If you Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. The National Archives has an online searchable database, entitled "Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War," documenting the period 6/8/1956 - 1/21/1998. And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. The names would become the memorial. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site Honor Vietnam Veterans you know with a gift from our VVA store, or a custom military embroidered shirt, jacket, or polo so they can proudly demonstrate their service to their grateful nation. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. By his estimate, he helped pull out close to 2,000 people. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, creating the countrys first peacetime draft and officially establishing the Selective Service System. VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. Much more detailed I can envision a small cottage someplace, with a lot of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace, and maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee now and then and entertain my two friends , I dont think it will be too terribly long until we are together again.. This change prompted the addition of 110 names in 1986. Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service members status: either missing or confirmed dead. This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with The lists are based on the "home of record - state" data provided by the serviceman or woman upon last entrance into military service. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. 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. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. Early on President Johnson, his advisers and especially the Congress, realized that if the draft was to be truly equitable and had included combat assignments in Vietnam for the sons of the educationally advantaged and influential Americans from the professional and managerial classes, then the resulting uproar would have shut down the war. (Surprisingly, as it turned out, the percentage of Vietnam veterans who applied for the GI Bill was higher than either World War II or Korea. He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. More names are added to the wall every year. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. Order it can be difficult but there are a few ways to find a name at either end of the memorial are stands with books inside these list the names in alphabetical. This was a reflection of the role of warrant officers as helicopter pilots (of the 1,277 warrant officer casualties, 95 percent were Army helicopter pilots), and of the young lieutenants and captains as combat platoon leaders or company commanders. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. At some The Moving Wall sites, the sponsor makes arrangements It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The idea that American enlisted dead were made up largely of societys poverty stricken misfits is a terrible slander to their memory and to the solid working-class and middle-class families of this country who provided the vast majority of our casualties. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? Another challenge was ensuring the accuracy of the names. The Order of Precedence For Military Ribbon Wear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubH-5CulqI, Military Funeral Guide for Families & Funeral Homes, The Ultimate Military Gift Guide for Unique Military Gifts, Black Military History and Black Medal of Honor Recipients. As the Vietnam War dragged on, Kurt tried twice to enlist. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. The officer corps casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Once download For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. the requirements were expanded (by. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent of its own men. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. 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. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The figures show that on average 65 percent of white enlisted men and 60 percent of black enlisted men were high school graduates. Although it is a truism that the young die in war, one is still unprepared for the fact that 40 percent of Marine enlisted casualties in Vietnam were teenagers; that more than 16 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also teenagers; and that nearly a quarter of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam were between the ages of 17- and 19-years old. As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969. In an effort to further preserve the legacy of those who sacrificed all in Vietnam, VVMF is committed to finding a photo to go with each of the more than 58,000 names on The . "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. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. In an effort to further preserve the legacy of those who sacrificed all in Vietnam, VVMF is committed to finding a photo to go with each of the more than 58,000 names on The Wall. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Congress and the Johnson administration, therefore, sought to protect our college-bound and educated young men. 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. You could also keep these files on a computer at your How to Order a Draft Record. In the military it can be somewhat more deadly. Though the memorial continues to grow and evolve, the last name on the wall still belongs to Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer, a pilot who died after his helicopter crashed on May 15, 1975, during the wars final combat action. By and large, with the exception of the officer corps, most of the college bound and educated skipped the Vietnam War at the urging of, and with the approval of, their own government. 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. November 11, 1982. 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. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . But in 1966, President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara decided to institute Project 100,000 that would allow category IV men to enter the military. A(1780 names - 239023 bytes) B(5502 names - 737972 bytes) C(4363 names - 586584 bytes) D(2790 names - 374290 bytes) E(1082 names - 144866 bytes) F(1979 names - 265759 bytes) G(3036 names - 407075 bytes) H(4463 names - 598834 bytes) I(218 names - 29278 bytes) J(1845 names - 247563 bytes) K(2039 names - 273818 bytes) L(2594 names - 347007 bytes) 1972 NAID 305367, Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award Case Files, 19711971 NAID 5721359. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. 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. He tried to make the best call he could when adding names to the list. Look at the bottom of each panel on the wall for its number. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. . columns per page. It is instructive to read the literature of the war, the letters written home from those who died, the novels and narrative accounts of those who served in combat and then returned. With few exceptions, almost all of the 6,600 commissioned officers who died in Vietnam were graduates of the service academies, college Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), or the Officer Candidate School (OCS) programs. Count down from the top of the panel. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. What the MIT study almost certainly showed was that members of the so-called working class consisting of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, firemen, policemen, technicians, skilled factory operatives, farmers, etc., were living in middle class communities and were, therefore, part of our burgeoning middle class. This index includes those who died or who were declared dead from 1950 to 1957 in Korea and from 1957 to 1975 in Southeast Asia. This is the most accurate database online. With the glitch discovered, Doubek and his team located and hand-corrected each error. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. Although the names are not listed alphabetically, it is not difficult for visitors to find a name on the Memorial. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. Little about it is concrete. Lower end category IVs consisting of those who scored below 20 on the AFQT were usually rejected for service. 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. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. Items are gathered by park staff. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. Congress. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. VVMF does not have the authority to overrule those who adjudicate these matters. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. 26 Similar Questions and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. Doubek was tasked with identifying all of the names to be included on the Wall. Some have tried for years before receiving approval from DoD. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. If your browser displays the text file, you can then use Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. As we search for proper bookends to encapsulate the story of a generation at war, perhaps the best we can do is look at what is written in stone. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Chiseled on the wall are the names of the 58,196 men and women who either died or are still listed as missing in Southeast Asia between 1959 and 1975. . For weeks and weeks, a team worked through the list, verifying spellings and ensuring that the computer printout that was to be used for the stenciling was correct. Interesting Veterans Statistics Of The Vietnam Memorial Wall There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. But you had stories of guys in the Air Force who would die in their aircraft over Thailand after having been shot over Vietnam. Technically, they were ineligible for inclusion on the Wall. If each It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . The Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. 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. Of course, the Marine, Navy, and Air Force enlisted casualties were all volunteers, but as it turned out, almost 50 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also volunteers. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. 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 article was originally published in the June 1993 issue of Vietnam Magazine and updated in November 2004. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. This uneven impact was caused by a number of factors: (1) While the South was home to some 53 percent of all blacks in the 1970 census, almost 60 percent of black casualties came from the South; (2) Although we cannot be as precise, we do know that a considerable majority of Hispanic-American casualties came from the West, (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado) and the South (Texas); (3) Better employment opportunities in the Northeast reduced the number of volunteers; (4) Greater college matriculation in the Northeast increased the number of status deferments for the regions 17- to 24- year olds; (5) More anti-war sentiment in the media and on college campuses in the Northeast. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. What happens to items left at the memorial? This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. This page has been viewed 167,336 times (0 via redirect). 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. Records of U.S. Military Casualties, Missing in Action, and Prisoners of War from the Era of the Vietnam War are available through the National Archives. What will be the evolving historical judgment for those names on the Wall? Vietnam War Casualties- Main Alphabetical Index www.VirtualWall.org Find A Name Information Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. The names are listed in chronological order, according to the date of casualty. COL LEWIS HERBERT ABRAMS SSG SAMUEL ABRAMS Jr PFC TIMOTHY C ABRAMS Jr WO ANDREW JOHN ABRAMSON CPL MIGUEL A ABREU-BATISTA Jr SP4 ANTHONY JOSEPH ABRUZESE PFC ROBERT ALEXANDER ABRUZESE PFC MICHAEL JOHN ABRUZZESA Jr SGT WILLIAM WALLACE ABSHEAR SGT RICHARD FRANKLIN ABSHIRE PFC JAMES ESTUS ABSTON Jr SSG ROBERT JOSEPH ACALOTTO SP5 PEPITO RIVERA ACERET The files are quite large in order that we could save in Rich Text Format There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. The memorial is free and open to the public 24 hours a day, with rangers on duty to answer questions from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. 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. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. The names of the 2,504 Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War are on the Tablets of the Missing at the ABMC Honolulu Memorial. For those and a handful of other unique circumstances, Doubek made his own list of men who had died due to the injuries in the combat zonesnames that may have been listed by an individual service branch, but not by DoD. He did it allsing, dance, create music and crack wise. Who were they? Kurt became the man of the house, even as a boy. Each entry includes a panel number and letter; "W" is for "west" or the left half of the memorial, "E" is for east, or the right half of the memorial. 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. The casualty date is the date the person was killed or wounded in combat or injured during an accident; for the missing, the date is when the person was reported missing. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. 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. Interested in a tour as part of your visit? The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. Getting to Washington, D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. (The 58,000 Names) Our fallen Vietnam War heroes are herethe 58,000 heroes who died in Vietnam. During one review, Doubek found a glitch with the computer software: it did not recognize the spaces that appeared within a last name, such as van der Meide. Nor could it properly discern a compounded first name, such as Billy Bob, versus a traditional first and middle name. She wanted the names to tell the journey, or the timeline, of the war. As of 2017, there are 58,318 names inscribed on The Wall. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. 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. 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. While their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. There are students on field trips, some solemn and curious, but some just happy to get out of class. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. Some went to Canada or Sweden, but few of those who evaded the draft were actually prosecuted and most were eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. The panel numbers are inscribed at the bottom of each panel. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. How many names are on the wall? It should be emphasized that 55 percent of all Navy and Air Force officer casualties came as a result of reconnaissance and bombing sorties into North Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. The individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) may contain information such as: name, Selective Service registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, place of residence at time of registration and basic physical description. 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. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. 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. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. A doctor arrived and gave his shaken mother a sedative. The remaining 70 percent of our Vietnam enlisted casualties were of English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries, more from the South and Midwest than the other regions, many from small towns with a family military tradition. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. peruse. During and after the Vietnam War, the Department of Defense (DoD) compiled a list of combat zone casualties according to criteria in a 1965 Presidential Executive Order. Frequently relatives or buddies of casualties Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 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. For more information on this index on, Records relating to American prisoners of war and missing in action from the Vietnam War, including lists and descriptions of the record groups covering the Vietnam War that are held by the National Archives are also found in the FS Library US/CAN Book. In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall Many high-ranking military men (including General William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam) opposed the program, feeling that the effectiveness of some units would be reduced and that fellow soldiers would sometimes be put in greater jeopardy by these less mentally capable personnel. 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. The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. readers. They refer to older or younger siblings who are either in or on their way to college. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. Unfortunately, he mistakenly added a small number of names of men who were still alive. Her name? They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. the "save as" menu command to store each text file on your media. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. Its been more than 20 years since Forrest Gump debuted on the silver screen and nearly a generation later, its characters still resonate with todays service members. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. 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. Twenty years passed before Vandegeers remains were identified and another five passed before his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. On that panel, above the names is this inscription: In honor of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. 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. The Selective Service System remains in place today. I could tell you about how real the fear was that I felt, since from the time we crossed the Delta and made the run into Saigon, we were over enemy territory. United States. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 I mean, it was bad.. Once additions are approved by DoD, VVMF receives the list of approved names, coordinates the inscribing and absorbs the costs. The Wall is about names. It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers.
