Certainly got my attention. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam - lbgf.org We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. I remember hearing somewhere about an RTO who wasnt getting the info out correctly and the Lieutenant (Kennedy) grabbed the mic and said My RTO Is Foxtrot Uniform. LUCK pure LUCK. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. I had yet to fire a shot with No. Supported by a shoulder strap, No. What Is The Average Life Expectancy Of A Vietnam Veteran? Then we learned, appx: 1 mile to our North was, an American AMMO storage area. Vietnam War soldiers We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. We all gotta die sometime, Red. SSgt Barnes, Platoon, its nothing to really concern yourself with, on a long enough time line everyones survival rate is 0%. As I was running to the rivers edge, ready to unload on the VC hiding in the elephant grass, I ran past a grass hut and never bothered to clear it. hb```8fB cBLd2>Tb jz1@E; aK6Tmc.Nn"&gn7hj'wm,h d6p4u0`&88:,TMV& y@ b=e>a&^ >{2b`ZHE3psn QZ Bruce Grandstaff and my best friend, Sgt. Your email address will not be published. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years, after the fall of Saigon in 1975, than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1974. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas? As an infantry platoon Sgt of a platoon made up of all draftees my age 21 plus or minus a year We fought the largest single one day battle of the war March 21, 1967 known as the Battle of Soui Tre, fire support base Gold operation Junction City, that base was commanded by LtCol John Vessey of the 2/77 FA Vessey was a 25 year veteran of WWII fame with a DSC at Anzio, and on this day he was looking at the end of his career after that tour in Vietnam. Shortly before 11 a.m. on May 18, the point squad in Company Bs 2nd Platoon spotted three NVA soldiers walking on a trail near the Cambodian border and attempted to capture them, but the NVA dashed off into the jungle. His best friend is 86 and still alive. I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. You of course had the radio plus xtra batteries & handsets plus your rucksack with 7 to 8 canteens , 20 mags ( I used to carry 17 rounds in the mags instead of 20 ) because the springs would force the round into the chamber causing jams . I was to have that experience two more times before it was over. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. I never understood why they didnt put M60s on Medevacs (once the VC shot them down) but then, we now know they never intended to win that war in the first place. In Service to My Men | Article | The United States Army Then I dropped back down in the streambed to organize our ammo. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. As we were, steadily building up, our area for protection. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. In the First Armored Division, now part of the 23rd Infantry Division, commonly known as the Americal Division, combat medics were called into action every day because the fighting was now. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. What is the life expectancy of an army infantry soldier? I am one lucky SOB. Company A searched in vain for the platoon in the dark and finally found the shattered unit on the morning of May 19. Michael Doolittle..I was with 1/8 inf, 1st Brigade, and that day, March 22nd was also our darkest day. (tirotactico.net). Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. When we reached Company A, we placed our dead in the center of the two-company perimeter. sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in battle on - Quora It was on the Job Training ! 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. Had multiple Ks and Ws. All the comments and replies are of absolute truth, I was only 18 when I got to Nam ,Im a country boy from NC so here I am Sometimes on Family Guy when there about to take someones heart out they say, calimar or maybe its spelled different. Both halves quickly swept toward the river to clear the village. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Robert Sholly, standing with Platoon Sgt. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the M60 machine gun. Vietnam War Facts, Stats and Myths - US Wings Two of my closest friends in the company, Spc. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. Papitto Opportunity Connections Mission: The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Islands BIPOC communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training, and entrepreneurial ventures. Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. happened. THANKS! For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. In Vietnam, 1 in 400 of the wounded died of their . The Vietnam War gave us trouble because we didnt know how to counteract against guerrilla warfare in a jungle (dont forget that the US Army was switching to M16s, which often jammed). 1 Gun. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures). Out of the 3,000,000 men and women in our armed forces and reserves, we have lost 4,500 in this 9 year war. Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. My shit got weak and a sniper popped three rounds in my young ass. Done ranting. The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. In the last 5 years the symptoms of PTSD and AO are starting getting worse in me. In the few firefights and skirmishes we had with local VC, the gun always performed well. The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. And us the living that served, who suffer from PTSD ,that figure or percent-aged would be about the greatest of all. I was still pondering the move to 4th Platoon when U.S. Air Force jets screamed over the treetops with canisters of napalm. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, RTO, John Scheur. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics Eventually I found a spot where the bed leveled off and began firing on the NVA. The one number that is really important is 56,220 and we all know what that number represents. hmK#1+yNvA meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. To an, open area. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their Soon I could take the gun apart and put it back together in the dark. I saw killed and wounded everywhere in our combat operations. If the NVA shot at the group retrieving the bodies, I was to fire over the heads of the grunts and engage the enemy. At Fort Lewis, every recruit learned to operate various weapons. 0 How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? - CLJ 4. Screaming Eagles! Diaphragm _____ 3. I was a medic on one for two yrs and the only weapon I was issue was a six-shot .38. Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. We were like sitting Ducks. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. I was on a radar crew and we were told that, during war time, we would most likely be killed within minutes. "And in seizing the firm land at the . Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. I always found life expectancy numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated. three, he believes he is doing what his country wants him to dojust like you So you better damn well treat him with the compassion you want for you!! General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike (a professor at the University of California, Berkeley), a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975. The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. Amazingly, the NVA men then walked a short distance away, sat down and ate lunch. Much smaller income differentials in life expectancy, 0.2 to 3.6 life-years smaller for Veterans in 2010-17 are estimated. 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. 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. . It didnt matter who you were or where you were. 2: role (MOS?). I got shot on a mission with 45 days left. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. When the Company B units that landed on the opposite side of the river got to the bank, some troops reached in and pulled the enemy from the water. Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. E)V_5lu[vC3+"vg2L& The next three weeks passed uneventfully. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some 97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged. I flew Dustoff and our unit did not have M60s for protection, nor did any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. I am 81 now and survived the encounter by terminated the sniper. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. 2 Gun to Ranallo. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. In an instant the jungle erupted in gunfire. So do us all a favor and please learn to be tolerant, intelligent, and active. 2 Gun.. But, once the enemy lays down his weapon, I want YOU TO REMEMBER THREE THINGS: 1, HE IS A SOLDIER, JUST LIKE YOU.2, HE IS AWAY FROM HOME And family, just like you. Thanks. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! Interesting but something is missing. 6 Answers They say Kali Ma Theyre referencing this scene from the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: What is the life expectancy of an army infantry soldier? Address: 561 E Hines Hill Road Hudson, Ohio 44236 Phone: 1-800-650-0659 / 330-655-5050 Fax: 330-653-3750 Email: [emailprotected], Retail Store Hours: Monday-Friday: 9am - 5pm EST Saturdays: 10am -3pm (Oct-Jan) Sundays: Closed. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. I never even got a shot off. wias. Ha Ha always enjoyed being a volunteer! 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.. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? There were usually 3 man (At least 2) point teams. Very memorable comments. I was wounded 3 times during the 10 1/2 months I was in-country before being medevacd out in Apr of 68. hbbd```b`` ,&Iw sA '#o Soldier Life Expectancy in Ukraine 'Meat Grinder' Is 4 Hours: Marine
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