Please do all you can to inform our fellow vets that the VA presumes Agent Orange exposure if you were in-country. At 73 years, I plan on beating that date. Antonia is a firm believer in the power of education, and she is passionate about helping students reach their full potential. Serving during the TET offensive and time after. On Sat, Jun 19, 2021 at 4:22 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: This is a controversial post. Wiki User. I served in an artillery unit. @Dea KellyWere you on the ground when this happened? Heres my article about Canadians who fought in Vietnam: https://cherrieswriter.com/2015/11/13/lost-to-history-the-canadians-who-fought-in-vietnam/. Very devisive infighting among all the service members who served at a time when it was not popular. 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. Agent Orange is a Herdicide. The wheels were bouncing crazily as the tires encounter deep furrows dug in the hard dirt from the last monsoon. off the ship i went out with airforce on resupply, went out with troops through rubber plantations, ran from gunfire in saigon and chulon. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? He showed me his DD214 and low and behold it says he was in Vietnam. Apparently Infantry is the operative word. USA, (Ret.). 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. It could be a Yard, Don Porier, or a sapper. I went into shock and lost conscienceless. Since you were with an aviation Battalion do you remember our flight pay as Army Aircrew ? ho, i could not . Very true One of those is my younger brother. Well, the government 20 or 25 years later sent us, if asked, a ribbon, card, and metal saying we did. Not 499 days between dec 67 & april 68? Thank you for taking the time to read this. We all served the same, but different. The youngest Vietnam War veteran was a 15-year-old child named Dan Bullock. DamnIll be 76 in March. These numbers are probably as good as any well ever find and are from 2019 and 2021 respectively. 997 guys died the first day they stepped in Nam. The dashboard gauges and the gearshift lever approached, as I hit the dashboard with my left side and my head crashed to the floor; My spirit rejoined and I was protected by the firewall. 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. maybe, maybe not. I am a Proud US Army Veteran retired in 1984. There were 7000 Canadians that joined the US military to fight in Vietnam. Helicopter Units and losses in the Vietnam War, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo, https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. My demons were better left alone and buried away after two tours back to back. I WOULD SURVIVE! I was all over in 7 years. YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. All the millions of other Vietnam Era Veterans are Cold War Veterans. 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). 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. The Vietnam War was the nation's longest and costliest conflict of the Cold War. It took about 30 years for the government to acknowledge we were even there. So the vets that actually saw combat numbers are swelled by the rear echelon members to 600,000. yet there were millions that signed up or were drafted. Mike. To this day, I dont know how I was transported from the right-side dirt shoulder but ending up in the center of the dusty road. This is a suicide rate of 1 EVERY 65-80 minutes (APPROX). so if you wore chinos instead of camo you are not a veteran? . So Huey pilots and crew were REMFs. Born in 1953, he joined the US Marine Corps at the age of 15 and was sent to Vietnam where he served as a machine gunner. I had a Swedish citizen in AIT, with orders to go to Vietnam. He now has a 100% disability as unemployable. Scavenger said you had to be fired on in viet nam to be a veteran. Guys like me know the difference. I only spent one overnighter. We have been betrayed by all Globalists. One moment is eternity- the next may never!. i served and i was affected like nearly every other person who spent time there. And your comment about Agent Orange shows that you have no understanding of how the chemical poisoned everyone who set foot in Vietnam. A veteran who served in the Vietnam War would be in their early 70s to late 90s today, depending on their birth year. Do you by chance remember a Jim Blackshear? That number was reasonable: About 9.2 million Americans served in the military during the Vietnam era . I served 2 tours late 1966 to late July 1968, TET and the rest as an infantry platoon sgt Also served in Korea 1963 and considered a Korean war vet as that war has never ended. scipione@geneseo.edu The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Who really cares who stepped foot on land. Waiting for a slight pause in the clamor in my ear, I decided to escape towards the cover of the Bush. Some advisors embassy guards, but all combat units left. Change). Age: 77. 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. Combat Vets served in country. Although my time had come, my death brought a realization that, I WOULD NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO DYE IN THAT JUNGLE. I discovered a conviction, antithesis to my beliefs, that it was not the North Vietnamese Army that sealed my fate, nor the soldier that touched off the RPG that distorted my body; I had the power from GOD to go to the next phase in my journey. I saw plenty of people providing direct combat support to the effort in. it eas a very loud high pitched, not human and the sound was fuck you. It is a deeply troubling statistic and has. Cheers, Today, the state with highest number of Vietnam veterans is California, with 596,130, followed by Florida with 519,224. So, I must be a VN Vet and VN Era Vet and Cold War Era Vet but not a Cold War Vet because I never got anywhere near the USSR. Besides, who says anyone can claim this status or that status just because. The report is based on national death certificate data currently available through 2020. But having said that, here are some sources: David, please do not compare this to Merchant Seaman in WWII who braved the many packs of Submarines etc as that is how so many died in WWII. There are still a lot of us left by some miracle! No one paid any attention to them and this non-controversy continues. I believe you mean the malaria pill was once a week. How old is the youngest Vietnam veteran still alive? 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. I did a short extra tour with the 97th Trans in Cam Rahn Bay, they had 30 or so LCUs that hauled artillery projectiles and other stuff including fuel up many of those rivers. I was there in 1969. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Age: 84. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. U failed to remember the last name on the Wall was in 1975. hello, When all was done and the Army was cleaning up the details of the action, they decided to award CIBs to the officers and not to enlisted. Those of us on the battlefield who bled and many died would take issue with your opinion. Just a minor clarification, not all of us were on the groundJust being picky. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 530 Vietnam veterans die every day. Stolen Valor the American Way! 8,113,000 are still alive (May 2000) Post navigation Helicopter crewmen did not receive the CIB, but they fought every day. two weeksOver 10% of Vietnam casualties were helicopter crew members, and most of those were the door gunners that protected the helicopter, its crew, and its transports, from their exposed position. This is a controversial post. Therefore there are a lot fewer combat veterans from Vietnam. 2.4 million man who served in Nam approx. 109, 000 died in the service during this period. 1 in 14 men pulled a trigger in Nam. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Only believing what Fox & Friends has to say is really what you need to question Most things in the NYT does get critical peer review and push back when questionable Fox NOT SO, look at the crap coming out of Tucker Carlson, now that is scary extreme BS, The picture tells far more than a Thousand Words, it is that thousand yard stare, and any veteran who was out there can fill in the blanks of what they were thinking at that moment Offshore ocean sailing is a lot like being out trucking thru the jungle Minutes , hours day upon day of monotony and boredom, interrupted by moments of fright & terror I know that thousand yard stare, and many a time since I have found myself back there in my mind, staring at whatever and seeing nothing but what was in my mind. They wouldnt know the truth even if they tripped over it. 240 300 World. VA's Veteran Population Projection Model estimates that there are approximately 6.1 million living Vietnam War-era Veterans, as of 2021. The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. I have always rounded up to 3,000,000 served in Vietnam..and I read someplace where of that number, only 10% were actually in combat. NOTE: in 2010 Census 13.2 Million claimed to be Vietnam Veterans. waited and waited for our slot in port. Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. According to DCAS Vietnam casualty files, the following casualty were sustained outside of S. Vietnam: 728 in Laos, 523 in Cambodia, 1,120 in N. Vietnam and 10 in China. In addition 18 US AF Security Police personnel and their 5 person aircrew were killed responding to the incident (the seizure of the USS Mayaquez), some do not recognize them as combat related deaths either. Very helpful for this Viet Nam vet, at 73 and a little long in the tooth I I find that my understanding of the time I spent in Viet Nam comes into sharper focus as time goes by and the reality of what happened and what I did to participate makes me proud especially because I volunteered for Viet Nam at the age of 17. Everyone did their assigned job; some just got better assignments. Having served two tours on the ground, as they say, I find it depressing. In my mirror I saw its beam illuminate each and every particle of dust that my passing vehicle spewed into the air; thus creating a mobile, magical, camouflaged chamber of brightly dancing fairies shielding me from harm. That's 390 per day. But to me, Nam is my whole universe i.e. My husband was awarded several (door gunner w/191st AHC Bounty Hunters). He signaled a repeat, and the second rocket impacted on target. i was not a supporter of the war but i did my job. Im 75 and served in South Vietnam (30 Dec 1967-68) A/504th MP Bn. He objected, and was assigned as an interpreter attached to the American Embassy in Sweden. The definition of Combat Veteran is NOT if you have a CIB. My time stands still. After 20 some years of filing claims and multiple appeals (DAV advocate,) have given up on the VA. Do I count as a real Vietnam vet? I WAS IN THE 85TH ORD COMPANY . Even more telling is how many Vietnam combat veterans are still alive today? Yes, there are fuckyou lizards. The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! I will have to disagree with the CIB being the only combat veterans The Battle of Soui Tre 3-21-1967 at Fire Support Base Gold Operation Junction City, the 2/77 Artillery 18 105s and the 3/22 Infantry A & B Cos the enemy lost 881 KIA and UNK WIAs, we lost counting the landing in the 19th 55 KIA & 287 WIA, within an hours Westmorland and other Stars were there claiming this Victory (14 Stars on the battlefield) The Artillery are every bit combat veterans with the infantry and many other FSB battles as well I have a CIB and did 22 months in country late including TET. Then upon returning I would be stationed in Camp Enari, away from most of the intense fighting, and protected by the whole 4th. When you spend most of the time out in the Bad Lands, bad things happen. For the are all Vietnam Vetersns.I was stationed. (Operation Ranch Hand) that were loaders and used no protection. Ive often wondered how many of us are left. yep I wonder also. Then, I stopped at the 5th. I think there about 250,000 Virtnam Vets that saw actual combat. i would like to confuse the issue a bit more.
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