For US Vietnam Veterans it's about 66 years vs just about 78 years for non vets. Apparently Infantry is the operative word. The way many of us were treated on returning from that war, but in truth it was only a war for very few of those who served there. Data Appendix Methods Report Report FAQs. He was a Private First Class who was killed in action in the Second World War. It could be a Yard, Don Porier, or a sapper. I went into shock and lost conscienceless. I do not believe we were counted as vets. but i was happy to serve. Nevertheless, if my name was Tom, Dick, or Harry I would have perished, but I could not put my parents through the same ordeal as Aunt Palma and Uncle Frank. Help train personnel from many different Companies to do the same. And yes I was sprayed with Agent Orange. Mekong Delta US Army 1969. I was out of my earthly shell. His wife and family should be very proud of him. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died. March 29, 1973Part of what was called Operation Homecoming, the first 20 POWs arrived to a heros welcome at Travis Air Force Base in California on February 14. Presently, I approached the road to the top of PDL hill, and I was thinking what a beautiful day this would have been if this were some other place in some other world. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Things that they did not tell you. Vietnam era vets are not the same as Vietnam vets, but they are important. Im a 1967-68 Vietnam combat veteran. makes no diff, if you were a grunt or cook. Still, other sources like the New York Times claim the number of Vietnam veterans is actually somewhere around 9.2 million. Without fanfare or much recognition. We have been betrayed by all Globalists. The Vietnam War was an undeclared war between the US and Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. And just as the bell rang he got out of the ring , technically I won the fight. I was drafted and sent to Germany 66-68 because of the Vietnam War in the 4Armored Division. I pulled up to the local tailor shop to fix some of my fatigue pants. My sister found enough info to get her husbands ship re-classified to a Brown Water ship due to his operation of a river boat and also medical evac of Marines, while he was assigned to the flagship, the Newport News, Prior to that any sailor who served aboard the Newport News, that applied for disability connected with Agent Orange, was denied. Id like to know what the 1 in 14 men figure is based on. There was a huge difference between tours of duty also. I know what I did while there in 1975, protecting USAF resources and aiding in the support of many end of the war mission. We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! Whether you were sprayed or not makes no difference, and YOU ARE NOT required to prove anything other than being present in Vietnam. Everyone did their assigned job; some just got better assignments. I have one, but I fought a ferocious battle at FSB Gold at the beginning of Operation Junction II March 21, 1967, the artillery guys in Vietnam were every bit an infantryman as well, they suffered mortar & rocket attacks, enemy probes and attacks They were lucky in some ways that they did not have to crawl through the shit every day. Thousands of sorties departed from Thailand, Guam, and from aircraft carriers at sea to kill MIGS, bomb factories and bridges, and generally create havoc. His Engineer company was tasked to fight as Infantry, and they did. Combat Vets served in country. Why the Shame? Guys like me know the difference. by your definition, cia personal in civilian clothes were not veterans. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. REAL Vietnam War veterans are all those who are officially authorized the Vietnam Service medal and possess official military-issued documentation to confirm their medal authorization. Those who do not remember where in country they were, WHERE NOT THERE.. Or suffering from a complete mental memory disorder. Army Reserve: 189,500 I saw the edge of the dirt, the jungle growth, the nearby trees, while I heard the world explode. I actually vollenteered to go to NAM. **********************************************************. Im now 74. I was in Nam in 1968 and 1969 as a combat Marine. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. NO REAL VET FAILS TO REMEMBER HIS MOS. 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. My time stands still. There were approx. All Lawyer adds is for 2 percent, do you think that this was a greater risk for Cancer. 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. This was with conversations with them while waiting our turn to be seen in the VA. We just hoped the pilot put us where we were supposed to be. Their names are at least on the wall thanks to the efforts of many service organizations and Congress. Serving during the TET offensive and time after. we spent sometimes a month or more in one port depending on the cargo and the need. Chester/Gordon, GREAT He was killed in action just a few months later. The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! @Dea KellyWere you on the ground when this happened? The group in my AIT Class were all happy about this. Thats sad and should stop. This is a suicide rate of 1 EVERY 65-80 minutes (APPROX). I remember a distorted image of reality. if you were effected by the first or second tour, or as i did, three years back and forth , then you were , are are a veteran. Not affiliated with any government agencies.All Rights Reserved. Should be simple enough but not, Not all ships are blue water ships. I was there in 1964-1965 then 1967-1968 then my last tour was 1971-1972. . I knew what life in-store for me in my recovery had- years of pain and disabilities while I waited for my next adventure. Excellent questions. but some men, like myself , were told by their draft board, go to vietnam on your ship. A Vietnam era veteran is certainly not a Veteran of the Vietnam War. That's 390 per day. I used this experience and we cut down the Helicopter replacement time from about 2 1/2 weeks to 2 to 4 days. 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 . I served as a Navy Corpsman, Fall of Saigon. Pleiku, Dak To, An Khe. it is pointless to debate whether a supply corporal was a veteran. A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska. You guys were the lifeblood of our war effort. While there troops from our unit were deployed to Vietnam as replacements yet some people dont consider us as support for troops in Vietnam. I understand that they only got about 300,000 of us, but that is a huge, decent number, considering how cynical we Nam vets can be about studies. Last I heard the database indicated that the Median Age of Death of Nam vets was reached at least three or four years ago. They wouldnt know the truth even if they tripped over it. I was on merchant ships for three years in viet nam. More than 300,000 Veterans were wounded during the Vietnam War. yep I wonder also. My demons were better left alone and buried away after two tours back to back. The VVA Veteran boils it down to a totally different conclusion that the American War Library drew. 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. In January 1945, the Bn was attached to the 3d Infantry Division near the Colmar Pocket, south of The Bulge. VA's Veteran Population Projection Model estimates that there are approximately 6.1 million living Vietnam War-era Veterans, as of 2021. Dec 1967 Dec 1968 & Jan 1969 Nov 1969. Active duty 70-71, Quang Tri, Khe Sahn, Danny. It is difficult to say how many Vietnam veterans have been affected by Agent Orange. 109, 000 died in the service during this period. I knew what my death would mean to my mother, my father, and the rest of my family and friends. How many Vietnam War veterans are still alive 2023? ahead of me in the next row was a man conversing with another man about two rows ahead of him. I was only there 9-months but others served multiple tours, so I tend to believe the 2.7 3.0 million is probably an accurate number. Spot on. But having spent a little time thinking about it, I go with the 2m figure. Approx 58,000 in Vietnam. ago. i went to dong ha several times. The debate depends on only two numbers. Eight Vietnam Veterans Die every day. Here are two additional sources of information (added 9-3-2022) updated in 2021: https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htmhttps://news.va.gov/89450/vietnam-war-veterans-honoring-served-memorial-day-2021/. They are a ten (10), they fought alongside the infantry defending the perimeter. How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? He arrived on Yankee Station, Vietnam in early May, 1972 when he was still 17 years of age. ho, i could not . 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. It seems to be all about syntax. How Many Vietnam Veterans are Alive Today? - CherriesWriter In fact, the first two advisors (MAJ Dale Buis and MSG Chester Ovnand) killed by the enemy died in an attack on their base near Bien Hoa on July 8, 1959. even when i went out with the airforce on resupply to fire bases. Agent Orange catching up to Vietnam veterans decades later If you served anywhere at all, anywherre during WWI, you are a WWI vet. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. I signed up for it in 2018 at the VA Hospital in Buffalo. Quite a story. I went on about 500 missions. Finally got all the right stuff together; received benefits couple months ago. The insistence to include Vietnam-ErA vets with those who served in-country results in a ridiculous skew to any meaningful stats. Are we counted as two people or have they accounted for us already. a few years ago i was flying from rome to possibly germany or holland on the way back to montreal. A number 1/2 the peak, say 250,000 still seems high but would come closer to 3,000,000 number serving. They are paying on Melathion settlements (Watch TV, and it as on 2 to 3% purity, used inside US) There are no living Veterans that I know of. I needed the rest! why not compare them?. There is no definitive answer to this question as the number of World War 2 veterans who die each day varies depending on the specific situation. TRUE, yes more may have had a mortar or rocket land in the vicinity, or heard a sniper round shot, but the manpower rule is 1 out of 7 10 is an actual seek out and engage the enemy, tip of the spear veteran. These are numbers never heard before & I would not include those before the advisers were sent over in the early/mid 60s. All who served In Country and the those outlying areas in support should be considered Vietnam Vets. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Check out this post and see if you can figure this > out. He earned 38 military decorations during his career, and has been called the most decorated U.S. soldier of the Vietnam War. So, when we talk about Vietnam vets who are living or dead, we should be talking STRICTLY about Vets who participated in the Vietnam War. Findings are made available to the public in an Annual Report. fired on coming up river, a few other things. If field infantry personal awarded a CIB having engaged the enemy are a ten (10), what are the field artillery units at a fire base like FSB Gold in Operation Junction City. 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. The last number of Viet Nam veterans alive today was 730,000, which would equate to around todays number of 610,000. April 1st was my day to rejoin 4th. Those an in the Era the we were in Vietnam but they are not Vietnam Vets by any stretch of you imagination. The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A , who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. They're generally in their 90s and about 245 die each day according to the VA. At 95 Army veteran Lincoln "Linc" Harner still remembers the war. The leading cause of preventable death among US military casualties in the Vietnam War was exsanguination from extremity wounds. Our Honor and Integrity are important to each of us. My husband was also a door gunner (191st AHC gunship) but he was there later than you (70-71). It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. During the Vietnam War, Air Force C-123 planes sprayed millions of gallons of herbicides over the jungles of Southeast Asia to destroy enemy crops and tree cover. It was apparently based on an estimate that 800,000 Vietnam-era veterans had died by 2000. The trucks grill was a few feet away should I crawl underneath or try to hide in the nearby jungle? How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? Exiting the jungle, still at the foot of the mountain opposite from my defenses; the mountains bulk acted as a radio barrier between help from S3 at Enari or the SFs at the Ville. retired university professor Is It Hard To Get Into Kent State University? There is a MOUNTAIN of difference in each s experience, combat veterans, those of us who lived and died in the jungle muck, snippers, booby traps, mortar attacks, and the battles with dozens killed and scores wounded. To say that the Air Force in Thailand and Guam was too far away to be in harms way shows you have no idea what Navy and Air Force aircrews do. I was C 3/17 Air Cav. According to the American War Library website, it was concluded by the Department of Defense that their best estimate is that between 2,709,918 and 3,173,845 GIs served in Vietnam and its surrounding waters between the years 1954 and 1975. I was there in 1969. I give a silent prayer of thanks for all of you, every time I hear a chopper going by, even now. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". I know full well it takes many, many hands to make the infantry function but like you saidclaim your time. Where is this one in twelve figure from? That is correct, Dow Chemical is responsible for three times as many Viet Nam veteran deaths as the NVA and the VC. Perhaps, another RPG impacted and careened us sideways knocking me unconscious. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. Damn it, government could have sent anyone serving at any time to Vietnam. All opinions graciously welcomed. The third cancer was the charm as it was declared Presumptively caused by Agent Orange in 2021. Motherfucker? 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. According to the Pentagons Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, there are currently 83,204 unaccounted for U.S. personnel, including 73,547 from World War II, 7,883 from the Korean War, 126 from the Cold War, 1,642 from the Vietnam War, and six from Iraq and other recent conflicts, including three Defense.