life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnamlife expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam

Take out the power center, youve got the edge. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. I spent my year in Vietnam with the 1/22nd infantry part of the 4th division. LUCK pure LUCK. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. V. Victor Renza was sent home after he was wounded on May 18, 1967. According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) there are now officially 58, 318 names on the wall. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. Date: March 8, 2020 Author: pdoggbiker 97 Comments Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. What Is The Average Life Expectancy Of A Vietnam Veteran? It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. He pulled the company into a perimeter and dispatched 4th Platoon to recon the trail to the west, while 1st Platoon performed a similar mission to the east-southeast. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. I was an RTO for 9-1/2 months for Hawk Recon 2/327 101AB from dec, 1969 to sept 70. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of . What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War An NVA soldier had evidently spotted the gun and waited patiently for me to stick my head up. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. I had to rely on my gun more than before. (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). to the empployees was very informative. The Vietnam War was the first American war in which Black and White troops were not formally segregated, and even saw significant growth in the number of African Americans engaged in battlefield combat, [1] though some de facto segregation still occurred. 4 Answers aaja Come. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life. 4 Joey Piambino were to my right in the streambed. The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. In a strange country scared shitless .I was a minesweeper.My first time out on a mission they put me on the drag line fifty yards from the road which was route 1, Then all hell broke lose Life expectancy at birth. One was holding a carbine. He decided to stay even though he had a deep feeling he wasnt going to make it. I was shot down on my very first mission in July 1968. 2. 0 Some very close calls but I am alive at age 74. Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. Grab some friends and go outside. Jimmy aaja, jimmy aaja. Sgt. PDF Sobering Statistics Concerning Vietnam Vets As of April 2016 I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! .. They were all up there scanning the terrain and looking for signs. He said when they were ambushed they took defensive positions, returned fire, called for assistance when needed, and retreated when necessary. To my surprise, I qualified as an expert with the M60 machine gun, nicknamed the pig because of the size, weight and sound of the weapon. US Wings is a veteran-owned business and an official supplier to the US Military. Nevertheless, I swung No. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. Terrified, I dropped down as fast as I could, pulling the gun and two ammo belts of 100 rounds apiece on top of me as I fell back into the dry streambed. Was No. The average life expectancy of a Soviet soldier during the height of the battle was just 24 hours. Back home he returned to hairdressing and got a job at Kenneth Salon in New York City working with top models and fashion magazine editors. 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 got shot on a mission with 45 days left. PDF Mortality Rates and Life Expectancy of Veterans from 1980 to 2017, and By the time we reached Vietnam in October 1966 I felt the gun had become a part of me. Keep in step with US Wings Join our newsletter to receive all our latest news and offers, Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from US Wings. They were great patriots fighting for their families and their homeland. The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. I carried the proc 26 radio after I was asked by my field 1st ( E 7 ) if I would for my platoon . Joe DeLong joined the company, and Sholly informed me that he would be the M60 gunner. Military history of African Americans in the Vietnam War hb```8fB cBLd2>Tb jz1@E; aK6Tmc.Nn"&gn7hj'wm,h d6p4u0`&88:,TMV& y@ b=e>a&^ >{2b`ZHE3psn QZ What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in World War II? Deltoid muscle _____ 2. . They kept coming up the hill bringing more bodies to me until all seven had been found. My dad died of cancer at 52. How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? - CLJ After a quick lesson, DeLong became the new owner of 4th Platoons No.1 Gun. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was . The article was interesting. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No. wias. Hats off to them. 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. I handled Top Secret Commo on a daily basis. Certainly got my attention. And us the living that served, who suffer from PTSD ,that figure or percent-aged would be about the greatest of all. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. Cluster F, SNAFU and FUBAR fer sur. As we approached the battle, we heard intense firing. My 31-months in-country was in three Direct Support US Army aviation units, 15TC BN, First Cav, 335TH, Americal and 17TH Cav 101ST ABD65-71In the last battle I was directly involved, LAM SON 719, into Laos, cost army aviation units over 600-helicopters shot down or battle damagedthe NVA were waiting for our SECRET mission in early 71I was glad to go home at battles end, in March 71 , almost unscathed, I was TDY for my absurd third tourTo the point, many ARVN Rangers, airborne and their other best died in Lam Son 719US Army Infantry were forbidden entry to Laos in 71.. the ARVN were massacredand many US Army pilots and crew mambers were KIA & WIAeven MIA. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. Your article was quite interesting. As the entire platoon hit the ground, I saw guys crawling back toward me. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. Of the . Very interesting I carried theM 60 for 5 months that gun would cut down anything. I look over to To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. On average US troops served 1-2 years in Vietnam, and the percentage of troops killed was actually fairly low for a war this size, 2.14% of all who served were killed, the life expectancy was roughly around 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks (taking into account the 1-2 year difference in some troops's serving times) Sponsored by Primal Labs Thank God I made it. Welcome home brothers and sisters. So I guess I defied the odds. Often as not he was right beside you with a stolen chicken and a bag of rice. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. This makes our site more accessible to the blind, visually impaired, motor disabled, people with cognitive disabilities and more. The dead were placed on ponchos. Then the tempo changed suddenly and violently. 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. 2) by my research, medics suffered 93% casualties with about 33% deaths. Dap, Hope this helps. I assisted Vessey and Capt Cartwright by helping prepare the Bee Hive Rounds (first time they were ever used), firing 4 rounds at proximity 0 range into a human wave attack on or weak side after 5 hours of relentless attacks on the opposite side of the perimeter Those 4 rounds killed @ 400 enemy soldiers, of the 881 total enemy losss John Vessey later became a 4 Star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs appointed by Reagan 1983, and at retirement became Chair of the POW MIA Commission for 14 years, Passing away in August 2016 just 6 months before our 50th Reunion. Do the math. If anything went wrong, I could easily kill some of our soldiers. Prayers for all. Correct. KICK ASS AS NEEDED!!! On the morning of March 22, 1967, companies A and B of my battalion began a search-and-destroy operation along the Cambodian border. 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 Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". Totally bogus. 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.. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. is sharing facts, thats truly good, keep up writing. Answer (1 of 12): It heavily depends. Still shaken, I grabbed the gun and crawled to the left inside the streambed. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! I was still pondering the move to 4th Platoon when U.S. Air Force jets screamed over the treetops with canisters of napalm. As some said, averages are meaningless. Enemy fire greeted as us as soon as we landed near the village. You were a Great RTO. Half of the company hopped off the Huey on one side of the river, and the rest exited on the other side. No. I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas? Artillery, and ground forces. What was the life expectency of a private soldier in vietnam? They run into the fire to help the wounded and many get wounded or killed. We used to provide cover for these guys. The planes doing the bombing near the village were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. Before he was drafted Renza had worked as a hairdresser for women in his hometown of Peekskill, New York. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. A Marine on patrol crosses a rice paddy in Vietnam holding an M60 machine gun in 1966. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. I didnt want any medals. The one number that is really important is 56,220 and we all know what that number represents. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. I couldnt disagree. From the Landing Zone, we were carried not too far. In my humble opiniona maneven leaders should often recalculate their adversaries capabilities and limitations and his own limitations as wellwhen 10,000 miles from home against a determined worthy foein a strange landThe objective of Lam Son 719? Database. I always found life expectancy numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated. All that other stuff about seconds and minutes were story tellers, embellishing things to impress some listeners back home. Nixon Presidential Papers. Was I lucky ? Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. That same day, I along with 3/4 others was transported to Long Bhin Post. July 68 to July 69. The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. I was told my life expectancy was about 45 secs during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. Our home base was Quang Tri fire Base, But I spent about 6 months out at Mai Loc with the rig. Bob Sanzone. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. The TOTAL number of CIB and CMB awarded would give you the answer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. 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? However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. We wanted a break. (LogOut/ I was constantly untangling the barrel and bipod of the gun from grasping vines and branches. In your rucksack . As I made my way to the river, I saw a VC guerrilla jump into the water on the other side. We could not see any enemy soldiers, but we could see smoke coming from their weapons through the trees. life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam - lbgf.org https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. We all have opinions, this is mine. In Service to My Men | Article | The United States Army The Statistics in the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF 11/93) show an average age of death much higher than that of news reports. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. Sure but so was everyone else who went 12 months without getting killed or wounded. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. David H. McNerney, who assumed command of the company when all of its officers were killed or wounded, was presented with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony in September 1968. What the hell did you hit him with? one of our men shouted. I watched in horror as four NVA soldiers ambled through the branches of a downed tree that partially concealed us. I carried the PRC-25 Radio most of that time. You can find the polarity of a compound by finding electronegativities (an atoms desire for an electron) of the atoms; Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.5, compared to Fluorines A) Enter the the Ksp expression for the solid AB2 in terms of the molar solubility x. We soon learned that the NVA troops were very different from the local guerrillas we had fought around Tuy Hoa. Sorry,I was one of your Brothers in Arms that helped talk you out of enlisting for another year in Vietnam. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. This has been going on for about a week Every time I try to watch a video on Youtube from my laptop I get instantly redirected to "gslbeacon.ligit.com." It was the silent power of the pig, I suppose. I was an M-60 machine gunner for a battalion recon platoon in 1967, for the First Infantry Division, Known as The Black Scarf Battalion. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. Each company had eight M60s. Welcome home. meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21 years old. 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 Was it left behind on some forgotten battlefield? Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the M60 machine gun. (You can unsubscribe anytime), The US Wings website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant and adheres to their standards for accessibility of the internet so people with disabilities can surf the web more easily & efficiently. What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during Vietnam After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. To keep busy on the boat ride to Vietnam, my unitCompany B, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regimentheld competitions where we took the gun apart and put it back together while blindfolded to see who could do it fastest. I sure feel for all you guys that went outside the wire. It was just north of Saigon. Proudly holding my M60 over my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs, No. Around 3 p.m., when Grandstaff realized we were about to be overrun, he called in artillery right on top of our location. We had been carrying machine guns for over seven months. Love this analysis. At Fort Lewis, every recruit learned to operate various weapons. The U.S. Army Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual Review - HistoryNet I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. Posterior Thigh _____ 4. Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. 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. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. The two platoons were to advance no more than 200 yards from the main body of the company. the life expectancy of a LT in Vietnam in major combat was 16 minutes. An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. We (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF, according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. We had run patrols for about a month when I first saw action. then youd carry an extra 200 rounds of M60 ammo for the machine gunner , plus drag grenades , one smoke grenade plus etc. We observed the rules of the Geneva Convention while the bad guys had no interest in doing so. We are a woman-owned small business and Veteran-owned incorporated in Ohio. How many soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam? - 2023 1 Gun used to kill Americans? 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). Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. Ever since that fateful day in 1967, I have often wondered what became of my beloved M60. I was an Artillery Forward Observer 13F20 E-5 at that time. Here is an 18 It was just part of the job. We gathered the casualties and set out for Company A. DeLong had only fired the weapon once in training, so I let him fire off a few rounds to practice. 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 may not have worked for some other wars, but they were pretty helpful. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of El subjuntivo 1 gun and was hoping it would stay that way. happened. 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served. After every officer in our company was either killed or had serious wounds, our 1st Sgt , David McNerney took over the company and without his leadership, and knowledge of war, and unbelievable courage, our company would probably have been wiped out. Hurrying forward with No. Welcome Home Brothers ! DeLong was later killed attempting to escape from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Cambodia. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. Thanks. Then we learned, appx: 1 mile to our North was, an American AMMO storage area. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. 1 Gun. Now, to calmly answer your question, air strikes have actually been an efficient technique used by us for years now. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. Amazingly, the NVA men then walked a short distance away, sat down and ate lunch. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. It weighed 24 pounds, was 43.5 inches long and had bipod legs that folded down to stabilize the weapon when firing from a prone position. Your Dad and I had the same job. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. 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. This Battle changed his life and his future, had it not been for his actions, every man on this FSB Gold would have died. 67-67 11B 4th Id. Dont know why, but generally, their aircraft were not armed (door gunners, etc.). We all die, so its not even worth worrying about when in my opinion, id rather do something that i knew was worth it and risk dieing instead of living in fear of death. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. First Sgt. 17 photos showing the life of an elite US Army Ranger No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. No. Different jobs have different life expectancy. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. 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. Well he didnt make it. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers.
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