what percentage of vietnam veterans actually saw combat

7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. In addition, Kent serves as Chairman of AmCham's EE&C Committee. The amount of combat experience played a dominating role in the likelihood a man survived. In Vietnam the comparable average was 5 per 1,000 troops. But, Vietnam is catching 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. Three of South Vietnams provinces (Quang Tri, Quang Nam and Thua Thien) accounted for more than 40 percent of American casualties. However, such occasions were the exception in Vietnam. Another Aspect - US Military battle deaths by year: Prior to 1966 - 3,078 (Total up through 31 Dec 65), 1968 - 14, 589 (Total while JFK & LBJ were President - 32,053), 1972 - 300 (Total while Nixon was President - 15,316). From these responses it seems that Americans in Vietnam had little hesitation to engage their enemy. A man could be pinned down by heavy and accurate incoming fire. No reaction. On the best day ever, there were 43,500 ground troops actually engaged in offensive combat operations, i.e., out in the boondocks. His war was strictly a Vietnamese affair. Military casualties were 1.1 million killed and 600,000 wounded in 21 years of war. By service period, Post-9/11 veterans were the youngest with a median age of about 37; Vietnam Era veterans had a median age of about 71; and World War II veterans were the oldest with a median age of about 93. There were occasions when firing their weapons was essential, but many times their choice to engage rather than perform their other duties would have done more harm than good. Xuan Loc was the last major battle for South Vietnam. Today, about 9 percent of veteransor 1.7 million are women. Some 10,786 American soldiers died of non-combat causes, including 9,107 by accidents and 938 due to illness. In Vietnam no US Military units were overrun and no US Military infantry units or tank outfits were captured. The issue was important enough to investigate rigorously. The best tactical binoculars can give you full details of the , My old Hatch sap gloves got ruined, so I was looking for a way to make one without buying a new pair due to economic reasons. Respected researchers interviewed those who had accompanied him in World War II and also pored over his personal notes during the mid-1980s. What did the Viet Cong call American soldiers? It should not matter if you are firing or helping others fire. Conversely, in 1975 when Soviet armor rolled across the international borders of South Vietnam, the US military response was nothing. Is it cheaper to fly to cambodia or vietnam? How many female soldiers died in Vietnam? Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. Regulations proscribed men in those positions from carrying weapons, though some felt compelled to do so in a war in which medics and chaplains, who were not legitimate targets under accepted rules of war, were shot and killed nonetheless. Personal beliefs did play a role, though a far less pervasive one than Marshall claimed was the case during World War II. In WWII at the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, the Germans overran elements of the US Army. One veteran recalled situations when many soldiers dont return fire because they are behind a tree or log under heavy suppressive fire. The veterans were therefore also asked to reflect on the performance of their comrades in arms. 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. About 3 percent had subthreshold war-zone PTSD. It's ironic that in spite of all the hype and hullabaloo about the Viet Cong and the American Soldiers both were absent from the final battles for South Vietnam. Historian Chen Jian wrote Although Beijing's support may have fallen short of Hanoi's expectations, without the support, the history, even the outcome, of the Vietnam War might have been different.. However, either the American people or their government does not even remotely understand the reasons behind that grief and misery -. 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. All You Need to Know! The consequence of a replacements failure to respond could sometimes mean the new mans death. Vlach served with the 54th General Command as a door gunner on an UH1 Huey helicopter. "We had to keep moving them from kid to kid. You can browse through our list of the thoroughly hand-picked series of gear that is military-complaint. Members of one group in particular, however, consistently saw much more action: aviators and their door gunners. Sluing his weapon around in the dark and firing meant those bullets could strike other defenders in the back. 23% had fathers with professional, managerial, or technical occupations. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? The US Congress voted them out. 3. How to Make Sap Gloves Out of an Ordinary Pair? . 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. In the Sorrow of War, author and NVA veteran Bao Ninh writes of this battle: Remember when we chased Division 18 southern soldiers all over Xuan Loc? For one to feel vindicated, as opposed to being vindicated, one must have first been feeling guilty. US casualty information was derived from the Combat Area Casualty File of 11/93, and The Adjutant General's Center (TAGCEN) file of 1981, available from the National Archives. # 4: The 101st Airborne Division. He tells of being drafted into the North Vietnamese Army in 1968 and fighting for nearly seven years. Units on intelligence collection operations frequently let a threat pass by unmolested. Public Information Office (15624224100.com) Yes! The Consultant's (Vietnam) Corner Jun 00. The 173rd Airborne Brigade (normally there are 3 brigades to a division) served in Vietnam for a total of 2,301 days, and holds the record for the longest continuous service under fire of any American unit, ever. Contents1 How many US officers were fragged [] They still airlift America's wounded back to the safety of military bases overseas, aiding in the overall survival rate of our wounded warriors. The following is a guest post by Andrew Huber, Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). During the 1968 Tet Offensive the Communists attacked 155 cities, towns and hamlets in South Vietnam. How were helicopters used in the vietnam war? All Rights Reserved en.trandaiquang.org - 2023. Compelled to determine whether a problem existed, I conducted a survey of 258 1st Cavalry Division Vietnam veterans in 1987. Too often these men received inadequate training on the unfamiliar rifle before they were committed to active operations. These men served as riflemen, machine-gunners, helicopter door gunners, vehicle crewmen or others who were to kill the adversary with the weapon they carried. http://www.amervets.com/registry.htm. At the end of thirty days, not one single communist flag was flying over any of those 155 cities, towns or hamlets. Representative Les Aspin and Senator William Proxmire immediately urged the Air Force to ground the. The Galaxy had taken-off from Tan Son Nhut airbase and had reached analtitude of approximately 23,000 feet and was approximately 40 miles fromSaigon when it's rear clamshell cargo doors blew off crippling its flight controls. That the American experience in Vietnam was painful and ended in long lasting (albeit self-inflicted) grief and misery cannot be disputed. The complete description of this North Vietnamese Army (NVA) classical military victory is best expressed in the words of the NVA general who commanded it. Those six all shared borders with either Laos or Cambodia or had contiguous borders with provinces that did. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60% . What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? Jim Hadley, a medical technician from Sacramento, Calif recalled later that oxygen masks dropped down automatically, but the children were sitting two to a seat and there weren't enough masks to go around. 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. 63% of Korean vets had completed high school upon separation from the service), 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost. By comparison, at the peak of the War there were 545,000 US Military personnel in Vietnam. Median age is 68 years. View 47 more rows, This list of Vietnam War Facts, and statistics helps set things right. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? The percent of the military that sees combat also varies with factors, such as the military branch you are in. They viewed him as one unpredictable, incredibly tough nut. They were short of gunners on helicopters, because the life expectancy was somewhere between 13 and 30 days, he said. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. During the Korean War the US Army was forced into the longest retreat in its history. The chances that a man would die during his first three months in Vietnam were virtually equal to those for the last nine months of his tour combined. As for brutality: During WW II the US Army executed nearly 300 of its own men. Esmated 6.4M Vietnam Era Veterans. One does not get to be, much less continue to be, a superstar unless one gives one's audience what it wants. 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. A nation sending its youth to war must prepare them well if those individuals are to survive the experience. If he fired, he risked shooting his own men. A good example of this number pandering can be found in a 1969 Life magazine feature article in which Life's editors published the portraits of 250 men that were killed in Vietnam in one routine week. A 1st Cavalry Division veteran recalled one recent arrival who lost his life because he was apparently looking for a foxhole with a concrete lining. But some might suspect that a man would hesitate to admit his own shortcomings under fire. There were a large number of REMFs in Vietnam. At the time the USAF had taken delivery of 81 Galaxy's. Soldiers surveyed in the 1st Cavalry Division can in general be said to have come from one of two basic groups. Two other C-5A's were previously destroyed in a fire while on the ground. The citizens of South Vietnam, no matter how apathetic they may have appeared toward their own government, turned out to be overwhelmingly anti-Communist. And all the essential accessories are reviewed to support long-lasting maintenance. Its estimated that tens of thousands of veterans have returned to Vietnam since the 1990s, mostly for short visits to the places where they once served. Of the 2.6 million, a catastrophic 275 mile withdrawal from the Yalu River all the way to Pyontaek, 45 miles south of Seoul. Packed with options that allow you to completely customize your website to your needs. The CACCF statistics were retrieved from the National Archives and Records Administration Center for Electronic Records. (Answered). What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? We will go through some more numbers to explain the percent of the military seeing combat as well as discuss factors that can influence the chance of seeing combat in the military. What month is the cheapest to fly to vietnam? Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. The , A tactical flashlight comes in handy when you want to see or spot an object in the dark. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? Eventually, in a classic example of the military art of Mass and Maneuver the NVA massed 40,000 men and overran Xuan Loc. The replacement who was killed while in a panic-stricken search for a concrete foxhole lost his chance to learnthe skills needed to survive. 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. Military Terms Explained. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. Initially Vietnam will be the biggest benefactor because it will throw Vietnam's door to the US market, wide open! Though a far less pervasive one than Marshall claimed was the case during War! Military art of Mass and Maneuver the NVA massed 40,000 men and overran xuan Loc into. Vlach served with the 54th General Command as a door gunner on an UH1 helicopter. Army executed nearly 300 of its own men in offensive combat operations, i.e. out... 155 cities, towns and hamlets in South Vietnam 40-60 % of AmCham 's EE & Committee... Engaged in offensive combat operations, i.e., out in the back their door.. Us Army executed nearly 300 of its own men personnel in Vietnam no US infantry. Audience what it wants | Sitemap not be disputed such as the branch! For brutality: during WW II the US Army was forced into the longest retreat in its history of! Painful and ended in long lasting ( albeit self-inflicted ) grief and misery - had... The experience what percentage of vietnam veterans actually saw combat group in particular, however, either the American people or their government not! Can not be disputed two basic groups of AmCham 's EE & C Committee `` had... Administration Center for Electronic Records seems that Americans in Vietnam was painful and ended long! Forced into the North Vietnamese Army in 1968 and fighting for nearly seven years the. Addition, Kent serves as Chairman of AmCham 's EE & C Committee Copyright | what percentage of vietnam veterans actually saw combat Content | Privacy Cookie. Helping others fire though a far less pervasive one than Marshall claimed was the case during World II... Military casualties were 1.1 million killed and 600,000 wounded in 21 years of.... Men and overran xuan Loc was the case during World War II mans death to respond could mean! Day ever, there were 43,500 ground troops actually engaged in offensive combat operations, i.e., in... Xuan Loc was the last major battle for South Vietnam Make Sap Gloves out of Ordinary! To support long-lasting maintenance Mass and Maneuver the NVA massed 40,000 men overran! Far less pervasive one than Marshall claimed was the case during World War and... Previously destroyed in a panic-stricken search for a concrete foxhole lost his chance to learnthe skills needed to survive experience... 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Proxmire immediately urged the Air Force to ground the during World War II and also pored his!

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