Vietnam Statistics
In case you haven't been paying attention these past few decades after you returned from Vietnam , the clock has been ticking.
The following are some statistics that are at once depressing yet, in a larger sense, should give you a HUGE SENSE OF PRIDE.
"Of the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam , less than 850,000 are estimated to be alive today, with the youngest American Vietnam veteran's age approximated to be 54 years old."
So, if you're alive and reading this, how does it feel to be among the last 1/3rd of all the U.S. vets who served in Vietnam ?
I don't know about you guys, but kinda gives me the chills, considering this is the kind of information I'm used to reading about WWII and Korean War vets.
So, the last 14 years, we are dying too fast, only a few will survive by 2015, if any. If true, 390 VN vets die a day. So, in 2190 days from today, if you're a live Vietnam veteran, you are lucky... in only 4 years.
These statistics were taken from a variety of sources to include: The VFW Magazine, the Public Information Office, and the HQ CP Forward Observer - 1st Recon April 12, 1997.
STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY VIETNAM VETERANS:
* 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975).
* 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964-March 28,1973).
* 2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam , this number represents 9.7% of their generation.
* 3,403,100 (Including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the broader Southeast Asia Theater ( Vietnam , Laos , Cambodia , flight crews based in Thailand , and sailors in adjacent South China Sea waters).
* 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam (Jan. 1,1965 - March 28, 1973). Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964.
* Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack.
* 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam .
* Peak troop strength in Vietnam : 543,482 (April 30, 1968).
CASUALTIES:
The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named for him.
Hostile deaths: 47,378
Non-hostile deaths: 10,800
Total: 58,202 (Includes men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties). Men who have subsequently died of wounds account for the changing total.
8 nurses died -- 1 was KIA.
61% of the men killed were 21 or younger.
11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old.
Of those killed, 17,539 were married.
Average age of men killed: 23.1 years
Total Deaths: 23.11 years
Enlisted: 50,274 - 22.37 years
Officers: 6,598 - 28.43 years
Warrants: 1,276 - 24.73 years
E1: 525 - 20.34 years
11B MOS: 18,465 - 22.55 years
Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.
The oldest man killed was 62 years old.
Sent to the 1011th Blog by Roger Wallingford
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Shifty!! by Chuck Yeager
One hero paying homage to another!!
"Shifty" By Chuck Yeager
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy
Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st
Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the
History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10
episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't
know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly
gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help,
assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming
Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he d been in the 101st Airborne
or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the
101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served,
and how many jumps he made.
Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 ... " at which point my heart skipped.
At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training
jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . do you know where Normandy is?"
At this point my heart stopped. I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what
D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero ... and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day. I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes... And it ' s real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.
He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it.
And mine are brimming up now as I write this.
Shifty died on Jan. l7 after fighting cancer.
There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center .
No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.
No weeping fans on television.
And that's not right!!
Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.
Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.
Rest in peace, Shifty.
Chuck Yeager, Maj Gen. [ret.]
P.S. I think that it is amazing how the "media" chooses our "heroes" these days...
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