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In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. 3rd Battalion. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. The vision of VVMF is to ensure a society in which all who have served and sacrificed in our nation's Armed Forces are properly honored and receive the recognition they justly deserve. He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. It is located north of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. along Constitution Avenue NW between 21st and 23rd streets. Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Kansas, Sheridan County, Viet Nam records, 1955-1975, Vermont, National Guard, Vietnam war, 1950-1953, University of Utah - American West Center - Saving the Legacy/ Vietnam Veterans, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=United_States_Vietnam_War_1964_to_1972&oldid=5123794, Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960, Personnel discharged, September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964, The Military Index is available at the FamilySearch Library and at most FamilySearch centers. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. . Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. There is some truth to this, but it is instructive to look at what the DOD database reveals in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, religious preference and casualties by U.S. geographic areas. They lived only a few yards apart. The names of the 2,504 Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War are on the Tablets of the Missing at the ABMC Honolulu Memorial. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. National Mall and Memorial Parks , Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. It should be emphasized that 55 percent of all Navy and Air Force officer casualties came as a result of reconnaissance and bombing sorties into North Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. "Walking through this park-like area, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. The burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. Early in the war (1965 and 1966) when blacks made up about 11 percent of our Vietnam force, black casualties soared to more than 20 percent of the total. https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, 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. Thus it is safe to say that Hispanic-Americans were over-represented among Vietnam casualties an estimated 5.5 percent of the dead against 4.5 percent of the 1970 population. Twenty-five years later, in an interview with People magazine, he described playing with his two younger brothers as the news reached their home in Imperial Beach, California. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angles open side and contained within the earth itself. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. The 58,152 names of those who died in Vietnam are etched onto the two rising black marble slabs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. Many high-ranking military men (including General William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam) opposed the program, feeling that the effectiveness of some units would be reduced and that fellow soldiers would sometimes be put in greater jeopardy by these less mentally capable personnel. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. Another challenge was ensuring the accuracy of the names. The vast majority of Americans who were eligible by age but did not serve in the armed forces were exempted by reason of physical, mental, psychiatric, or moral failure; or they were given status deferments because they were college students, fathers, clergy, teachers, engineers or conscientious objectors. Since the days of Alexander the Great and the Roman Legions, it has always been the young, inexperienced, low-ranking enlisted man who has taken the brunt of combat casualties. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. They drew on every segment of American society. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. If the demographic is expanded to 17- to 21- years, then we find there were 83 percent of Marine enlisted casualties, and 65 percent of Army enlisted casualties. They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. Getting to Washington, D.C. A more precise equation would be that the college bound stayed home while the non-college bound served and died. As the Vietnam War dragged on, Kurt tried twice to enlist. Click to learn about the In Memory program . Some went to Canada or Sweden, but few of those who evaded the draft were actually prosecuted and most were eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Where previously a high school diploma had been an acceptable goal, now it was college and all the benefits it would bring. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. The Army as a branch had 134,982 killed or wounded (9.5 percent), but the Marines suffered 66,227 killed or wounded (22.5 percent) or almost one of every four Marines who served. The training for American officers is thought by most foreign military authorities to be the best in the world. He accepted the tradition of military service passed on to him by the popular culture and by President John F. Kennedys ringing words, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, MA; he was listed by theDepartment of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. since it was dedicated because additional casualty records were found and The trigger came when the recruiters pointed out that the volunteer could enlist as early as 17 (with parental consent); that he was allowed to select his branch of service; that he would receive specialized training if he qualified; that he could request a specific overseas assignment; and that his three year enlistment followed by three years in the inactive reserves satisfied his military obligation immediately. the person they know. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. The Vietnam War is no different. . Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. All heroes are listed alphabetically by their last name. Fill out the tour request form. The index gives birth and death dates, country of death, cause of death (air, ground, or sea), town and state of residence at time of enlistment, race, religious affiliation, marital status, service number, rank, and branch of service. For families who have worked to have their loved ones name added, the journey can be long and exhausting. What happens to items left at the memorial? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All of this was one of the great and abiding agonies of the Vietnam War, causing repercussions within families and on the national political scene to this day. I can envision a small cottage someplace, with a lot of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace, and maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee now and then and entertain my two friends , I dont think it will be too terribly long until we are together again.. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. The names are listed in chronological order, according to the date of casualty. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. Who were they? For more information on this index on, Records relating to American prisoners of war and missing in action from the Vietnam War, including lists and descriptions of the record groups covering the Vietnam War that are held by the National Archives are also found in the FS Library US/CAN Book. Richard Sandza received the message on the morning of May 15, 1975, the day his friend became the last American to die in combat during the Vietnam War. The idea that American enlisted dead were made up largely of societys poverty stricken misfits is a terrible slander to their memory and to the solid working-class and middle-class families of this country who provided the vast majority of our casualties. The panel numbers are inscribed at the bottom of each panel. A new Department of Defense (DOD) database computer tape released through the National Archives allows researchers to take a much closer look at our 58,152 Vietnam casualties. Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. They were at their peak physically. The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. In addition to WWII Draft Records, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO maintains Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, for all men born before 1960. And there are the Vietnam veterans, who come to recognize the sacrifice of their fellow warriors, wondering why their own names are not there, too. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. (The 58,000 Names) Our fallen Vietnam War heroes are herethe 58,000 heroes who died in Vietnam. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. Once download The Reading of the Names is an in-person event where every single name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is read in order of which it appears on The Wall. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. If each How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. Colleen Pontes, whose father Kevin Joyce was added in 2003, remembered the rush of emotions she felt as she and her brother watched their dads name being inscribed in the granite. Perhaps more important, many of them probably did not yet fully understand their own mortality and were therefore less likely to be hesitant in combat. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two