy of a Soviet soldier during the height of the battle was just 24 hours. 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 Certainly got my attention. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. This is excellent! I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. Es ridculo que t ______ (tener) un resfriado en verano. Foot soldiers went by the grace of God, but had a better chance than the infantry platoon commander in combat. They were a great bunch. Sholly finally agreed and stated that the next time we received replacements I could give one of them my M60. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. His comparison to a FB was that if we were fired on we returned fire and requested assistance when needed. Together we had passed the test. I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. Hack volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1968, joining the 1st Infantry Division. I couldnt see DeLong and didnt know if No. It doesnt make any sense statistically/mathematically it is impossible. 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. First Sgt. U.S. Wings is a manufacturer and a supplier. 1 gun and was hoping it would stay that way. Love this analysis. They were not randomly selected but simply the best at doing it. I had scary thoughts about myself humping the bush as a RTO, I was a real puny guy back then. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. And yes, please God, bless America. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. I pumped 200 rounds into that riverbank. I know the scouts in my company had a slightly longer rate but not much. The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. Life expectancy at birth. To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. Like you, I carried a PRC-25 for about 5 months and never got hit. As I made my way to the river, I saw a VC guerrilla jump into the water on the other side. 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. I think convoy truck drivers had one of the most dangerous job. The first thing my platoon sgt. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent . Theres 58,276. Out of thousands of men that invaded that town in southern Afghanistan, we have lost 19. I am one lucky SOB. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. Required fields are marked *. It was very nearly my last. That same day, I along with 3/4 others was transported to Long Bhin Post. I was to have that experience two more times before it was over. To an, open area. The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country. I was a 2nd Lt. Infantry platoon Leader. The man with the carbine immediately dropped it, and the two VC surrendered. If you have other information let me know. I never understood why they didnt put M60s on Medevacs (once the VC shot them down) but then, we now know they never intended to win that war in the first place. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. Men and women die everyday. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans group. Michael Doolittle..I was with 1/8 inf, 1st Brigade, and that day, March 22nd was also our darkest day. Both were infantry in WW2. Had multiple Ks and Ws. Was No. 1 Gun was firing. They were all up there scanning the terrain and looking for signs. The Vietnam War was the first American war in which Black and White troops were not formally segregated, and even saw significant growth in the number of African Americans engaged in battlefield combat, [1] though some de facto segregation still occurred. The group found the first man killed and carried him up the hill, placing his body right next to me. They were great patriots fighting for their families and their homeland. I saw killed and wounded everywhere in our combat operations. I quit trying to make sense of all the numbers that have been generated about Vietnam. My second tour was as the S3 for LTC Anthony Herbertone of Americas greatest leaders and WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. "The Cotton Balers, damn fine Soldiers." The Battalion returned to Fort Benning on October 11, 1970 and was inactivated. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. News media have reported tha an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc.Those are incorrect. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. I spent my year in Vietnam with the 1/22nd infantry part of the 4th division. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I would carry when on ambush. Such as in the song Jimmy by M.I.A look at aaja in the dictionary My indian boyfriend told me is meaning come to me, 6 Answers I have never had or heard of that particular brand, but have had several here in Canada, plus a number in the Caribbean and Asia, and there all the same, small cut hot dogs in a can, no need q now please.. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas:? hb```8fB cBLd2>Tb jz1@E; aK6Tmc.Nn"&gn7hj'wm,h d6p4u0`&88:,TMV& y@ b=e>a&^ >{2b`ZHE3psn QZ Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. Soon after, Pfc. 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. When we reached Company A, we placed our dead in the center of the two-company perimeter. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. 2) by my research, medics suffered 93% casualties with about 33% deaths. 10 1/2 months in the bush. From the Landing Zone, we were carried not too far. Of the eight who remained, seven were wounded. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. 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. A former expert with the M60 machine gun shares his experiences wielding the fearsome weapon in Vietnam. Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . Proudly holding my M60 over my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs, No. I couldnt disagree. Combatants on both sides faced physical challenges posed by the climate, terrain and wildlife of the country. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunners life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. In the few firefights and skirmishes we had with local VC, the gun always performed well. The other group of aeromedical evacuation were divisional, i.e. You just do the best job you can and if you got hit, so be it! But it was my jobso I tried not to think about it much. Cause-specific . Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. My bud, Price took over as RTO. More importantly, Grandstaff was very gung-ho. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some Mi hermana se sorprende N-F C-F Cl-F F-F 2 Answers C-F is the most polar. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. No. Two points: 1) at least in Army units, Medevacs (dust offs) flew unarmed aircraft. Bruce Grandstaff and my best friend, Sgt. We had one RTO killed because he was too close to a 2ND Lt, same thing happened to another RTO. 1 Gun, as always, thumped out a throaty roar as I fought desperately to push the enemy back. HOOAH!!! We were discussing the different units and dangers of each. Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. Well he didnt make it. I was shot down on my very first mission in July 1968. Roger Loves you too, Im sure. Much smaller income differentials in life expectancy, 0.2 to 3.6 life-years smaller for Veterans in 2010-17 are estimated. The dead were placed on ponchos. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. Life Expectancy of the World Population. Contents 1 Unclear objectives 2 North Vietnamese strategy my left and saw this rice paddie farmer and his ox and I was trying to motion him to get down he just looks at me and starts 1ST MAW 66-68. located on the South End of, the Post. A Co, 1/5 Cav, 1 Cav Division. I knew some of this, but certainly not all. Deltoid muscle _____ 2. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. Re: Helicopter Crews (Medevac & Dustoff): To my knowledge, only the 1st Cav Medevac had M60s for protection. I applaud your courage as I know an RTOs job is essential, difficult (carrying the weight of his radio transmitter, his rifle, his ammo, and his rucksack), and dangerous as the enemy surely wanted to knock out any communications for support. Different strokes for different folks in war fer sure. This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between 95 and 00. I assisted Vessey and Capt Cartwright by helping prepare the Bee Hive Rounds (first time they were ever used), firing 4 rounds at proximity 0 range into a human wave attack on or weak side after 5 hours of relentless attacks on the opposite side of the perimeter Those 4 rounds killed @ 400 enemy soldiers, of the 881 total enemy losss John Vessey later became a 4 Star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs appointed by Reagan 1983, and at retirement became Chair of the POW MIA Commission for 14 years, Passing away in August 2016 just 6 months before our 50th Reunion. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. This article appeared in the October 2021 issue of Vietnam magazine. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. Data based on the latest United Nations Population Division estimates. Cluster F, SNAFU and FUBAR fer sur. After a couple of hours, the Viet Cong stopped shooting and melted back into the jungle. Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. both tours. I never saw any correlation as to what MOS a soldier was and their survival rate. The 4th Platoons single machine gun crewthe platoon had entered the fight short a gunhad been killed in the fighting, and I was to be moved there. February 5 th, 1967, Galiano was headed to Saigon, Vietnam with 90 fellow Americans on an Air Force c-131, but orders were quickly altered . I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 67-67 11B 4th Id. LUCK pure LUCK. And I know what youre going to say, Because the American cs! Bullcrap!!!! Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine.? (You can unsubscribe anytime), The US Wings website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant and adheres to their standards for accessibility of the internet so people with disabilities can surf the web more easily & efficiently. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. I did worry about the strength of my flax vest. By the time we reached Vietnam in October 1966 I felt the gun had become a part of me. I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. "And in seizing the firm land at the . I kept the radio because I understood the power of having the first communication with the support mechanisms of the military. I was an O5C-20 in Vietnam. Jimmy aaja, jimmy aaja. He also worked on Jacqueline Kennedys hair pieces and wigs. The gas-operated, belt-fed gun had a maximum rate of fire of 550-650 rounds per minute. Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. 99% of infantry men will currently live to die of natural causes. I won a few times, and even when I did not I benefited from handling the gun under stress. 5 Answers There is no word like addressal. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds. After every officer in our company was either killed or had serious wounds, our 1st Sgt , David McNerney took over the company and without his leadership, and knowledge of war, and unbelievable courage, our company would probably have been wiped out. 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. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. Contents1 [] 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. In my tour everyone had the same chance of getting shot. Ron. Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. We had run patrols for about a month when I first saw action. We were all in our Bunkers, and at the ready with our weapons. On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. After about 30 minutes, the four enemy soldiers got up and left the area. Work Plz. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. I didnt want any medals. There were usually 3 man (At least 2) point teams. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers. The two platoons were to advance no more than 200 yards from the main body of the company. My good friend who was a RTO was killed. The incident in the photo took place on the second day of a three day battle between the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who occupied the village of Trang Bang and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) who were trying to force the NVA out of the village. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was . I always felt that Infantry units were in more danger because of ambush issues and no permanent defensive structures. DeLong was later killed attempting to escape from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Cambodia. Everyone in the company hit the dirt. Our chase after the enemy unwittingly led us into a large ambush. Our patrols were typically about 14 hours 24/7 We operated of old LSTs and large barges. Then I dropped back down in the streambed to organize our ammo. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. Amazingly, the NVA men then walked a short distance away, sat down and ate lunch. Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. He decided to stay even though he had a deep feeling he wasnt going to make it. 2 tour Nam Vet, The Navys First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet CongGuerrilla, The Navy's First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet Cong Guerrilla, A Day in the Life of an Infantry Point Man in Vietnam, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo. (and yes, you cant ask them, so it would have to be derived from the AA-reports and survivors). I carried the proc 26 radio after I was asked by my field 1st ( E 7 ) if I would for my platoon . Also , it I might add that the, Government big wigs, have a quota [percentage]of a lot of the Military equipment etc that had a certain amount of time to function until it was disable, blow up, wrecked, junk, etc. I remember hearing somewhere about an RTO who wasnt getting the info out correctly and the Lieutenant (Kennedy) grabbed the mic and said My RTO Is Foxtrot Uniform. Both halves quickly swept toward the river to clear the village. Many were killed or wounded ! Some of my men didnt. El subjuntivo They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16.

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