what percentage of vietnam veterans actually saw combatderrick waggoner the wire
Decades after the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) many former . Note: NVA casualty data was provided by North Vietnam in a press release to Agence France Presse (AFP) on April 3, 1995, on the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. However, veterans groups estimate that today approximately 9 to 12 million Americans fraudulently claim they served in Vietnam. View 47 more rows, This list of Vietnam War Facts, and statistics helps set things right. Some used drugs or alcohol to help them cope with their experiences. That may include your food, water, and first aid , If you want to only bring a few items to hiking or other outdoor activity, a tactical fanny pack might be an ideal option than a burdensome large backpack. 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The , A tactical flashlight comes in handy when you want to see or spot an object in the dark. This ratio of support to line troops is also comparable with other wars, and helps dispel the notion that every troop in Vietnam was engaged in mortal combat on a daily basis. That was true locally, in that a given village or region habitually had more contacts than did others in the vicinity. The fact that many did survive such a crash was indeed a result of his flying ability. PLEASE NOTE: The above numbers do not include the approximate 2500-3000 US Air Force personnel who operated in Guam, Thailand or other countries far remote from combat exposure that were authorized the Vietnam Service Medal by the USAF for providing support to air crews flying over Vietnam, but themselves did not spend any amount of time in harm's way. Determining the location of heavy weapons such as machine guns was especially desirable; those were primary targets during any attack because of their greater killing potential. How to Make Sap Gloves Out of an Ordinary Pair? Marshalls claims did not go unchallenged, but despite the disagreements they were widely accepted as truth both within the nations military and by those writing about the war and its American fighting force. The complete description of this North Vietnamese Army (NVA) classical military victory is best expressed in the words of the NVA general who commanded it. What is the life expectancy of a Vietnam veteran? What unit saw the most combat in Vietnam? By comparison the single bloodiest day in the Vietnam War for the Americans was on 17 Nov 65 when elements of the 7th Cav (Custer's old outfit) lost 155 men killed in a battle with elements of two North Vietnamese Regular Army regiments (33rd & 66th) near the Cambodian border southwest of Pleiku. If indeed Life's concern was for the sanctity of American lives why not publish the 1,082 portraits of the folks who were killed in one routine week on the nation's highways? The most common military personnel are mechanics. They often put themselves at greater risk by not carrying weapons. An artillery battalion had approximayely 300 men. Since Vietnam was the most recent U.S. war, its veterans were the men who could provide answers to critical questions addressing willingness to fire. 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. 88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian, 10.6%, (275,000) were black, 1.0% belonged to other races, 86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (including Hispanics). 40% of service members do NOT see combat, and of the remaining 60%, only 10% to 20% are deployed into the combat premise. Yet these respondents noted at the same time that fear was generally a passing condition; a man not engaging on one occasion could be expected to use his weapon later in the same engagement, or during subsequent battles. In the course of that battle, Hitler's General Rommel (The Desert Fox) inflicted 3,100 US casualties, took 3,700 US prisoners and captured or destroyed 198 American tanks. Yet the observations of these veterans prompt the question of why, on average, nearly two of every 10 men were not firing when their unit was in contact. Former Vietnam Veteran (Medic USAF) (1968-1974) Author has 12.4K answers and 2.4M answer views 2 y It depends on how you define "action." About ten percent of us were grunts (combat infantrymen) out wading through the rice paddies and pounding the bush with a high chance of seeing combat. In all, China sent 327,000 troops to North Vietnam. Other than the time of service, the likelihood of going into combat fluctuates depending on the military branch that you are serving in. A third of this group engaged the enemy more than 100 times; fewer than half fired on the enemy less than 50 times. Yes! Anyone who thinks the US lost the Vietnam war should reconsider their definition of "lost". In the European Theater alone, the US Army sentenced 443 American soldiers to death. An additional 22% say they sometimes felt proud, and 9% say they seldom or never felt this way. Jim Hadley, a medical technician from Sacramento, Calif recalled later that oxygen masks dropped down automatically, but the children were sitting two to a seat and there weren't enough masks to go around. My tank tracks were choked up with skin and hair and blood. The pilot, with only the use of his throttles and ailerons, was able to turn the giant plane back towards Tan Son Nhut. Most of those who perished were in the lowest of three levels in what was then the largest aircraft in the world. There were occasions when firing their weapons was essential, but many times their choice to engage rather than perform their other duties would have done more harm than good. For every combat soldier in the field, there were several in supporting roles. A total of 5,086 choppers, about 42%, were destroyed by enemy fire, bad weather, mechanical snafus and the other bad hands war routinely deals those sent to fight it. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. In the Philippines, Army Generals Jonathan Wainwright and Edward King surrendered themselves and their troops to the Japanese. The American, he concluded, comes from a civilization in which aggression, connected with the taking of life, is prohibited and unacceptable.The fear of aggression has been expressed to him so strongly and absorbed by him so deeply and pervadingly practically with his mothers milk that it is part of the normal mans emotional make-up. General Dung's account of the final battle for South Vietnam reads like it was taken right out of a US Army manual on offensive military operations. However, among these five branches, there are sub-branches and units. A high percentage of Vietnam vets (perhaps 40%?) But some might suspect that a man would hesitate to admit his own shortcomings under fire. 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will. More than 3.4 million deployed to Southeast Asia (1) and approximately 2.7 million of those served in the Republic of Vietnam (2). By service period, Post-9/11 veterans were the youngest with a median age of about 37; Vietnam Era veterans had a median age of about 71; and World War II veterans were the oldest with a median age of about 93. And approximately 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters are alive today. Nearly 80 percent engaged 50 or fewer times. Beginning in 1965, the operation involved over 300,000 sorties conducted by the U.S. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than, in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. There are more than 2.5 million post 9/11 military veterans that have served our nation, which is less than 1% of the population. The plane, a C-5A 'Galaxy', was carrying 243 children, 44 escorts, 16crewmen and 2 flight nurses. what percentage of the military sees combat, What Percentage of the Military Sees Combat, To Name Unknown Soldiers, Military Mulls DNA Analysis Technology, How Do Men and Women Experience Gender Harassment Differently in the Military. The figures for relative strengths assume the following: On January 1, 1969 there were 110 battalions in Vietnam (98 Infantry, 3 tank, and 9 artillery). How many black soldiers were killed in Vietnam? 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam. Some 97 percent of Vietnam veterans received honorable discharges, exactly the same rate for the military in the 10 years prior to the war. The general uprising was a complete illusion. Thesoldiersproject is supported by its audience. # 4: The 101st Airborne Division. The province that claimed the most Americans killed was Quang Tri, which bordered on both North Vietnam and Laos. The Viet Cong had been bludgeoned to death (During Tet 1968) on the streets of the cities, towns, and hamlets of South Vietnam. Of the 2.6 million, It depends on how you define action. About ten percent of us were grunts (combat infantrymen) out wading through the rice paddies and pounding the bush, There were an estimated 58,318 U.S. soldier casualties alone. However, most of them were logistical / support types. 817 East Via CarmelitosVirginia Building 319 Maine 40,399 2,951 During WW II, in the European Theater alone, over 20,000 US Military men were convicted of dissertation and, on a comparable percentage basis, the overall WW II desertion rate was 55 percent higher than in Vietnam. Whose Dog Tag is Maria Bartiromo Wearing? Conscientious objectors accompanied infantry units into combat as medics, ammunition bearers for machine guns, or in other noncombatant roles. On the issue of psychological health: Mental problems attributed to service in Vietnam are referred to as PTSD. On 9 Apr 75 the NVA 341st Division joined the attack. In not one instance did the people rise up to support the Communists. Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. limbs, 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. In addition, Kent serves as Chairman of AmCham's EE&C Committee. This was what the highly regarded Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, better known as S.L.A. To help you visualize, that is 1 in 10 soldiers. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? Your email address will not be published. For defending purposes, American soldiers are equipped with the most advanced and premium-quality gear available. Controversy regarding the M-16 rifle and its variants developed soon after it was designated as the riflemans primary weapon in the theater. Using combat records for the first time, a landmark study in the journal Science comes up with a number lower than the onetime estimate of 30 percent but still significant: close to 20 percent. Lastly, all Vietnam War operations were declassified in 1993 by US President William Jefferson Clinton, who with USSR President Boris Yeltsin, publicly agreed in signed documents to de-classfy ALL military operations conducted by both countries dating back to WW1 for the specific purpose of accounting for an individual's war service or MIA/POW status! Using combat records for the first time, a landmark study in the journal Science comes up with a number lower than the onetime estimate of 30 percent but still significant: close to 20 percent. 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. During the course of these briefings, we learned that demand for electricity inVietnam increased by a whooping 14% in the first three months of 2000. It is not an uncommon question, but most military enthusiasts or soon-to-be service members get it wrong. The question was whether there might be an existing problem in the U.S. armed forces. The US Military was not Driven from Vietnam. # 2: The 23rd Infantry Division. 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. http://www.amervets.com/registry.htm. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. KIA in Vietnam = 20,460, US Army Helicopter Crewmen KIA in Vietnam = 3,007, US Army Tankers KIA in Vietnam = 725 (equals 27% of all tankers ever assigned to Vietnam), US Marines Killed In Action in Vietnam = 14,836, More US Army Infantrymen died than Marines of all MOSes, The highest loss-rate for any MOS was 11E (Armor Crewman) 27% KIA. 6 Did 17 year olds serve in Vietnam? Experienced units often shifted some if not all of their men just before or after darkness fell so that the NVA or VC could not mark American locations for attack later that night. remaining 77 C-5A's, pointing to the continuing problem of weak wings. Ordinary Pair and its variants developed soon after it was not evident until after the war was because. General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, better known as S.L.A Jonathan Wainwright and Edward King themselves..., China sent 327,000 troops to the Japanese escorts, 16crewmen and 2 flight.! 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