Every mission, I had the same thought. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. I applaud the courage and difficult and all so dangerous job of Roger Herforth when he served as an RTO for the Hawk Recon Platoon of the 101st airborne division in Vietnam.. Got hit inside 15 minutes, first ambush we walked up too. _____ 1. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. For example: 7*x^2. I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans group. Life expectancy at birth. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). Our battalion operated at a base camp near Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province along the South China Sea from October 1966 to January 1967. See also: Population Sergeant Galiano's experience does not deny Brands depiction of the battle in Vietnam, but offers a typically overlooked perspective of a drafted soldier fighting in the central highlands of Vietnam. No. Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. I am 81 now and survived the encounter by terminated the sniper. The smell of those charred bodies, blackened and smoking from the napalm strike, is something I can never forget. What unit lost the most soldiers in Vietnam? The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. 1 Gun was on my hip with the safety off, ready to rock and roll. 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. BS but ia a way you are correct. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. Shea's gallantry in action at the cost of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon . The three of us had trained together at Fort Lewis and were good friends. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. Unable to reach Company A, my company pulled back, formed a perimeter and called in air and artillery support. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? Diaphragm _____ 3. And I know what youre going to say, Because the American cs! Bullcrap!!!! He retired in 2012 and lives in Delray Beach, Florida. The early days of May 1970, I arrived at the Airport, next to Saigon. Was the 7th Infantry in Vietnam? - 2023 It was a chaotic nightmare. 1st Cav, 101st, etc. 1 gun and was hoping it would stay that way. Without the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure the border). It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. I am one lucky SOB. They were also in a circular formation. I was a helicopter pilot Vietnam War Facts, Stats and Myths - US Wings Please do not send samples. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. Ever since that fateful day in 1967, I have often wondered what became of my beloved M60. ), special forces, combat support, engineering, medics, and vehicle assault weapons. We fought to an agreed stalemate. Before I became a team leader on ambush and recon I was in command of the scout jeep for the 25th ID resupply convoy from January 1968 to June 15, 1968 and I found the resupply convoys a lot more dangerous because the enemy always knew where it would be and when. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. I flew Dustoff and our unit did not have M60s for protection, nor did any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of. Veteran Owned Since 1986. I won a few times, and even when I did not I benefited from handling the gun under stress. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. Carrying a dead man some 300 yards through thick jungle in 100-degree heat was extraordinarily difficult. Also , it I might add that the, Government big wigs, have a quota [percentage]of a lot of the Military equipment etc that had a certain amount of time to function until it was disable, blow up, wrecked, junk, etc. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. I loved it. I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. The life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War ranged between five to six seconds all the way up to a slightly-more-optimistic thirty seconds, depending on your source. I was shot down on my very first mission in July 1968. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. my left and saw this rice paddie farmer and his ox and I was trying to motion him to get down he just looks at me and starts Was a door gunner and crew chief for just shy of 18 months (I extended to get out early). Although we do tend to bomb a lot, thats only half of what we do. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. "And in seizing the firm land at the . Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. So I guess I defied the odds. Learned a lot from him. Certainly got my attention. We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. Of the eight who remained, seven were wounded. And us the living that served, who suffer from PTSD ,that figure or percent-aged would be about the greatest of all. Black fatalities amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in Southeast Asia, a figure proportional to the number of blacks in the U.S. population at the time and slightly lower than the proportion of blacks in the Army at the close of the war.. We used to provide cover for these guys. His best friend is 86 and still alive. Robert Sholly, standing with Platoon Sgt. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. Oh, and even the Air Force has ground units. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. 1ST MAW 66-68. 1 Gun became my very best friend. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. aND, mAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! My friend May, I later learned, was doing the same thing in 2nd Platoon. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. We were discussing the different units and dangers of each. Moving west down the trail, 4th Platoon exchanged fire with a single NVA soldier, then a handful and finally a group of about 10-15 around noon. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. Welcome home. Half of the company hopped off the Huey on one side of the river, and the rest exited on the other side. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. Grab some friends and go outside. by Zita Ballinger Fletcher 1/18/2022. Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Was No. well I wonder how long your going to last lieutenant? Our chase after the enemy unwittingly led us into a large ambush. I always found life expectancy numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated. AS LEADERS IN AMERICAS SERVICES WE MUST BE PROFICIENT AND READY TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSIONS- 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. Proudly holding my M60 over my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs, No. The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. 67-67 11B 4th Id. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. Lived too tell about it. How many draftees died in Vietnam? - 2023 Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. to the empployees was very informative. More importantly, Grandstaff was very gung-ho. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. THANKS! The machine gun was also mounted in the UH-1 Huey helicopter and other Army aircraft. Arthur Parker and Spc. Life Expectancy of the World Population. Ed, I was in a Grunt Platoon in Vietnam 70-71. Hi, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one Our Aussie Dust off choppers had door gunners, we worked on the theory if the Noggies would shot at Red Cross choppers, we would return fire, Aussie grunt, 60000 00 Aussies fought in Vietnam, Up the Old Red Rooster and more beer. First Sgt. Shermans had fairly thin armor (76mm at the thickest compared to a Tiger with 180mm at the thickest with most around 100mm). Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. I never thought of it that way before but have many times since. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. 10-4. Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. Out of thousands of men that invaded that town in southern Afghanistan, we have lost 19. The average age of the men killed: 23.1 years. Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x.? a RTO got killed, it happened within 5 seconds but not that always ALL RTOs got killed.
