Our 5th night there, the AMMO area started burning / blowing up. life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam - lbgf.org I lost my cherry very early. I was wounded 3 times during the 10 1/2 months I was in-country before being medevacd out in Apr of 68. I agree with all of the comments, however I would add Tunnel Rats to the group I was one and saw many of my friends die in those tunnels I was very fortunate or very lucky and was never a lead but was at the tail end. 2 tour Nam Vet, The Navys First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet CongGuerrilla, The Navy's First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet Cong Guerrilla, A Day in the Life of an Infantry Point Man in Vietnam, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. If the NVA shot at the group retrieving the bodies, I was to fire over the heads of the grunts and engage the enemy. Background [ edit] You just do the best job you can and if you got hit, so be it! 10 1/2 months in the bush. Cluster F, SNAFU and FUBAR fer sur. To my right, Piambino had poked his head out of the trench to fire his M16 rifle. 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. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. 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.. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. No. We did interdictions, blocks and other fun things on the river. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. We had run patrols for about a month when I first saw action. My dad died of cancer at 52. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. Totally bogus. Now, to calmly answer your question, air strikes have actually been an efficient technique used by us for years now. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunners life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. It was a chaotic nightmare. Nobody attacked, where we were. I did worry about the strength of my flax vest. Lived too tell about it. No. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. https://www.historynet.com/no-1-gun-an-m60-machine-gunner-in-vietnam-tells-his-story/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. HOOAH!!! happened. In January 1967, the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, was airlifted to Pleiku province in the Central Highlands. Es ridculo que t ______ (tener) un resfriado en verano. Your article was quite interesting. I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! They were lazy, cowardly and of questionable loyalty, especially the RUFF/PUFFS, and they would steal your under ware if given half a chance. Really no mention of the regular rifleman. I was told to show the new guy how to use it properly. The article was interesting. Like most inexperienced gunners, he underestimated the power of the pig and failed to keep the barrel down when firing. This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. His comparison to a FB was that if we were fired on we returned fire and requested assistance when needed. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. I am one lucky SOB. Then I dropped back down in the streambed to organize our ammo. By mid-April 1967 I was pleading with the captain to get a replacement gunner for my M60 in 4th Platoon. Data based on the latest United Nations Population Division estimates. Hats off to them. 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. 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. Each company had eight M60s. Knowing I had a 100-round belt in my M60, I opened up on that hillside, my gun getting so hot that the barrel smoked. Good article. I was over there twice serving as a Hospital Corpsman with a marine unit. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in World War II? Every mission, I had the same thought. We observed the rules of the Geneva Convention while the bad guys had no interest in doing so. 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. 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!! I was shot down on my very first mission in July 1968. I for one commend you for your courage and thank you for your service to your country. 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 May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. 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. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some This makes our site more accessible to the blind, visually impaired, motor disabled, people with cognitive disabilities and more. . I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. We were like sitting Ducks. Amazingly, the NVA men then walked a short distance away, sat down and ate lunch. I know this is a standard cliche, but it is so true, All gave some. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. My good friend who was a RTO was killed. As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. There must have been a real mathematician to come up with those calculations. The gas-operated, belt-fed gun had a maximum rate of fire of 550-650 rounds per minute. 10-4. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas? My second tour was as the S3 for LTC Anthony Herbertone of Americas greatest leaders and WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. I carried the PRC-25 Radio most of that time. 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Never knew they had life expectancy stats. 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? The two platoons were to advance no more than 200 yards from the main body of the company. 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. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! 99% of infantry men will currently live to die of natural causes. As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. Nixon Presidential Papers. %%EOF I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. If youre a foreigner, I respect what you think, but make sure you read ALL your facts, and dont come to rash conclusion until you know everything from BOTH sides. I am convinced the same NVA soldier who shot at me moments before had killed my good friend, a budding doo-wop singer from Long Island, New York. estimated education differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14 are close to those of U. S. population in 1979-89. 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 Point, slack and compass. (LogOut/ The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Address: 9241 13th Ave SW We do have infantry (why do you think we have that MOS? Vietnam War soldiers Contents1 [] Love you Wortman!!!! What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War I was trained as a RTO in 1970 at Fort Ord then went to Fort Gordon for teletype school, my MOS was 05C20 when I finished. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. What is the life expectancy of Vietnam veterans? Umm..maybe its because we also learn from experience. Around 3 p.m., when Grandstaff realized we were about to be overrun, he called in artillery right on top of our location. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. I got shot on a mission with 45 days left. Interesting but something is missing. The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. As the entire platoon hit the ground, I saw guys crawling back toward me. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (CACF) Going backwards (Apr. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1974. After about 30 minutes, the four enemy soldiers got up and left the area. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. Walked point way to many times but never had contact. A Co, 1/5 Cav, 1 Cav Division. my left and saw this rice paddie farmer and his ox and I was trying to motion him to get down he just looks at me and starts Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. I was with HHC and 1st Platoon C Company in 70-71. Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. 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. News media have reported tha an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc.Those are incorrect. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. I carried the proc 26 radio after I was asked by my field 1st ( E 7 ) if I would for my platoon . We were very, lucky. No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. I sure feel for all you guys that went outside the wire. 1 Gun and I now faced a new and more formidable foethe North Vietnamese Army. How many soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam? - 2023 According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) there are now officially 58, 318 names on the wall. Look for the blue accessibility symbol floating on every page of our website and click on it to tailor your viewing experience to your particular disability. Not to mention that right now its safer than some cities in the us. Foot soldiers went by the grace of God, but had a better chance than the infantry platoon commander in combat. 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. Moving west down the trail, 4th Platoon exchanged fire with a single NVA soldier, then a handful and finally a group of about 10-15 around noon. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Some Brothers said why spend another year in this hellhole???? Our patrols were typically about 14 hours 24/7 We operated of old LSTs and large barges. Either way, thats a lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, male and female that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and there are still people dying as a result of their wounds receiver so very long ago in a place called Vietnam. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! The Bronze Star was awarded to ALL that were awarded the CIB in WWII because the Infantry accounted for over 70% of the casualties in WWLL BUT NOT 70% )F ALL THE INFANTRY !!! 1 Gun onto a small hill and provide security while others retrieved them. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. Deltoid muscle _____ 2. Had multiple Ks and Ws. As I made it back to the road I remember seeing the I was never formally trained as an RTO. Work Plz. Learned a lot from him. And yes, please God, bless America. Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. It was on the Job Training ! I knew some of this, but certainly not all. 4322 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E412331B845E54EBDFDC79FA0627A18>]/Index[4314 16]/Info 4313 0 R/Length 65/Prev 560501/Root 4315 0 R/Size 4330/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream It was more or less next man up . They were Kims cousins not her brothers. Your email address will not be published. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States. How many draftees died in Vietnam? - 2023 And dug Berms, in the area. As we were, steadily building up, our area for protection. Thanks for posting! Not much different than his unit. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . Jimmy aaja, jimmy aaja. If you look at all of the things the radio operators were tasked with, it becomes abundantly clear why commo guys weren't expected to last long. US Wings is a verified SAM Contractor and DLA Supplier and is officially listed as a manufacturer/retailer in the US Department of Commerce's Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) Made in the USA database. Great story!!! The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. After a quick lesson, DeLong became the new owner of 4th Platoons No.1 Gun. After a couple of hours, the Viet Cong stopped shooting and melted back into the jungle. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. I was told to help carry one of the bodies. 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. An Hinglish word (Hindi/English). Our Aussie Dust off choppers had door gunners, we worked on the theory if the Noggies would shot at Red Cross choppers, we would return fire, Aussie grunt, 60000 00 Aussies fought in Vietnam, Up the Old Red Rooster and more beer. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. 8h%5HF8r,X'q#Vtgz%)P/Oi#rU(uO&*Xx1t^=xVLi I was a cmbt engr demolition specialist carried a 45 auto and an M70 grenade launcher in addition to the C-4 and Det Cord. I met a Marine a few years ago who was stationed North of Da Nang. I never even got a shot off. Done ranting. He was killed in an ambush along with three others. Thanks for the reply. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans While traveling through the boonies the first few men were usually always shot first. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. Suddenly, I heard my name shouted from the Company B command group. It means, IF (!) I told by RTO that i could carry my own radio, When he agreed he was humping ammo. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in battle on - Quora Eventually I found a spot where the bed leveled off and began firing on the NVA. I loved it. %PDF-1.5 % One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. 82nd 2/505th. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. We were told in training that the life expectancy of a machine gunner was about seven seconds from the moment the first round was fired. Shermans had fairly thin armor (76mm at the thickest compared to a Tiger with 180mm at the thickest with most around 100mm). From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever As mentioned, who kept track of that in the first place? 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. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. Prayers for all. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. EACH OF US CARRIES OUR OWN MEMORIES AND THEY RUN THE GAMUT. I was an Artillery Forward Observer with the Infantry. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. For example: 7*x^2. 'No. 1 Gun': An M60 Machine Gunner in Vietnam Tells His Story - HistoryNet Bob Sanzone. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. 4 Bill May and Spc. Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. He also worked on Jacqueline Kennedys hair pieces and wigs. 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. They were also in a circular formation. Correct. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. 15 May he was killed by friendly fire, and a host of us were WIA, myself included. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. Army Infantryman (MOS 11B): 2022 Career Profile - Operation Military Kids hbbd```b`` ,&Iw sA '#o Combatants on both sides faced physical challenges posed by the climate, terrain and wildlife of the country. Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. Was Billeted near an Army medevac Unit and was offered a chance to lay on my stomach with an M16 and door gun for them I decided not a good Idea. Ron. Needless too say I depended on Sgt. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. To an, open area. PDF Mortality Rates and Life Expectancy of Veterans - Veterans Affairs For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. I was a 2nd Lt. Infantry platoon Leader. As a point of reference, Patterson explained that combat troops in World War II, on average, spent 36 days in a combat environment; the average infantryman in Vietnam spent 245 days in constant. If you were an administrative officer or clerk in an air-conditioned trailer in Saigon, your war might be a lot like peacetime duty. How Many Vietnam Veterans Are Still Alive In 2022? - CLJ endstream endobj 4315 0 obj <>/Metadata 89 0 R/Pages 4312 0 R/StructTreeRoot 120 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 4316 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 4312 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 4317 0 obj <>stream S/F, There were no door gunners on dustoffs. (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. 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. 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 was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. Some of my men didnt. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. See you in the next life!!!!! 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. 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. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. Your Dad and I had the same job. Certainly got my attention. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. Re: Helicopter Crews (Medevac & Dustoff): To my knowledge, only the 1st Cav Medevac had M60s for protection. Tony told me that either he or I would greet all incoming troops and we did- and here is the speech we gave to them. Or is it on display in a Hanoi museum so curious citizens of that city can inspect a weapon captured from American imperialists? 1 Gun became my very best friend. The first thing my platoon sgt. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics Express your answer in terms of x. BS but ia a way you are correct. Found NVA bunker complex. There were also wounded. Rules may have changed, I was in the Delta region. So I guess I defied the odds. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. At that time, an infantry company consisted of about 150 men. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. My friend May, I later learned, was doing the same thing in 2nd Platoon. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. I quit trying to make sense of all the numbers that have been generated about Vietnam. Back in 1965, I was a door gunner on Medevac recovery operations. Many were killed or wounded ! Of the eight who remained, seven were wounded. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life. A former expert with the M60 machine gun shares his experiences wielding the fearsome weapon in Vietnam. Most of us have memories of these kind of experiences. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . I look over to Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. The Australian Vietnam veteran study assessed the postservice mortality of 19 205 Vietnam veterans and 25 677 non-Vietnam veterans through 1981. Does this mean addressing to a crowd? I just wanted to get off No. Id love to see the casualties listed by Corps ? Your email address will not be published. I was in the AF a Reo in a F4-C. Who had time to worry about the life I traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained there for 10 months before deploying to Vietnam as specialist 4. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. Although we do tend to bomb a lot, thats only half of what we do. Expenditures for a body in a combat zone? History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Flipping the safety off, I scanned the jungle in front of me. US Wings is a veteran-owned business and an official supplier to the US Military. 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. both tours. meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. If there was anything to this life expectancy of a few minutes then myself and many of my friends that are still alive today would be a long time dead. It began just as, it was getting dark.