Was I counted each time or once? no , i could not quit. Im proud to be a surviving vet and the men who served with me then and those after me. My brother claims he is a Vietnam veteran. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. as we end our lives we should never forget that each served, in some way. FEAR Part of the SOP on the Plei Do Lim (PDL) Flash Outpost (OP) was to make a supply run every four days back to the survey section at HHB. The percentage of fatalities that resulted from this was 7.9%. IF you didnt get any extra pay better have a good excuse .like to hear it. Army personnel were awarded VN Service Medals and and Vietnam Campaign Medals. Heres a fact: Jeffery Lynn Scheller, USN, born July 31, 1954 was Killed In Action on October 1, 1972. So, where is the discrepancy in these numbers? I was a merchant marine officer on cargo ships, american export lines, for three years, back and forth to viet nam. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. I do not know where that number 1 in 14 came from, but in my time in the Army 1962-1970 it was in the range of 1 in 8 to 10 using the total manpower % . 2500 to 3000 US Air Force troops stationed in Guam, Thailand, and other countries that were involved in the Vietnam War effort. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. A few people were killed. Only believing what Fox & Friends has to say is really what you need to question Most things in the NYT does get critical peer review and push back when questionable Fox NOT SO, look at the crap coming out of Tucker Carlson, now that is scary extreme BS, The picture tells far more than a Thousand Words, it is that thousand yard stare, and any veteran who was out there can fill in the blanks of what they were thinking at that moment Offshore ocean sailing is a lot like being out trucking thru the jungle Minutes , hours day upon day of monotony and boredom, interrupted by moments of fright & terror I know that thousand yard stare, and many a time since I have found myself back there in my mind, staring at whatever and seeing nothing but what was in my mind. Another 2,000,000 were in country but worked supply or support [based on 10% rule]. Additionally, the American War Library approximated that around 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters during the same time are still alive today. More than 300,000 Veterans were wounded during the Vietnam War. Other than guard duty i was not in combat but the perimeter at Long Binh was regular defoliated and we experienced rocket and mortar attacks. It was an incredibly tumultuous time in US history and, for that reason, its unclear how many people actually served during this struggle. How old is the youngest Vietnam veteran still alive? You may not care but us guys that stepped foot in Nam AND had bullets flying at us, we care, and we are genuine vietnam Combat Vets. I know what I did while there in 1975, protecting USAF resources and aiding in the support of many end of the war mission. So Huey pilots and crew were REMFs. What Major Is Kent State University Known For? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. As I moved my right hand to change gears, it just blew apart, as red blood and parts of my hand flew everywhere instantaneously, but in slow motion I seemingly was catapulted onto some parallel universe. More than 8 million people served in uniform during Vietnam and those who are alive are typically in their 60s and 70s. My performance as Dante Michael Anthony Puccetti was at its close, and resembling the theater, I was ready to take my curtain call. Overall, the death rate of Vietnam veterans seems to be rather consistent if not better than other people their same age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How old is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? Now 69 years/old. Check your POW list. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. 4-39th, 9th Div. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. ho, i could not . There is a statistic that has been widely quoted in the veteran community that highlights an estimated 22 veterans a day are committing suicide. they did not get metals. Those of us who wear air crew wings probably saved your ass more than once. Somewhat confusing. If you served at all, anywhere, during WWII, you are a WWII vet. I can tell you that those who served in Thailand should definitely be considered Vietnam Vets. Born: 04/07/1937. It is called the Stolen Valor Act., Dau Tieng A Co. 3/22 Inf. We all started getting heart attacks around the same time. I am glad that you make Dante, I know the struggle has been long, but the spirit soars and the tale told Live long my brother, None of us are very far away from those days A harrowing experience that can never be diminished by time. The politicians and fake news along with the Berkeley professors lost it for the American people after that. If the ratio of approximately 10% remains the same about 314. How many Korean War veterans are still alive? Id like to know what the 1 in 14 men figure is based on. His wife and family should be very proud of him. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. I changed emails and cant reach you!! She has worked in schools all over the world, and has developed groundbreaking curricula that have helped countless students excel. The VA sent out a news release on March 29th, 2022, entitled DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO VIETNAM WAR VETERANS. It included the following line, which should put this question to rest. Div., 67-68. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? We are working on a feature article How Many Of Us Are Still Alive: that will show a complete Actuarial Model that shows the likely number of us still alive (725,000 to 750,000 out of 2.4 million) and the likely progression of our deaths. These numbers were not included since these service members were far removed from combat experience and did not spend any amount of time in harms way. However, like it or not, the U.S. government makes the final decisions on who is officially considered a war veteran and thats really the way it HAS to be. i TO AM A VEITNAM VET. I served in the 101st airborne infantry battalion in 1968, the time of the Tet Offensive. I got in about 20 firefights. All the millions of other Vietnam Era Veterans are Cold War Veterans. I left this Sunday, as other mornings, to make a supply run and a code book and frequency transfer to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB); to gather C-Rations, mail, and most importantly to acquire our new radio codes of the confidential frequencies for this period. I was drafted in May of 1966 specifically for the reactivation of the 9th Infantry..so B Co., 4/47th/9th Inf. The thing is the question/topic here is not how many Vietnam combat veterans are there, or how many Vietnam Era veterans are there; its how many Vietnam veterans are there. Straining to regain my feet again, I staggered a few strides to my right and throe myself forward, with all I was worth, collapsing finely into the vegetation face up. I think there about 250,000 Virtnam Vets that saw actual combat. Chester/Gordon, While every GI serving around the world was important to securing our Cold War victory over Communism just as the Vietnam conflict was also, those who served in uniform in the SEA War Theater are the true veterans of the Vietnam War. so in 2190 days.from today, lucky to be a Vietnam veteran alive. Yep feet never left the ground except to do my mos. Their lives should be given importance. I knew place names like War Zone C, Filijo (rubber Plantation), Iron triangle, Bo Lo woods?, I was wounded on the Laos border near a fire base with the 101st. That's 390 per day. These are numbers never heard before & I would not include those before the advisers were sent over in the early/mid 60s. Thats sad and should stop. and i remember that we talked about how much we would make if we lost a finger or an arm. Even if his job depended on them doing theirs well. The youngest Vietnam Veteran is aged in the late 60s today with life expectances estimated at 86 years old (for normal people). I am a Viet Nam combat veteran. So I was in the Army National Guard during the Iraq War, So I guess I am An Iraq War Veteran. A total of 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era, with over 2,709,000 Americans serving in Vietnam, about 9.7% of the generation. Since the fall of Saigon and Operation Baby Lift occurred in 1975, wouldnt an 18 year old at that time be 64 or 65 today ? in viet nam, because of the unions, they got more money. The dust settled back to normality, as if man did not exist. As Ive mentioned before, I dont think posing this question was intended to be divisive among veterans, but it has turned out to be. And just as the bell rang he got out of the ring , technically I won the fight. John, Had an easy tour given what i was trained for before I got there. Mike. two weeksOver 10% of Vietnam casualties were helicopter crew members, and most of those were the door gunners that protected the helicopter, its crew, and its transports, from their exposed position. I appreciate all the support there and around the world but Vietnam area at Fort Whatever Ohio wasnt Vietnam and no matter how brave the girls in Germany told you you were you were not a Vietnam Vet. In WWII and the Korean War, anyone who served in the military was considered a veteran of that war. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? One sapper shot off a whole magazine of armor piercing bullets at the drivers side windshield of the truck, and glass was flying in all directions. 109, 000 died in the service during this period. stay safe. The leading cause of preventable death among US military casualties in the Vietnam War was exsanguination from extremity wounds. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. I do not, however, have a CIB. earned their stripe. Also, some do not consider those who served in Thailand as Vietnam Vets. I served until April 28, 1969 !!!!!!!!!!!! During the Vietnam War, Air Force C-123 planes sprayed millions of gallons of herbicides over the jungles of Southeast Asia to destroy enemy crops and tree cover. Vietnam was very different, it was not supported by our Nation, the draft of so many young men to fight in a country that few could ever find on a map, let alone now anything about. In 2019, the most . Id like to ask a question. Infantry Division. Some where along the way after returning home & towards, if not after the end of involvement, the number Id heard/read was 5 million US military served. But the 23 months I spent doing my duty as outlined our government to assure you had a way to be resupplied means I, and those like me, am a Vietnam Veteran. 4 Carl Dodd Former Police Officer Author has 18.5K answers and 25.3M answer views 10 mo This could be a simple semantics issue, but what about the Air Force guys who flew over Vietnam. It too bad that guys that never fought think for some reason they deserve credit for being in Vietnam when they werent. My body was throne backwards into the seat and rebounded forwards; bent over at a 90-degree angle from my waist. i said once if you walked , you worked. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Base was 1st MAW Danang AB which got hit early Tet with rockets, mortars and sappers. In the article, the writer quotes Patrick S. Brady of Vietnam Veterans of Americas magazine. However, he did not return to the United States until March 22, 1979. if you were effected by the first or second tour, or as i did, three years back and forth , then you were , are are a veteran. It is an all-too-common misunderstanding that to be affected by Agent Orange you had to have been sprayed, and/or you are required to prove that to the VA. Vietnam Veterans are dieing faster than World War Two veterans do to Agent Orange contamination . Christmas Night, Midnight, a guy in the next Bunker committed suicide. Age: 75. What qualifies you as a viet Nam vet would be if you stepped foot on the soil. He never did ,Thank god ,because I ended up marrying a beautiful woman and we have the most precious and beautiful daughter. Ive never seen so many people so full of shit trying to answer a question like how many Vietnam veterans are still alive today. I salute all Veterans, and those Pencil pusher, clerks, medics, fire-fighters, etc., all had jobs to do to support everyone, they deserve respect as well, as without them no one should have had the tools necessary to accomplish any mission! This accurate accounting gives us persepective on the cost of current and future wars. AFAIC, anyone within the bounds of South Vietnam was on the ground. In or out of a compound or an LZ or anywhere else. What was the life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam? nearly every classmate from the academy served on some basis during the vn war. The VA researchers analyzed the death certificates of 21 states to create the 2010 national estimate for veterans from all age groups. We need a better more definitive for VIETNAM Vet.