In this study we will refer to casualties as the 58,152 who died in Vietnam, but it should be emphasized that there were 153,303 who were wounded seriously enough to be hospitalized. Nursing the wounded. Only 3 returned home. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. 1972 NAID 305367, Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award Case Files, 19711971 NAID 5721359. They came largely from California and Texas, with lesser numbers from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, New York and a few from many other states across the country. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. He tried to make the best call he could when adding names to the list. Dates of enlsitment or selective service registration will be helpful along with the name military units they served with. The Army as a branch had 134,982 killed or wounded (9.5 percent), but the Marines suffered 66,227 killed or wounded (22.5 percent) or almost one of every four Marines who served. . Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. 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. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Of the 8000 Coast guardsmen who served in Vietnam, 3 officers and 4 enlisted men were killed and 59 were wounded. It is not surprising, for instance, that West Virginia, Montana, and Oklahoma had a casualty rate almost twice that of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. 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. This, they felt, would offer these men the opportunity to get remedial training in the service and then be able to compete successfully when they returned to civilian life. ".for those who have died." 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. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service members status: either missing or confirmed dead. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. The essence of the Wall is the names and the reaction of the visitor to seeing his or her reflection in this sea of remembrance. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. The memorial consists of three separate parts: The Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, also known as The Wall That Heals, which is the most popular feature. 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. How to Order a Draft Record. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. Names that become eligible for inclusion are added once each year, in May, a few weeks before Memorial Day. You must refer to a database, which gives the names in alphabetical order and includes the position of each on the Memorial. On November 7, 2021 VVMF began a daily virtual Reading of the Names. Once download In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. 3rd Battalion. The trigger came when the recruiters pointed out that the volunteer could enlist as early as 17 (with parental consent); that he was allowed to select his branch of service; that he would receive specialized training if he qualified; that he could request a specific overseas assignment; and that his three year enlistment followed by three years in the inactive reserves satisfied his military obligation immediately. Quite a different profile emerges among the Navy and Air force officer corps. 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. name within a given date. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. 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. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950 - 1976 NAID 745, RG, 472, Meritorious Unit Commendations, 1967 - 1971 NAID 4726287, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Colleen Pontes, whose father Kevin Joyce was added in 2003, remembered the rush of emotions she felt as she and her brother watched their dads name being inscribed in the granite. Of 2,590 total Air Force casualties, 1,674 or 65 percent were officers. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. Although the names are not listed alphabetically, it is not difficult for visitors to find a name on the Memorial. 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. Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. More names are added to the wall every year. A new Department of Defense (DOD) database computer tape released through the National Archives allows researchers to take a much closer look at our 58,152 Vietnam casualties. 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) HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. What happens to items left at the memorial? How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. . Lins vision prevailed. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. 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. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldnt quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didnt have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. The training for American officers is thought by most foreign military authorities to be the best in the world. 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. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis maintains Vietnam War Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF). The Air Force lost the highest percentage of officers. Millions more come to experience this Memorial each year. the reader loses composure. These directories help locate names on the wall. The panels come together to form a point, linking the first and last together in enduring tribute. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. is complete, or you've done a "save as", you can use any word processor 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. She wanted the names to tell the journey, or the timeline, of the war. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. But there is a beginning. The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. And they all went to Vietnam. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. 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. They drew on every segment of American society. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. If your browser displays the text file, you can then use THE NAMES ON THE WALL: AN HISTORICAL JUDGMENT. We honor and remember their sacrifice.". The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. peruse. The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. Every one of the names on the Wall has a story worth telling, as do all who served in our nation's Armed Forces during that time. The lists are based on the "home of record - state" data provided by the serviceman or woman upon last entrance into military service. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. For information regarding official military unit histories, contact: Air ForceU.S. 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. Full casualty records may be retrieved online through the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases resource. 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. Library of Congress, National Archives Reference Information Page 90 A Finding Aid to Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Missing Vietnam Military Resulting from Hostile Forces, Missing Vietnam Military NOT Resulting from Hostile Forces, Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. Access to Non-Archival Military Service Records is limited. Please be patient This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries, 1941-1980 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. Photo credit DOD photo by Army Sgt. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! And there are the Vietnam veterans, who come to recognize the sacrifice of their fellow warriors, wondering why their own names are not there, too. 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. 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. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. There was no need to embellish. This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. He did it allsing, dance, create music and crack wise. information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed The Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent. The same profile holds true for the Marine Corps, where 87 percent of all officer casualties (821 of 938) were warrant officers, lieutenants or captains. A few years after the dedication, the issue of geographic criteria was expanded by DoD to include people who had been killed outside of the war zone while on or in support of direct combat missions. When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972. The Vietnam Wall. For blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . The Vietnam War is no different. (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. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. This came at a time when blacks made up 11 percent of the male population nationwide. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. 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. The draftee, if found physically and mentally fit, would be inducted for a period of two years, to be followed by another two year period in the active reserves and a subsequent two years in the inactive reserves. In an audiotape recorded for a close friend shortly before Vandegeers death, and transcribed in Bernard Edelmans book Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, he described the perilous mission in Saigon. In honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. 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. This takes about 72 hours. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. He accepted the tradition of military service passed on to him by the popular culture and by President John F. Kennedys ringing words, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. Although valuable, this study was almost certainly misinterpreted by its authors when they said that their data showed that most privileged and influential segments of American society were not insulated from the perils of Vietnam conflict. Since its adoption in 1951, at the time of the Korean War, this policy had been renewed by Congress every four years. The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history. The files are quite large in order that we could save in Rich Text Format There were no indexes created prior to the fire. Every day, Americas service members selflessly put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free. As Vandegeer piloted his CH-53 helicopter toward the island, a wall of anti-aircraft fire knocked it from the sky, and it crashed toward the water with 26 men aboard. 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. 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. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Thus we can see that the channeling philosophy continued within the armed forces. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. 1970 NAID 570973, State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists sorted Alphabetically by Last Name, List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (196165) Wikipedia, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group A (Recoverable), 1941-1975, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975, Vietnamw-Era POW/MIA Databases & Documents. Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. Thus it is safe to say that Hispanic-Americans were over-represented among Vietnam casualties an estimated 5.5 percent of the dead against 4.5 percent of the 1970 population. Coast Guard Historians OfficeCommandant (CG-09224)U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters 2100 Second Street SW Washington, D.C. 20593. . Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. 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. Sad to say, many of these recruitment promises were fudged in one way or another, and many of these young men found themselves shipped directly to Vietnam after basic training. Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. 5th Marines were killed in . In addition to WWII Draft Records, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO maintains Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, for all men born before 1960. 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.. By his estimate, he helped pull out close to 2,000 people. There are students on field trips, some solemn and curious, but some just happy to get out of class. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. 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. Be the first to learn about news, service member stories and fundraising updates from USO. Vandegeers message also depicted a man who believed the worst was behind him. The affected record collections are described below. Perhaps more important, many of them probably did not yet fully understand their own mortality and were therefore less likely to be hesitant in combat. On the last day of his life, in the moments before our nations history changed forever, Dale Buis was sitting around a rec center watching a movie called The Tattered Dress, starring Jeff Chandler. With the end of the Cold War, many now believe that at its outset the Vietnam War was a quite honorable extension of our ultimately successful policy of Communist containment; that our effort in Vietnam became flawed because of political and strategic failures having nothing to do with those who died there; and that these young Americans were asked by three presidents and six Congresses to give up their lives so that freedom would have a better chance in the world. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. The DOD database provides no civilian or military educational levels for the Vietnam casualties specifically, but it does give us general levels for all enlisted men across all the services during the Vietnam era. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. 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. This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 18:28. The virtual Wall of Faces features a page dedicated to honoring and remembering every person whose name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806).

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