(LogOut/ My body was throne backwards into the seat and rebounded forwards; bent over at a 90-degree angle from my waist. i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. I concur with the 610,000 as the 850,000 remaining vets have been used for years and would be much lower by now. Porier was firing from the north, while the three Cobras choppers were engaged the sappers trying to kill me. My 2.6 million figure refers to American vets. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. This is a reasonable number but you get very different notions of the death rate when you compare 800,000 to 2.7 million versus 800,000 out of 9.2 million. I opted for love! a clerk typist got benefits. That was our regimen along the Cambodian border, too. I went on about 500 missions. My number one issue is running into a FAKE. I was a grunt and shotgunner on convoys !!! It should be duly noted that these numbers do not include the 2500 to 3000 US Air Force troops stationed in Guam, Thailand, and other countries that were involved in the Vietnam War effort. RVN. In addition 18 US AF Security Police personnel and their 5 person aircrew were killed responding to the incident (the seizure of the USS Mayaquez), some do not recognize them as combat related deaths either. guy next to me was shoot dead I think that counts. According to the American War Library, as of February 28, 2019, it is estimated that approximately 610,000 Americans who served in land forces during the Vietnam War or in air missions over Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 are still alive to this day. We were near AF ranch hand ops and many of my buds still alive from then have the cancers, diabetes, amputations and such. nothing exists or will exist in another time. I knew that I was gravely wounded, and bullets were kicking up dust clouds as they were landing around my feet. Just a minor clarification, not all of us were on the groundJust being picky. I have lived with the 2.7 million number having served in Vietnam all along and believe the Times estimate refers to Era vets having served around the world during those war years. Interesting, no way is 75 percent f real vets are alive today? But often, it does. There are 500,000 Korean War veterans still living, but about 600 of those die every day, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. He was shot nine times, while I received the tenth bullet from the ten holes in the windshield. Vietnam era vets are not the same as Vietnam vets, but they are important. I knew I was dying, but I struggled with all my might to stay alive. Arne Fuller, Tucson AZ. What other conclusions have been made about the percentage of Vietnam veterans who are still alive? How many WWII veterans die each day? if you read up on it you will see that ww2 merchant sailors were despised as cowards. off the ship i went out with airforce on resupply, went out with troops through rubber plantations, ran from gunfire in saigon and chulon. The term I like to use is Together We Served. Spot on. https://news.va.gov/89450/vietnam-war-veterans-honoring-served-memorial-day-2021/. In 2019, the most . Chester/Gordon, ******************************************************* So, here well dive a little bit deeper into how many Vietnam veterans are estimated to still be alive based on various approximations and predictions. I don't know about you guys, but it kind of gives me the chills. Hometown: New York City. 499 days, and 10 days in Sydney, Australia !!!!! I was also at LZ Bayonet. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 100,000 or more to suicide and most of those occurred after the men came home. Serving in combat waters. Nor, do they know about what is referred to as the last battle of the Vietnam war, which occurred on 15 May 1975, eight days after the legally defined end date of the Vietnam era; 7 May 1975. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The book by Hal Moore & Joe Galloway We were soldiers once, and young describe what many of us experienced. My question, How many guys are I still alive refers to the ones who were in direct combat action? Of the nearly 3Mil that served, only one in twelve were in fire fights. In fact, the first two advisors (MAJ Dale Buis and MSG Chester Ovnand) killed by the enemy died in an attack on their base near Bien Hoa on July 8, 1959. Well thank God congress got it right putting the definition into law, otherwise those who served there would not be eligible for many VA benefits, particularly Agent Orange claims. If you served in any other places you are a Veteran, ERA is an embellishment of your service. We were sitting ducks to support our artillery & infantry troops, so talk your trash! a few years ago i was flying from rome to possibly germany or holland on the way back to montreal. If you prefer to differentiate who served in country and who did not, then the arithmetic must divide the groups into two lists accordingly. Not sure what to think about the article. ooops !!!! we were all on the same side of the aisle. It has a life of its own. Non combat Vets served elsewhere. 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. 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. earned their stripe. stay safe. How many vietnam veterans are still living. While there troops from our unit were deployed to Vietnam as replacements yet some people dont consider us as support for troops in Vietnam. I left the Ville at 3:00pm. Interestingly, the research concludes that Vietnam veterans seem to be dying at a similar rate to World War II veterans. You may not care but us guys that stepped foot in Nam AND had bullets flying at us, we care, and we are genuine vietnam Combat Vets. While that's a staggering figure is, the actual amount could be higher. About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam veterans (15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD when the most recent study of . Has every CIB wearer actually done that? it was printed in the ny times and cherries writer. Also, some do not consider those who served in Thailand as Vietnam Vets. I agree Vietnam vets are fewer. We all figured it was a Combat death. if you slept in the same bed more than 4 nights a week you were a REMF doesnt make you a abad guy but you are a remf. I used this experience and we cut down the Helicopter replacement time from about 2 1/2 weeks to 2 to 4 days. Depends on where you were. YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. 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. Through my blood-covered face, I could not distinguish whom! YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. Born: 01/29/1945. It was only a short ride. i think the definition should not be restricted by whether you wore khakis or como. However, like it or not, the U.S. government makes the final decisions on who is officially considered a war veteran and thats really the way it HAS to be. I think 9+ million total in US military service during the peak years of the Vietnam War and 2.6 2.7 million in Nam and its waters and air space is right. First and most important who is a Vietnam veteran? State-Level Veteran Suicide Data: 2020 Update Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response. Bien Hoa & Phu Bai, two badly polluted areas! Decades after the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) many former soldiers still wonder why they were fighting. When he first got out we roomed together, and I came home from school one day s clss was canceled. It was difficult for me to move. Since you were with an aviation Battalion do you remember our flight pay as Army Aircrew ? He got a letter from his wife telling him she was divorcing him and marrying his best friend. These numbers have come about due to the extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources by the American War Library which concluded that about one-third of those who served in the Vietnam War are still alive today. So, here well dive a little bit deeper into how many Vietnam veterans are estimated to still be alive based on various approximations and predictions. My squad leaderSteve Cook wrote, Dont Cry for Us Saigon. He gives stats. Had an easy tour given what i was trained for before I got there. According to the American War Library, as of February 28, 2019, it is estimated that approximately 610,000 Americans who served in land forces during the Vietnam War or in air missions over Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 are still alive to this day. we got one daily the other one weekly. I was on the initial invasion into Cambodia, that battle was 15 REMFS against 300 NVA> The next day we went in with the 25th infantry. I think by now weve pretty much said all that can be said about this question. September 27, 2022 by Editorial Team. She has worked in schools all over the world, and has developed groundbreaking curricula that have helped countless students excel. If you have any doubts, take a closer look at your DD-214. It is estimated that there are around 610,000 surviving Vietnam War veterans as of 2023. Please respond! Return to reality. NO REAL VET FAILS TO REMEMBER HIS MOS. I did 7 years 66-72 HHC 4/9 Inf and LRRP 25th div, / C 1/327 INF 101st Inf (only 6 mo. All I know is that Im a Vietnam Combat Vet. in only 6-10 years.. . Still, the American War Library continues to verify their accounts and come to more concrete conclusions. i have read that only one in seven guys that went to Vietnam, were actually in combat. The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. 610,000 figure is more accurate., NYT was referring to VN Era Veterans. Avoiding the specifics & particulars is a sign of fraud or a deeply disturbed relationship to their past. The 9 million was the total number of people in the military during 64-75 . The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 530 Vietnam veterans die every day. makes no diff, if you were a grunt or cook. According to Department of Veterans Affairs' projections, Vietnam Veteran deaths will hit 103,890 this year, about 285 a day. Army National Guard: 336,000, https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htm, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/how-many-vietnam-veterans-are-still-alive.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War. and i abhor those who say they served when they were plumbers in texas and talk of medals they never earned. Perhaps, another RPG impacted and careened us sideways knocking me unconscious. Check out this post and see if you can figure this > out. I saw plenty of people providing direct combat support to the effort in. I appreciate the fact that I Sam in the combat group that won the war against the communist rabble during their Tet Offensive in 1968. The truth is that until Vietnam veterans can agree amongst themselves what constitutes a real Vietnam vet, the debate may continue. Ive reached the age of truth telling, and have grown sick of pretending, and giving trophies to the undeserving I saw good men die, and their loved ones dont deserve this dishonor any longer. According to the American War Library, as of February 28, 2019, it is estimated that approximately 610,000 Americans who served in land forces during the Vietnam War or in air missions over Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 are still alive to this day. The trucks grill was a few feet away should I crawl underneath or try to hide in the nearby jungle? I was on LZ Bayonet during 1970 and experienced many of the things you described. Other sappers were shooting their AKs at any targets. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account.

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