life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam

El subjuntivo Unable to reach Company A, my company pulled back, formed a perimeter and called in air and artillery support. Welcome home. Fact: No American had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. Sgt. Our 5th night there, the AMMO area started burning / blowing up. I was over there twice serving as a Hospital Corpsman with a marine unit. Some very close calls but I am alive at age 74. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. I couldnt disagree. Really no mention of the regular rifleman. Thats 390 per day. 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. 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. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. Prayers for all. Welcome home brothers and sisters. It was just part of the job. "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. 1st Platoon, C Company, 2nd Battalion 327th Infantry. Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. At that time, an infantry company consisted of about 150 men. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. Together we had passed the test. 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). If it was 1941 and you were an average Soviet soldier, your life expectancy on the front line was days, not weeks, thanks to the ongoing german offence. 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. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. 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. I had been shot in the back early in the battle and was lying behind a log with two other soldiers. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. We all gotta die sometime, Red. SSgt Barnes, Platoon, its nothing to really concern yourself with, on a long enough time line everyones survival rate is 0%. The next morning, the blasting could still be, heard. We were in2dBn 503d . 10 1/2 months in the bush. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Bob Sanzone. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. The gas-operated, belt-fed gun had a maximum rate of fire of 550-650 rounds per minute. Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. Company A searched in vain for the platoon in the dark and finally found the shattered unit on the morning of May 19. I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. 1 Gun more than I did. (You can unsubscribe anytime), The US Wings website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant and adheres to their standards for accessibility of the internet so people with disabilities can surf the web more easily & efficiently. Every single . The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. U.S. Wings is a manufacturer and a supplier. Both were infantry in WW2. 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. _____ 1. Thats my experience. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is four hours, a Marine said. Does this mean addressing to a crowd? February 5 th, 1967, Galiano was headed to Saigon, Vietnam with 90 fellow Americans on an Air Force c-131, but orders were quickly altered . Very Good , I was a radio operator up in I corps in 68 & to me the worst thing was the walking . Overrun and utterly destroyed, the 30-man 4th Platoon had suffered 21 killed and one missing. We looked for cover and returned fire the best we could. David H. McNerney, who assumed command of the company when all of its officers were killed or wounded, was presented with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony in September 1968. Well, according to current mortality and morbidity statistics for the USright around 77.5 Years! I was an Artillery Forward Observer 13F20 E-5 at that time. I always felt that Infantry units were in more danger because of ambush issues and no permanent defensive structures. maybe your question i vauge. On the morning of March 22, 1967, companies A and B of my battalion began a search-and-destroy operation along the Cambodian border. If anything went wrong, I could easily kill some of our soldiers. Some Brothers said why spend another year in this hellhole???? Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. S/F, There were no door gunners on dustoffs. Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. I look over to News media have reported tha an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc.Those are incorrect. Veteran Owned Since 1986. 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. 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike (a professor at the University of California, Berkeley), a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. PLEASE HELP!!! He said when they were ambushed they took defensive positions, returned fire, called for assistance when needed, and retreated when necessary. The enemy fire ceased, and we made arrangements to collect our dead before continuing on to Company A. Fact: The domino theory was accurate. Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21 years old. Now, to calmly answer your question, air strikes have actually been an efficient technique used by us for years now. 101st Airborne Division. Umm..maybe its because we also learn from experience. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. See you in the next life!!!!! Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. It was very nearly my last. From the Landing Zone, we were carried not too far. 1 gun! Everyone laughed. No. In January 1967, the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, was airlifted to Pleiku province in the Central Highlands. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. African Americans played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. How old are Vietnam vets now? He was killed in an ambush along with three others. We wanted a break. No. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. As of April 14, 2017, there are 1,611 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War across Vietnam (1,258), Laos(297), Cambodia(49), and China(7). Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. It means, IF (!) 2 Gun.. hmK#1+yNvA This Battle changed his life and his future, had it not been for his actions, every man on this FSB Gold would have died. We all have opinions, this is mine. To keep busy on the boat ride to Vietnam, my unitCompany B, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regimentheld competitions where we took the gun apart and put it back together while blindfolded to see who could do it fastest. Interesting reading. Welcome Home Roger. 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? Id love to see the casualties listed by Corps ? Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. The planes doing the bombing near the village were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. 2 Gun to Ranallo. Soon I could take the gun apart and put it back together in the dark. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. I was an FO back in the day. The U.S. Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual contains gems such as infantry "patrol tips," maneuver techniques, and fighting methods for various environments. I wasnt sure if the VC had moved to right or left, so I sprayed the elephant grass in both directions. I was one of the lucky ones I came home without a physical scratch. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the "And in seizing the firm land at the . The rolling fire burned everything to the ground and undoubtedly killed scores of NVA. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. where can i find red bird vienna sausage? Helicopters, F4 fighters. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. I have a fried Who is killed in Vietnam six months before I got there cause of death was other how would I find out since his parents are long gone, Do a search for his name n Coffeltdatabase.org, Sir, would you mind me translating this into Spanish and getting it posted in our blog? I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. It may not have worked for some other wars, but they were pretty helpful. First Sgt. V. Victor Renza was sent home after he was wounded on May 18, 1967. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. 2 Gun team, Ranallo and May, without any support. 4329 0 obj <>stream By mid-April 1967 I was pleading with the captain to get a replacement gunner for my M60 in 4th Platoon. Very interesting I carried theM 60 for 5 months that gun would cut down anything. 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. 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. I lost my cherry very early. Then he said youre on a FB, the enemy always knows your location, can pretty much attack at will, and you really dont have the capability to retreat. 67-67 11B 4th Id. "The Cotton Balers, damn fine Soldiers." The Battalion returned to Fort Benning on October 11, 1970 and was inactivated. That means you lose five RTOs in 5 seconds. I was in 2nd Platoon and carried the platoons No. 1 Gun had registered its first kill. What was the life expectancy of a point man in Vietnam? A "Sapper" is a combat engineer soldier who is with the front line infantry troops. I was drafted on Nov. 10, 1965, and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life. Walked point way to many times but never had contact. The one number that is really important is 56,220 and we all know what that number represents. Great story!!! Me molesta que mis padres no ______ (cuidar) su alimentacin.. 3. This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. Of the . Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). The smell of those charred bodies, blackened and smoking from the napalm strike, is something I can never forget. 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. Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. He retired in 2012 and lives in Delray Beach, Florida. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. We were all in our Bunkers, and at the ready with our weapons. Often as not he was right beside you with a stolen chicken and a bag of rice. 1 Gun used to kill Americans? If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. Had multiple Ks and Ws. We gathered the casualties and set out for Company A. 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. 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. Soldiers also act in the mobilization of vehicles, weaponry, troops, and more. I was an M-60 machine gunner for a battalion recon platoon in 1967, for the First Infantry Division, Known as The Black Scarf Battalion. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. Ha Ha always enjoyed being a volunteer! He said fighting was especially deadly in the war-torn city of Bakhmut, dubbed "the meat . Enemy fire greeted as us as soon as we landed near the village. If you have other information let me know. 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. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever Two of my closest friends in the company, Spc. B)Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x. Jimmy aaja -M.I.A. 82nd 2/505th. In my tour everyone had the same chance of getting shot. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975. I, in turn, would take an M16 rifle, which felt like a feather in comparison. Was a door gunner and crew chief for just shy of 18 months (I extended to get out early). Nevertheless, I swung No. I had to rely on my gun more than before. As the entire platoon hit the ground, I saw guys crawling back toward me. Of the eight who remained, seven were wounded. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. 1 Gun. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some John Doever Sept 69 to Sept 70. Never knew they had life expectancy stats. Proudly holding my M60 over my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs, No. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine.? This is not Vietnam where a machine gunner's life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. I also earned a Combat Infantryman Badge, signifying that I had been actively engaged in combat. Thanks for the reply. Posterior Thigh _____ 4. Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. I flew Dustoff and our unit did not have M60s for protection, nor did any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of. Our home base was Quang Tri fire Base, But I spent about 6 months out at Mai Loc with the rig. I assisted Vessey and Capt Cartwright by helping prepare the Bee Hive Rounds (first time they were ever used), firing 4 rounds at proximity 0 range into a human wave attack on or weak side after 5 hours of relentless attacks on the opposite side of the perimeter Those 4 rounds killed @ 400 enemy soldiers, of the 881 total enemy losss John Vessey later became a 4 Star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs appointed by Reagan 1983, and at retirement became Chair of the POW MIA Commission for 14 years, Passing away in August 2016 just 6 months before our 50th Reunion. They used the callsign MEDIVAC and were armed. I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. Vietnam War the helicopters that came in to transport soldiers were the hardest hit with mass casualties . To my right, Piambino had poked his head out of the trench to fire his M16 rifle. Required fields are marked *. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. The NVA had wedged a blocking force between our company and Company A, preventing us from advancing any farther. I was told to help carry one of the bodies. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. No. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. 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.. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. I was never hit by enemy fire even though they had multiple opportunities after that I was an rto for the company commander and I have to say both jobs were not fun. I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. Every mission, I had the same thought. This has been going on for about a week Every time I try to watch a video on Youtube from my laptop I get instantly redirected to "gslbeacon.ligit.com." There were also wounded. Some of my men didnt. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their An Hinglish word (Hindi/English). I was with HHC and 1st Platoon C Company in 70-71. E)V_5lu[vC3+"vg2L& sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. 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. to the empployees was very informative. No. Interesting but something is missing. We soon learned that the NVA troops were very different from the local guerrillas we had fought around Tuy Hoa. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Carried the prc25 for about 7 months. I was constantly untangling the barrel and bipod of the gun from grasping vines and branches. His body was torn to pieces. (LogOut/ Very memorable comments. US Wings is a veteran-owned business and an official supplier to the US Military. Database. AS LEADERS IN AMERICAS SERVICES WE MUST BE PROFICIENT AND READY TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSIONS- The Statistics in the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF 11/93) show an average age of death much higher than that of news reports. I just wanted to get off No. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . Everyone in the company hit the dirt. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story. Our battalion operated at a base camp near Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province along the South China Sea from October 1966 to January 1967. Was it left behind on some forgotten battlefield? Your Dad and I had the same job. I never even got a shot off. Done ranting. we were getting it with machine gun and mortars. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. Thanks. On average US troops served 1-2 years in Vietnam, and the percentage of troops killed was actually fairly low for a war this size, 2.14% of all who served were killed, the life expectancy was roughly around 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks (taking into account the 1-2 year difference in some troops's serving times) Sponsored by Primal Labs Amen I was a machine gunner for 7 months 503rd infantry 173rd airborne and you hit the nail right on the head. Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. I was never formally trained as an RTO. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? Also , it I might add that the, Government big wigs, have a quota [percentage]of a lot of the Military equipment etc that had a certain amount of time to function until it was disable, blow up, wrecked, junk, etc. The dead were placed on ponchos. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. The Davis Station in Saigon was named for him. Explore the Life of a U.S. Infantryman in Vietnam. Most of us have memories of these kind of experiences. A battery of big 155 mm howitzers blasted the tiny platoon perimeter, tearing trees out of the ground and hurling chunks of red-hot shell splinters through the air. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. I am one lucky SOB. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. I too never understood survivor quilt, Enjoyed your article. 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. The incident in the photo took place on the second day of a three day battle between the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who occupied the village of Trang Bang and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) who were trying to force the NVA out of the village. 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. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. Robert Sholly, standing with Platoon Sgt. I was to have that experience two more times before it was over. I worried about that kind of leadership style in the highlands. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. Lucky you. Bruce Grandstaff and my best friend, Sgt. The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II.