Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Her name? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a symbol of American honor and appreciation for the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. The 58,152 names of those who died in Vietnam are etched onto the two rising black marble slabs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War Memorial wall? Several hundred such designation changes have been made since the Wall was built in 1982. As a result, the software improperly truncated or abbreviated names. "Walking through this park-like area, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. The VC had commandeered Air America Hueys, and they were flying them around, which simply made for a very interesting chess game. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. One additional factor, often overlooked, that influenced volunteer enlistment was military tradition the influence of fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles and others who had served in previous 20th century wars. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Only 3 returned home. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. Through the AFQT process, the men scoring in the higher categories were more likely to be channeled into further specialized training and eventually assigned to technical and administrative units. These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. The Wall is about names. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. If a name was particularly long, it would be swapped with a shorter name. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. The panel number is a number/letter combination, such as 10W or 35E. For families who have worked to have their loved ones name added, the journey can be long and exhausting. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. to open, search, edit, or print the name files. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two A diamond symbol signifies that the service members death was confirmed. The Classification History (SSS Form 102) may contain: name; date of birth; classification and date of mailing notice; date of appeal to the board; date and results of armed forces physical examination; entry into active duty or civilian work in lieu of induction (may include date, branch of service entered and mode of entry, such as enlisted or ordered); date of separation from active duty or civilian work; and general remarks. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall The vision of VVMF is to ensure a society in which all who have served and sacrificed in our nation's Armed Forces are properly honored and receive the recognition they justly deserve. However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Eight women were killed in Vietnam, five Army lieutenants, one Army captain, one Army lieutenant colonel and one Air Force captain. From 1964 to 1973, 2,100,000 men and women served in Vietnam, but this was only 8 percent of the 26,000,000 Americans who were eligible for military service. What happens to items left at the memorial? Please say a prayer for our fallen heroes, their family members, and our hero Vietnam War Veterans during your visit. The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. . Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. A.. B.. C.. D.. E.. F.. G.. H.. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. This change prompted the addition of 110 names in 1986. The widely held notion that the poor served and died in Vietnam while the rich stayed home is way off the mark. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. The vast majority of Americans who were eligible by age but did not serve in the armed forces were exempted by reason of physical, mental, psychiatric, or moral failure; or they were given status deferments because they were college students, fathers, clergy, teachers, engineers or conscientious objectors. Thus it is safe to say that Hispanic-Americans were over-represented among Vietnam casualties an estimated 5.5 percent of the dead against 4.5 percent of the 1970 population. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. As a region, the South experienced the greatest numbers of dead, nearly 34 percent of the total, or 31.0 deaths per 100,000 of population. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). Richard Sandza received the message on the morning of May 15, 1975, the day his friend became the last American to die in combat during the Vietnam War. In an audiotape recorded for a close friend shortly before Vandegeers death, and transcribed in Bernard Edelmans book Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, he described the perilous mission in Saigon. He tried to make the best call he could when adding names to the list. There is no question that all segments of American society were represented. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Since the days of Alexander the Great and the Roman Legions, it has always been the young, inexperienced, low-ranking enlisted man who has taken the brunt of combat casualties. It is located north of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. along Constitution Avenue NW between 21st and 23rd streets. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. We honor and remember their sacrifice.". Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. A new Department of Defense (DOD) database computer tape released through the National Archives allows researchers to take a much closer look at our 58,152 Vietnam casualties. 3rd Battalion. Early in the war (1965 and 1966) when blacks made up about 11 percent of our Vietnam force, black casualties soared to more than 20 percent of the total. Patricia Krause. On November 7, 2021 VVMF began a daily virtual Reading of the Names. Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . NAVY AND AIR FORCE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. The burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. The files are quite large in order that we could save in Rich Text Format LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. In addition to WWII Draft Records, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO maintains Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, for all men born before 1960. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. Family members are invited to witness the inscription and also to attend the annual Memorial Day ceremony when the new names are read at the Wall. This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 18:28. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! As Vandegeer piloted his CH-53 helicopter toward the island, a wall of anti-aircraft fire knocked it from the sky, and it crashed toward the water with 26 men aboard. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released in 1992, found that our Vietnam casualties were only marginally greater from the economically lowest 50 percent of our communities (31 deaths per 100,000 of population), when compared with the economically highest 50 percent (26 deaths per 100,000 population). Interested in a tour as part of your visit? Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. Only the Navy, with 50 percent of its enlisted casualties over 21, and the Air Force, with 75 percent over 21, showed an older, more experienced age demographic. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. Vandegeers message also depicted a man who believed the worst was behind him. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. The panels come together to form a point, linking the first and last together in enduring tribute. These officer casualties came more from the South and West regions, 4.1 deaths per 100,000, in contrast to 3.5 from the Northeast and Midwest regions. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 ARMY AND MARINE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. 5th Marines were killed in . The article was originally published in the June 1993 issue of Vietnam Magazine and updated in November 2004. . This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. Unfortunately, he mistakenly added a small number of names of men who were still alive. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. I mean, it was bad.. The same profile holds true for the Marine Corps, where 87 percent of all officer casualties (821 of 938) were warrant officers, lieutenants or captains. Congress and the Johnson administration, therefore, sought to protect our college-bound and educated young men. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. In honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. If a person died or went missing in those areas, DoD considered that individual to be a combat zone casualty and eligible for inclusion on the Wall. For men who registered for the draft prior to 1976, the only Selective Service System information available is that of the individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) and Classification History (SSS Form 102) records. A few years after the dedication, the issue of geographic criteria was expanded by DoD to include people who had been killed outside of the war zone while on or in support of direct combat missions. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. In many of these families it was considered unpatriotic and indeed reprehensible to avoid active duty by requesting a status deferment or seeking out a draft counselor for advice on how to avoid the draft. They came largely from California and Texas, with lesser numbers from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, New York and a few from many other states across the country. Count down from the top of the panel. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldnt quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didnt have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. It called for the registration of all 18 to 26-year old males, with induction to take place at 18 1/2 if so ordered by the local draft board. Only 5 to 10 percent of enlisted men in the combat units were estimated to have had some college, and less than 1 percent of these enlisted men were college graduates. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. This makeup, they say, was the very antithesis of what we stand for as a democracy a shameful corruption of our values and our historical sense of fairness and social justice. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. For blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. Hed volunteered to join a small U.S. military advisory team attached to the South Vietnamese army, and hed been in the village of Bien Hoa for only two days. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. Fully 50 percent were in the 17- to 24-year age group, and astonishingly, there were 764 Army officer casualties who were 21 or younger. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. With the glitch discovered, Doubek and his team located and hand-corrected each error. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. since it was dedicated because additional casualty records were found and If each In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Nor did America recognize, on July 8, 1959the day he was killedthat another long and bloody war lay in wait. Photo credit DOD photo. Lower end category IVs consisting of those who scored below 20 on the AFQT were usually rejected for service. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. If the two branches are combined, then 80 percent of the Army and Marine enlisted casualties were privates or corporals, grades E-1 to E-4. The central idea of the poem is that the Vietnamese War took hundreds of lives away from the United States of America. "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's registry enables veterans across the world to be able to locate fellow Vietnam Veterans and of course, connect their stories with those who made the ultimate sacrifice. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. Little about it is concrete. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. columns per page. while they download, thank you. The 1970 census which is being used as our Vietnam era population base did not list an Hispanic count but gave an estimate of 4.5 percent of the American population. site, for searching with a word processor. An Air Force member, with his back to the camera, holds the POW/MIA flag during a full honors funeral for Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer at Arlington National Cemetery on October 27, 2000. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. But given the draft policies, the hard-sell recruitment, the severe escalation from month to month and the refusal by President Lyndon Johnson to call up the older reserves and National Guard, it could not have been otherwise. The Marine Corps losses were skewed even more to the lower ranks, 91 percent were privates or corporals. This page has been viewed 167,336 times (0 via redirect). Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970.
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