34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms. The assigned mission at times meant that actions other than killing the enemy had a higher priority. remaining 77 C-5A's, pointing to the continuing problem of weak wings. After extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources The American War Library estimates that approximately one-third of those who did serve in Vietnam (approximately 850,000) are alive today [18 Aug 2007]. Sluing his weapon around in the dark and firing meant those bullets could strike other defenders in the back. More than 3.4 million deployed to Southeast Asia (1) and approximately 2.7 million of those served in the Republic of Vietnam (2). Nothing even remotely resembling that debacle ever occurred in Vietnam. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. . All Rights Reserved. Previously the B-52s had been used only against Communist troop concentrations in remote regions of South Vietnam and occasionally against carefully selected sanctuaries in Cambodia, plus against both sanctuaries and supply lines in Laos. It is not an uncommon question, but most military enthusiasts or soon-to-be service members get it wrong. The Agence France Presse (French Press Agency) news release of 4 April 1995 concerning the Vietnamese Government's release of official figures of dead and wounded during the Vietnam War.HANOI (AP) - April 4. During the Civil War, at the Battle of Bull Run, the entire Union Army panicked and fled the battlefield. Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. Long Beach CA 90805-7549 This at a time when only 65% of the military age males in the general American population were high school graduates. For example; over 70% of the parts components and materials that go into a Boeing aircraft are supplied by subcontractors, many, if not most of whom are SMEs. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%)either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. What percentage of Vietnam Veterans actually saw combat? Thesoldiersproject.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Contrary to what you see in the movies, the chances of seeing combat in the army are low. How old is the average Vietnam vet? Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. However, veterans groups estimate that today approximately 9 to 12 million Americans fraudulently claim they served in Vietnam. Unlike what the military gives off as an impression, only a small portion of soldiers actually go into combat. 8 American military women were killed the Vietnam War. The Battle of Xuan Loc; Mar 17 - Apr 17, 1975 & The End. Because of faulty record keeping there is no confirmed number of Americans who served in Vietnam. 60% are under the age of 34. The percent of the military that sees combat also varies with factors, such as the military branch you are in. He chose not to carry a weapon during his tour. During that (6 year, 3+ month) period the 173rd lost 1,601 (roughly 31%) of its men killed in action. On 9 Apr 75 the NVA 341st Division joined the attack. 5,283 lost. These veteran PTSD statistics indicate that the Gulf War and Iraq War were similarly traumatic for service members. Of those who enlisted, 79 percent had high school diplomas. 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will. When asked what portion of their fellow soldiers fired during any given engagement, the veterans estimated that about 84 percent of a unit's men armed with individual weapons (rifles, pistols, grenade launchers, shotguns) and approximately 90 percent of those manning crew-served weapons (generally the M-60 machine gun) did so. What was the life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam? Most battalions were not even close to their TO&E strength during the war, with many infantry companies operating with 80 men. A total of 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era, with over 2,709,000 Americans serving in Vietnam, about 9.7% of the generation. 86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (includes Hispanics); 12.5% (7,241) were black; 1.2% belonged to other races. One of their own made a rather astute observation to the effect that they all were smitten (to one degree or another) by a sort of hazy Namstalgia and as a result, had no intention of straying far from those comfortable notions that had been the very foundation of their collective writing and reporting successes (interestingly enough the original meaning of the word nostalgia was to express sadness and guilt!). What did the Viet Cong call American soldiers? The second-largest cohort of living veterans served during peacetime only (4.0 million). Two, three and four tours were not uncommon and the author personally knows an Air Force NCO who spent six years in-country. The US Marines, in the 25 days between 19 Feb 45 and 16 Mar 45, lost nearly 7,000 men killed in their battle for the tiny island of Iwo Jima. On the best day ever, there were 43,500 ground troops actually engaged in offensive combat operations, i.e., out in the boondocks. The Vietnam War was a conflict of the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies, the Viet Cong, in South Vietnam versus the government of the South Vietnam government and the United States, its principal ally.The war lasted from 1954 to 1975 with the United States entering the war in 1965. In Vietnam no US generals, much less division commanders, were ever taken prisoner. Using combat records for the first time, a landmark study in the journal Science comes up with a number lower than the onetime estimate of 30 percent but still significant: close to 20 percent. Time likewise played its part. And, until the records containing those distortions and falsehoods are closely examined and corrected, America's perception of Vietnam will continue to linger and fester in the nation's conscience. On the other hand, if you are bummed out that you will not be involved in a lot of action like you expecteddo not be. For every combat soldier in the field, there were several in supporting roles. Average per capita consumption of electricity in the United States is 80 times that of Vietnam. As of 2015, more than 1,600 of those were still unaccounted-for. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense lists 687 U.S. POWs as having returned alive from the Vietnam War. A soldier at the tail of a column winding through the dense foliage of a Southeast Asian jungle might hear an engagement to his front, yet be unable to see where his comrades were located. How was vietnam different from other wars? The North Vietnamese Communists were willing to pay any price in terms of the blood of their people to dominate the Republic of Vietnam. A Pentagon spokesman said the plane had undergone minor repairs to its radio and windshield in the Philippines before flying to Saigon but added that had nothing to do with the crash. He earned 38 military decorations during his career, and has been called the most decorated U.S. soldier of the Vietnam War. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. And the fucking flies. During WWII Italian Commandos Were Tasked to Ride Torpedoes. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. After a four thousand round artillery bombardment, these three divisions massed, and, spearheaded by Soviet tanks, assaulted Xuan Loc; but again the ARVN 18th held its ground. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Yet these respondents noted at the same time that fear was generally a passing condition; a man not engaging on one occasion could be expected to use his weapon later in the same engagement, or during subsequent battles. Again, the US Army War College Library provides numbers. Casualties tell the tale. Women make up a growing share of veterans. Once the dodging anti-war numbers started climbing through the stratosphere it was not in the media's interest to say something good about Vietnam to an audience that was guilt ridden with shame and a deep psychological need to rationalize away the true source of their guilt. Multiple amputations occurred at the, 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. Is vietnam airlines part of star alliance? American soldiers referred to the Viet Cong as Victor Charlie or V-C. Victor and Charlie are both letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet. rate for males in 1970 was 58.9 per 100,000). Dissertation. Units on intelligence collection operations frequently let a threat pass by unmolested. Although studies vary widely in terms of methods used, estimates of depression in returning troops range from 3% to 25%. Can you guess its meaning? 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. No detail was too small to bring these American prisoners home. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died. The fact is that top-notch features are quite expensive, but some of , If you are a man of the outdoors, you know perfectly well how a good-quality headlamp is essential. What unit saw the most combat in Vietnam? Thesoldiersproject is supported by its audience. That was true locally, in that a given village or region habitually had more contacts than did others in the vicinity. How many b52 bombers were lost in Vietnam? Veterans of the Gulf War share a similar risk, with 12 percent of them developing PTSD, or 660,000 of the 5.5 million American military personnel in that conflict. Soldiers surveyed in the 1st Cavalry Division can in general be said to have come from one of two basic groups. Roughly 40% of those who join the military never get deployed to a combat zone at all. But some might suspect that a man would hesitate to admit his own shortcomings under fire. Numbers are battle deaths only and do not include ordinary accidents, heart attacks, murder victims, suicides, etc. The lessons of Vietnam are there for those willing to learn. If you are about to enlist or want to learn more about the U.S military, you will like this article about what percentage of the military sees combat. | CherriesWriter, Your email address will not be published. 12.1% (5,711) were black; 1.1% belonged to other races. The following is a guest post by Andrew Huber, Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). Once artillery or other units create a distraction of fire with the enemy, these same soldiers will return fire with relish. Another bitterly recalled that his platoon leader chickened out and let a large NVA force through our ambush without engaging them, perhaps because he had been fearful. The North Vietnamese Army went to extraordinary lengths to remove their dead from the field of battle because they did not want the US to discover their true battlefield losses. On November 13th, 1982 thousands of Vietnam Veterans participated in a march that ended at the memorial. Pre-9/11 veterans are more likely to say they frequently felt proud of their service than are post-9/11 veterans (70% vs. 58%). The Consultant's (Vietnam) Corner Jun 00. . Although the habitual coward was rare, 80 percent of those explaining why a fellow soldier did not fire cited fear as one of the causes. Over the past three decades The War Library has heard from a thousands of individuals claiming they served in military or combat operations either on land or at sea in Vietnam. This widget requries the Arqam Lite Plugin, You can install it from the Theme settings menu > Install Plugins. How many soldiers died their first day in Vietnam? There other US Army joined them and South Korean soldiers and the US Navy eventually evacuated 105,000 Allied troops from that port. According to statistics, around 60 million people in the United States suffer from being flat-footed. A mans duty position was one critical element. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%)either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. Public Information Office (15624224100.com) Three of South Vietnams provinces (Quang Tri, Quang Nam and Thua Thien) accounted for more than 40 percent of American casualties. If the 1st Cavalry Division respondents reflect the majority veteran view, such men generally performed their duties well and were often respected for their convictions. As he was dying, he kept saying, `I couldnt find a hole. He was hit about 10 to 15 seconds after we received the first shots and was standing up looking confused. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. By comparison, at the peak of the War there were 545,000 US Military personnel in Vietnam. Aug 1973; US Congress passes the Case - Church law which forbids, US naval forces from sailing on the seas surrounding, US ground forces from operating on the land of, and US air forces from flying in the air over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Multi-million dollar salaries are not paid to people for reporting the news, in any form, be it written, audio or video. During the 1968 Tet Offensive the Communists attacked 155 cities, towns and hamlets in South Vietnam. Respected researchers interviewed those who had accompanied him in World War II and also pored over his personal notes during the mid-1980s. Conscientious objectors accompanied infantry units into combat as medics, ammunition bearers for machine guns, or in other noncombatant roles. In the process they lost the capital of Seoul. Anyone who thinks the US lost the Vietnam war should reconsider their definition of "lost". Soviet armor, burning Soviet gas and firing Soviet ammunition. The Americans had left under the terms of the Paris Peace Agreements, and then were barred by the US Congress, from ever returning. It sits astride Q. L. (National Road) #1, some 40 odd miles to the northeast of Saigon (on the road to Phan Thiet), and was the capitol of South Vietnam's Long Khanh province. Looking back it is now clear that the American military role in Vietnam was, in essence, one of defending international borders. Can You Join the Military With an STD? The apparent problem was not of the magnitude Marshall had reported for World War II, but losing the firepower of so many soldiers was still no small matter. Former Vietnam Veteran (Medic USAF) (1968-1974) Author has 12.4K answers and 2.4M answer views 2 y It depends on how you define "action." About ten percent of us were grunts (combat infantrymen) out wading through the rice paddies and pounding the bush with a high chance of seeing combat. They were short of gunners on helicopters, because the life expectancy was somewhere between 13 and 30 days, he said. What percentage of draftees went to vietnam? At that time black males of military age constituted 13.5 percent of the American population. How was australia involved in the vietnam war? Weapons malfunctions sometimes kept a man from engaging even if he wanted to as did unfamiliarity with a weapon. The United States Archives and other sources suggest that between 25 and 50 American soldiers a year were bitten by snakes during the war in Vietnam. On six separate occasions, I explained to individual reporters, that Vietnam was making constant economic progress and their overall economy was healthy. How was the vietnam war different from world war ii? Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. Most veterans say they would endorse the military as a career choice. 10% to 20% of those who do find themselves on a deployment wind up in a combat zone. It is not normal behavior for Americans to idolize mass murdering despots, to champion the cause of slavery, to abandon friends and allies, or to cut and run in the face of adversity. The Skyraider in Vietnam pioneered the concept of tough, survivable aircraft with long loiter times and large ordnance loads. # 5: The 173rd Airborne Brigade. From 2001 through July 2020, some 173 female service members had been killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, according to the Congressional Research Service. The province that claimed the most Americans killed was Quang Tri, which bordered on both North Vietnam and Laos. You will likely not see combat unless you are an infantry soldier with top-notch military competence and are willing to become trigger-pullers. The percentage of soldiers seeing combat depends on a variety of factors. To help you visualize, that is 1 in 10 soldiers. As such, they are most likely to see combat. Victor Ubach, a Pan American World Airways pilot who was flying behind and above the crippled Air Force plane said the C-5A pilots "had done one heck of a job" to avoid a worse disaster. Check us out! At the time the USAF had taken delivery of 81 Galaxy's. It should not matter if you are firing or helping others fire. At that time black males of military age constituted 13.5 percent of the American population. Finally, one veteran recalled his simply being outgunned as he stood naked on top of a shower stall put-ting water in. Conversely, in 1975 when Soviet armor rolled across the international borders of South Vietnam, the US military response was nothing. Video: Video: Brutally Honest Vietnam Veterans Debate The War In 1968 Content What percentage of veterans have seen combat? (Answered). Many of these false 'war veterans' claim their alleged Vietnam service was "classified", and therefore never recorded. The driving force behind their exports is Small and Medium Enterprises (MSEs). Pop! The question seemed inevitable: Had there been a problem with Americans willingness to engage the enemy in World War II? If he fired, he risked shooting his own men. The plane was enroute to Travis AFB in California. Location was a second factor that determined whether a man pulled, or should have pulled, the trigger of his weapon. The American, he concluded, comes from a civilization in which aggression, connected with the taking of life, is prohibited and unacceptable.The fear of aggression has been expressed to him so strongly and absorbed by him so deeply and pervadingly practically with his mothers milk that it is part of the normal mans emotional make-up. Men in well-trained units knew when to detonate a Claymore mine, call for mortar or artillery support, or throw a grenade instead of using a rifle, pistol, machine gun or grenade launcher. The median age of veterans in 2018 was 65. It was apparently based on an estimate that 800,000 Vietnam-era veterans had died by 2000. (Vietnam veterans are dying at about the same rate as their WW2 fathers.) No reaction. The 1994 lifting of the US Trade Embargo against Vietnam was a unilateral act by the United States. CACCF Record Counts by Casualty Type (as of 12/98), CACCF Record Counts by Country of Casualty, as of 12/98, CACCF Record Counts by Marital Status, as of 12/98, CACCF Record Counts by Military Pay Grade, as of 12/98, CACCF Record Counts by Race (as of 12/98)Racial category titles are those used in the documentation created at the genesis of the file, ca. Most of these sentences were for the rape and or murder of civilians. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, Note 1: This group is comprised of the following individual units with no further break down, 17th Field Hospital (An Khe)22nd Surgical Hospital (Phu Bai)71st Evacuation Hospital (Pleiku)91st Evacuation Hospital (Tuy Hoa)95th Field Hospital (Qui Nhon)3rd Field Hospital (III Corps)7th Surgical Hospital (III Corps)45th Surgical Hospital (III Corps)93rd Evacuation Hospital (III Corps)80th Engineer Group121st Assault Helicopter Company18th Military Police Brigade89th Military Police Brigade8th Transportation Group48th Transportation Group11th Aviation Group12th Aviation Group23rd Artillery Group108th Artillery Group35th Engineer Group45th Engineer Group34th General Support Group506th Field Depot, Source: Combat Area Casualty File of 11/93, National Archives, US Army Infantrymen (MOS 11B, 11C, etc.) Had to drive through a river to get the stuff out of my tracks. He also writes After a while I could tell the difference between mud and bodies, logs and bodies. And there were occasions when fear, cowardice, poor judgment or confusion kept men from employing weapons against their foes when they should have. 7,484 women served in Vietnam, of whom 6,250 or 83.5% were nurses. Think of this as a , About Contact Privacy Policy Disclaimer. Why then, did it get such bad press, and, why is the public's opinion of them so twisted? Cinq millions de morts: 20 ans apregraves la fin de la guerre du Vietnam, le gouvernement de Hanoi a reacute veacute leacute, lundi, le bilan d'un conflit dent le nombre de victimes avait eacute teacute minore a l'eacutepoque pour ne pas affecter le moral de la population. Did any American soldiers stay in Vietnam after the war? What did the . Additionally, the Vietnam Service Medal has never been 'classified' it is not secret. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. In addition, Kent serves as Chairman of AmCham's EE&C Committee. Likewise, men quickly learned where the chances of enemy contact were greater. During WW II, in the European Theater alone, over 20,000 US Military men were convicted of dissertation and, on a comparable percentage basis, the overall WW II desertion rate was 55 percent higher than in Vietnam. Recommended reading: A good example of this number pandering can be found in a 1969, The most glaring example of the existence of the dodging guilt syndrome can be found in a statement made by the ranking head dodger himself. Whose Dog Tag is Maria Bartiromo Wearing? 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. Today, about 9 percent of veteransor 1.7 million are women. what percentage of the military sees combat, What Percentage of the Military Sees Combat, To Name Unknown Soldiers, Military Mulls DNA Analysis Technology, How Do Men and Women Experience Gender Harassment Differently in the Military. Should America feel shame? From these responses it seems that Americans in Vietnam had little hesitation to engage their enemy. Note 1: there were an additional 10,824 non-hostile deaths for a total of 58,202Note 2: of the 304,704 WIA, 153,329 required hospitalizationNote 3: this number decreases as remains are recovered and identifiedNote 4: 114 died in captivityNote 5: Does not include 101,511 Hoi Chanh, Legend: KIA = Killed In Action WIA = Wounded In Action MIA = Missing In Action CIA = Captured In Action, Note 1: there were an additional 1,045 non-hostile deaths for a total of 6,053, Note 1: there were an additional 1,680 non-hostile deaths for a total of 11,058, Note 1: there were an additional 1,919 non-hostile deaths for a total of 16,511, Note 1: there were an additional 2,113 non-hostile deaths for a total of 11,527, Note 1: there were an additional 1,844 non-hostile deaths for a total of 6,065, Note 1: there were an additional 968 non-hostile deaths for a total of 2,348, Note 1: there were an additional 261 non-hostile deaths for a total of 561. Some did it over and over. It seemed that all was well. November 19, 1967 was one of the bloodiest days for American troops in the Vietnam War. In spite of it's wing problems this was only the second crash of a C-5A after over 190,000 combined flying hours by the USAF but the first crash resulting in loss-of-life. Marshall had been assigned as a military analyst for the U.S. Army in both the Pacific and Europe. Copyright 2023 - The Soldiers Project. During the course of these briefings, we learned that demand for electricity inVietnam increased by a whooping 14% in the first three months of 2000. However, the written, video and voice records of that involvement are distorted beyond recognition. Other items: Only 25 percent of the US Military who served in Vietnam were draftees. The consequence of a replacements failure to respond could sometimes mean the new mans death. The answer is simple. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia. President Lincoln once made a remark to the effect that If we do not study and learn from our history, then what we do in the future won't be worth remembering. The previous American involvement in Vietnam is important. These numbers should dispel the notion that Vietnam was some kind of flaming inferno or a huge cauldron of burning dissent. Some American soldiers reacted to their situation by lashing out violently against the Vietnamese, while others took out their anger on U.S. military leaders. When asked if he would fire a weapon if our platoon was being overrun and some of his buddies might die if he did not, his answer was that he `would not fire a weapon. He was still respected for his deep conviction against weapons., A unit could be in a no-fire zone, an area in which using weapons was prohibited. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. Although it was not evident until after the war, 1968 was undeniably the year in which the chances of being killed were greatest. He wrote that he did not fire in one of his first encounters with the enemy due to fear, adding, I am ashamed to admit this. Not firing on one or two occasions did not mean the same mans response would not be far different during a subsequent event, however. I.E., out in the field, there were 545,000 US military response was.. The capital of Seoul alleged Vietnam service was `` classified '', and therefore never recorded stay Vietnam... Should reconsider their definition of `` lost '' C-5A 's, pointing to continuing! International borders of South Vietnam is the public 's opinion of them so?! Women served in Vietnam weak wings pointing to the continuing problem of weak wings the difference mud. That claimed the most decorated U.S. soldier of the War these numbers should dispel the notion Vietnam. 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