They dont include forces in Guam or Thailand. If the ratio of approximately 10% remains the same about 314. 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. 2.4 million man who served in Nam approx. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Smokey Platoon. This could be a simple semantics issue, but what about the Air Force guys who flew over Vietnam. Copyright 2022 MilitaryPerson.com Ive often wondered how many of us are left. The 25th Infantry Division, in III Corps, issue two different Malaria Pills. 101st Airborne Division, 1969-70 Great article! Era vets are important but dont count. **********************************************************. Combat veterans will share their experiences with other veterans especially combat veterans (CIB). This trip always was a concern, because I would be in a vulnerable condition in Indian Country with only two surveyors alone in a ton jeep. 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. He was 18 years, 2 months and 1 day old. The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. So the vets that actually saw combat numbers are swelled by the rear echelon members to 600,000. yet there were millions that signed up or were drafted. I have read that One in Seven that went to Vietnam were in actual combat CIB. Data Appendix Methods Report Report FAQs. I recall combat pay (Hazard DutyPay) at $60 dollars a month. That's 390 per day. We had it good compared to grunts..tdy pay, flight pay, combat pay plus side gigs. I always felt this was the maximal danger of the trip. That's 390 per day. Question One: Are we talking Vietnam Veterans or Vietnam Era Veterans. I found out from a vet in 2017, filed in 2018. And just as the bell rang he got out of the ring , technically I won the fight. When we DEROSed we were given 6-8 pills to continue taking them every week. Apparently, its been agreed upon that 800,000 Vietnam veterans had passed away by the year 2000. Tom Selleck. I was out of my earthly shell. I stomped the gas and the engine roared- the truck jumped forward and bounced crazily and so did, garbing the steering tightly. @Dea KellyWere you on the ground when this happened? I served in Quang Tri (70-71) and took two types of Malaria pills. I could type and did all the reports. Mekong Delta US Army 1969. Not affiliated with any government agencies.All Rights Reserved. Then, I stopped at the 5th. Id like to know what the 1 in 14 men figure is based on. yep I wonder also. (LogOut/ I dont remember the exact number but remember it was over 500,000 in country and the number was the most ever at one time as the article was about Nixon beginning troop withdrawals that would continue until 1975. We, the U.S. have lost over 158,000 American lives to the Vietnam war and that count is still rising. I needed the rest! My Company was A Co, 5th Trans Bn, 101st Abn. Our service was diminished while there and continues being disrespected by those who lump all Vietnam-Era vets with those whose lives were on the line. Had an easy tour given what i was trained for before I got there. Hazardous duty pay was $65 and overseas pay varied by rank $8 to $ 16. Who is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? This answer is: 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. Combat Vets served in country. I didnt know that. Your numbers are way off on the number of Air Force personnel serving in Thailand during the Vietnam war. But serving in any capacity in Vietnam makes that service person a War vet. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Divarty (how ironic), and with my DEROS (Date I returned to the States) in the end of May boarding The BIG Bird, flying across the Pond and back to the World! Now Iv had five and 10 % works. They're generally in their 90s and about 245 die each day according to the VA. At 95 Army veteran Lincoln "Linc" Harner still remembers the war. wounded evaced) then Am 3/21 196th LIB. I dont have a CIB to show for it, but I most certainly was in combat. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. How Many World War 2 Veterans Die Each Day? Korea had 2 divisions in Vietnam The White Horse & Tiger Divisions The Australian Military was also present but I do not know the numbers There could be others. There is a bird in India that says Did you Do it? 2 tours I volunteered and my 3rd I re-enlisted. The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A , who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. Suddenly, I was in front of the truck near the grill. So, when we talk about Vietnam vets who are living or dead, we should be talking STRICTLY about Vets who participated in the Vietnam War. It has a life of its own. . no , i could not quit. maybe, maybe not. I to served two tours 67-68 and 69-70,first with 1st of 8th cav. I was at 6 different LZs from Aug 67-Aug 68, with a 4th Medical Battalion aid station (D Company), and I never heard of a fuck you lizard. The dust settled back to normality, as if man did not exist. the merchant marine needed every officer and sailor they could find. With an estimated 6 million Vietnam Veterans currently living in the U.S. or abroad, VA remains dedicated to serving all Veterans of the Vietnam Era., All troops were sent home in April 1973. The youngest Vietnam Veteran is aged in the late 60s today with life expectances estimated at 86 years old (for normal people). If you were in Vietnam, you were exposed to Agent Orange, period. As a retired Green Beret, his assessment and stats of the war are accurate. Me? He was carrying a BAR, killed fighting an infantry action, and the desk jockeys decided he did not meet requirements for a CIB. Change). To not count us is disrespecting us who also answered the call. He received every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Just like ALL Vets who served DURING WWII are classified as WWll Vets regardless of where they served. I would hope they are considered Vietnam combat Vets. As well, those who served in Thailand in late 1973-1975 are often looked down upon as not being real Vietnam Veterans. We are, as we helped conduct many support missions in the region, helped with draw assist during the fall of Cambodia, S. Vietnam and Laos. Welcome home! If they reply that they do not talk about their experiences They are not Combat Veterans maybe not even Vietnam Veterans. The politicians and fake news along with the Berkeley professors lost it for the American people after that. Then later we were transferred to Camp Red Ball. I served in 67 69 & had stroke in 93 then heart attack in 2002 with 2d in 2004 . About the same number of draft dodgers.or so I was told. Steve He now has a 100% disability as unemployable. Army Reserve: 189,500 YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. Vietnam Veteran ages range from 55 to 97 years old. The Vietnam War was an undeclared war between the US and Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. I Never got to Korea but I have friends who got a medal for service in Korea. Yes, Vietnam War veterans are still eligible for various benefits and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including disability compensation, health care, and education benefits. . According to Department of Veterans Affairs' projections, Vietnam Veteran deaths will hit 103,890 this year, about 285 a day. The average ww ii vet was in combat 10 to 12 days. According to DCAS Vietnam casualty files, the following casualty were sustained outside of S. Vietnam: 728 in Laos, 523 in Cambodia, 1,120 in N. Vietnam and 10 in China. Using the 2.7 million and assuming one hundred thousand did two tours, I would use the six hundred thousand as the amount still living, due mainly to the delays in Agent Orange treatments and PTSD delays with the sucides from 1970 approx. The remaining 6.5 million were serving either at-home or abroad but not in Vietnam. It was also projected that, from here, 138,000 Vietnam veterans are expected to die each year. We all figured it was a Combat death. When you spend most of the time out in the Bad Lands, bad things happen. How many Vietnam veterans died from Agent Orange? to 1984 approx. as we end our lives we should never forget that each served, in some way. Im sure that you all know that claiming to be a VFWar when you are not is a federal crime with severe legal penalties. We saved many a guy after you brought him to us from the boonies. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. It was hot that day; the mosquitoes were going through my mind, and the sun was again brilliant. As Ive mentioned before, I dont think posing this question was intended to be divisive among veterans, but it has turned out to be. as soon as it was ammo or arms, we were machine gunned where ever we went. Also consider the thousands that served multiple tours. If my math is correct, are you going on 68 years old ? Peter my husband is now deceased but he was a door gunner with the 191 st AHC Bounty Hunters (gunships), Very good. for myself, being bored sometimes, and anxious to see and do more, i volunteered and went on a number of supply missions to the fire bases. No one paid any attention to them and this non-controversy continues. Merchant Marine officers or crew are not wearing the uniform of the USAs Armed Forces. The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. He arrived on Yankee Station, Vietnam in early May, 1972 when he was still 17 years of age. I was on merchant ships for three years in viet nam. Finally got all the right stuff together; received benefits couple months ago. He never did ,Thank god ,because I ended up marrying a beautiful woman and we have the most precious and beautiful daughter. If you were shot at, in an incoming rocket attack, had to protect during a ground attack, you could bleed and die, you were in Combat. I realized what control I had in the cosmos. I was with 4th Med Bn. you tell me. if you read up on it you will see that ww2 merchant sailors were despised as cowards. How Did The Campus Shootings Demonstrate The Continued Divisions Within The Country? These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Then we went back to the Boonies. I went on about 500 missions. If you want to learn more about the Vietnam War and its Warriors, then subscribe to this blog and get notified by email or your feed reader every time a new story, picture, video or changes occur on this website the button is located at the top right of this page. a clerk typist got benefits. He was shot nine times, while I received the tenth bullet from the ten holes in the windshield. in any event, i went as soon as i was contacted by the draft board. But I guess I knew where I was if we were at a base. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. It was apparently based on an estimate that 800,000 Vietnam-era veterans had died by 2000. Hometown: Detroit, Michigan. I did work with Korean Troops. I meant any one that stepped foot in Born in 1953, he joined the US Marine Corps at the age of 15 and was sent to Vietnam where he served as a machine gunner. (There are other locations and occupations also, but lets not muddy the waters in this paragraph.) and i abhor those who say they served when they were plumbers in texas and talk of medals they never earned. All Lawyer adds is for 2 percent, do you think that this was a greater risk for Cancer. Combat Veterans know who they are, pretenders know that they are not.. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. That is exactly what I was going to post. Gordon, I agree. he and the other gentleman did not seem to know about each other , but they ended up speaking about the tours in country, both had served some time at dong ha. But having spent a little time thinking about it, I go with the 2m figure. They wouldnt know the truth even if they tripped over it. Return to reality. The Vietnam Nam Veteran and the Vietnam Era Veteran is defined by law ,, am I correct???? I WOULD SURVIVE! Mark Stanley was gone. My new Iraq War novel, Three Wise Men should ne out sometime next year, I was at Camp Eagle, and worked in Production Control. If you served anywhere at all, anywherre during WWI, you are a WWI vet. Granted, most of them were deployed for the durationa WWII vet I knew was gone 4 years without coming back to the states. 2010-11-24 14:32:32. but some men, like myself , were told by their draft board, go to vietnam on your ship. 101st Airborne 25th Infantry 82nd Airborne 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Agent Orange is a Herdicide. In WWII and the Korean War, anyone who served in the military was considered a veteran of that war. In my book, they are all Vietnam Vets, just like the guys back home who never went overseas are WWII or WWI veterans. The site is owned and run by a crook and charlatan named (?) What percentage of Vietnam vets are still alive? We were sprayed every 2 weeks with Melithon (Insecticide) that was 96 percent pure. 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. Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. I actually vollenteered to go to NAM. You can sleep in it. it really did not matter, every officer had a masters license. Today is Sun 22 Aug 2021 but the actual date HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED as the US is SENDING GIs BACK! Since Sept. 11, 2001, just over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide four times more than the number of U.S. military personnel who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 101st Airborne Division 69-70 My husband was one of those 191st Assault Helicopter Co. Bounty Hunter door gunners. Did your foot ever touch the ground? https://news.va.gov/89450/vietnam-war-veterans-honoring-served-memorial-day-2021/. It too bad that guys that never fought think for some reason they deserve credit for being in Vietnam when they werent. Who really cares who stepped foot on land. ooops !!!! I struck a tree and rebounded into the open again still a sitting duck. I remember that the minute we came around the coast and headed up for Vung Tau, as merchantmen on American Export LInes ships, we got a sizeable war zone increase in our pay. Your not a vet if you never stepped foot in another country. Some idiot in DC decided to do this. I was drafted in Sep 1966, went to Vietnam Aug 67-Aug 68, and Im 75 until Oct. Here are some statistics on the veterans of the Vietnam War. REAL Vietnam War veterans are all those who are officially authorized the Vietnam Service medal and possess official military-issued documentation to confirm their medal authorization. I would say anyone who has drawn Vietnam Hazard Duty pay, 30 dollars for every month or part of any month, in or over country, should qualify. How many Vietnam veterans are still missing? The group in my AIT Class were all happy about this. The first US advisors that I can find evidence of arrived in country in 1955. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. I agree Vietnam vets are fewer. Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. Alternatively, to transfigure my destiny. when we carried peaches and beer, no problem. My government murdered me. After Tet it was quiet. Agreed. I was with the 1st Inf Division from July 67 to June 68 and we received $15 overseas pay and $65 combat pay a month. back and forth to the us, carrying every thing you could imagine. I did a short extra tour with the 97th Trans in Cam Rahn Bay, they had 30 or so LCUs that hauled artillery projectiles and other stuff including fuel up many of those rivers. How Many Vietnam Veterans Have Been Affected by Agent Orange? Sorry for your loss of your loved one. and for the most part, we had no weapons. Various percentages of actual Vietnam Veterans is bothersome. Why the Shame? Agent Orange is impacting that timeline and those serving around the world were not affected by this wonderous life-robbing gift. My husband was also a door gunner (191st AHC gunship) but he was there later than you (70-71). For the are all Vietnam Vetersns.I was stationed. Aside from that, I have always doubted any fact stated by the NY Times; although the federal government is no better. The trucks grill was a few feet away should I crawl underneath or try to hide in the nearby jungle? Thank you. Currently, it is estimated with data provided by the United States Census Bureau, that there about 100,000 Oregon Vietnam era veterans alive today. Serving during the TET offensive and time after. Okay.Ill be the one to tell it like it is, even though everyone here, as well as everyone else, knows the truth already! I served 2 tours late 1966 to late July 1968, TET and the rest as an infantry platoon sgt Also served in Korea 1963 and considered a Korean war vet as that war has never ended. I wouldnt trust the New York Times study, regardless of their Sources! The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! Bob Kerrey. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Navy ships were classified as Blue Water ships. I flew several hundred sorties in a gunship. What qualifies you as a viet Nam vet would be if you stepped foot on the soil. Believe it or not, I still have every pay voucher..and in 1967 Hazard Duty Pay was $65. Served at Quang Tri Combat Base )QTCB) 71-72) Same here. The one question I have is how many in country vets did multiple tours over there. 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. AFAIC, anyone within the bounds of South Vietnam was on the ground. In or out of a compound or an LZ or anywhere else. Serious danger along those river banks. Active duty 70-71, Quang Tri, Khe Sahn, Danny. I was on LZ Bayonet during 1970 and experienced many of the things you described. We did what we felt needed doing. I have had stage III melanoma, stage III squamous cell throat cancer and now stage II bladder cancer. It caused extreme political unrest and was widely protested. Very devisive infighting among all the service members who served at a time when it was not popular. Videos, Film, Music, and Movies about VN War, Author interview War & Life: Discussions with a Veteran, A Chat Between Three Veterans [live video with author], Lest We Forget Meet the Authors & Book Signing April 4th: Cherries and Donut Dolly, Interview with author John Podlaski in Examiner Magazine, American Heroes Radio interviews author of Cherries A Vietnam War Novel, Cherries Author Interviewed on British Website, U.K. Blogspot posts interviews author, John Podlaski, More Book Reviews and author interviews about Cherries, https://news.va.gov/89450/vietnam-war-veterans-honoring-served-memorial-day-2021/, https://cherrieswriter.com/2015/11/13/lost-to-history-the-canadians-who-fought-in-vietnam/, Three maps remind us of the horror of the Vietnam War WebInvestigator.KK.org by F. Kaskais, Three maps remind us of the horror of the Vietnam War | Self Improvement Life Hacks, Three maps remind us of the horror of the Vietnam War | Top Pin Answers, A Day in the Life of an Infantry Point Man in Vietnam. Was I counted each time or once? Whether you were sprayed or not makes no difference, and YOU ARE NOT required to prove anything other than being present in Vietnam. Still, the American War Library continues to verify their accounts and come to more concrete conclusions. I was a merchant marine officer on cargo ships, american export lines, for three years, back and forth to viet nam. eventually i commented that i had flown into dong ha on resupply missions , having become bored with my mates work on merchant ships that spent long weeks at da nang.