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. Buis died, as did Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand, whose name is second on the wall. The casual visitor might not immediately recognize that Buis name is the first. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. Certainly, some who died did come from poor and broken homes in the urban ghettos and barrios, or were from dirt-poor farm homes in the South and Midwest. 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. Items are gathered by park staff. This takes about 72 hours. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. They refer to older or younger siblings who are either in or on their way to college. site, for searching with a word processor. information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed Only the Navy, with 50 percent of its enlisted casualties over 21, and the Air Force, with 75 percent over 21, showed an older, more experienced age demographic. For men who registered for the draft prior to 1976, the only Selective Service System information available is that of the individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) and Classification History (SSS Form 102) records. In many of these families it was considered unpatriotic and indeed reprehensible to avoid active duty by requesting a status deferment or seeking out a draft counselor for advice on how to avoid the draft. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. readers. Congress. Instead its nearly in the center. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 2,415 casualties were incurred. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). At some The Moving Wall sites, the sponsor makes arrangements Vandegeers message also depicted a man who believed the worst was behind him. But in 1966, President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara decided to institute Project 100,000 that would allow category IV men to enter the military. Air Force Historical Research Agency 600 Chenault Circle Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424Telephone: (334) 953-2395, ArmyU.S. These names are followed by the inscription: Our nation honors the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of its Vietnam veterans. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable 1970 - ca. Locate the corresponding panel at the Memorial. All heroes are listed alphabetically by their last name. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. With few exceptions, almost all of the 6,600 commissioned officers who died in Vietnam were graduates of the service academies, college Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), or the Officer Candidate School (OCS) programs. A doctor arrived and gave his shaken mother a sedative. For those and a handful of other unique circumstances, Doubek made his own list of men who had died due to the injuries in the combat zonesnames that may have been listed by an individual service branch, but not by DoD. The DOD database provides no civilian or military educational levels for the Vietnam casualties specifically, but it does give us general levels for all enlisted men across all the services during the Vietnam era. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. Honor Vietnam Veterans you know with a gift from our VVA store, or a custom military embroidered shirt, jacket, or polo so they can proudly demonstrate their service to their grateful nation. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. The virtual Wall of Faces features a page dedicated to honoring and remembering every person whose name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. Sad to say, many of these recruitment promises were fudged in one way or another, and many of these young men found themselves shipped directly to Vietnam after basic training. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. It is instructive to read the literature of the war, the letters written home from those who died, the novels and narrative accounts of those who served in combat and then returned. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. 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. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released in 1992, found that our Vietnam casualties were only marginally greater from the economically lowest 50 percent of our communities (31 deaths per 100,000 of population), when compared with the economically highest 50 percent (26 deaths per 100,000 population). 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. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. 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. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. The young enlisted volunteer or draftee had not had much time to form any complicated theories about our Vietnam commitment. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. The Vietnam War is no different. How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? With the end of the Cold War, many now believe that at its outset the Vietnam War was a quite honorable extension of our ultimately successful policy of Communist containment; that our effort in Vietnam became flawed because of political and strategic failures having nothing to do with those who died there; and that these young Americans were asked by three presidents and six Congresses to give up their lives so that freedom would have a better chance in the world. The Names - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The Names When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. The memorial is free and open to the public 24 hours a day, with rangers on duty to answer questions from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. that each name was a real person. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. The popularity of the GI Bill after Vietnam emphasized this yearning. How many names are on the wall? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall Why are names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall? W denotes the west wall, and E denotes the east wall. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. It ripped men from their loved ones, family, friends, and it left a wave of death in its path. All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. but will allow you to download it after you specify a file name. Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War Memorial wall? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a symbol of American honor and appreciation for the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. The Navy fatalities were 2,556 or 2 percent. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. The Wall is about names. Many of the 17- and 18-year olds were simply late in maturing. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. Order records from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis at the Start your Military Service Record Request page at the National Archives website. 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. In the event a service members remains are returned or accounted for, then a diamond symbol is engraved over the plus sign. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and A correspondingly greater tradition of military service in the other regions had its effect on U.S. regional casualties. person reads for 20 minutes, (270 names) this will require 216 volunteer name They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. While their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. The figures show that on average 65 percent of white enlisted men and 60 percent of black enlisted men were high school graduates. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in this brief introductory video. Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. The names are listed in chronological order, according to the date of casualty. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. Its been more than 20 years since Forrest Gump debuted on the silver screen and nearly a generation later, its characters still resonate with todays service members. 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. The files are quite large in order that we could save in Rich Text Format Message & data rates may apply. This was a reflection of the role of warrant officers as helicopter pilots (of the 1,277 warrant officer casualties, 95 percent were Army helicopter pilots), and of the young lieutenants and captains as combat platoon leaders or company commanders. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. United States. 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. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. Please be patient The central idea of the poem is that the Vietnamese War took hundreds of lives away from the United States of America. the person they know. There was no need to embellish. The same profile holds true for the Marine Corps, where 87 percent of all officer casualties (821 of 938) were warrant officers, lieutenants or captains. do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. In honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. . peruse. By his estimate, he helped pull out close to 2,000 people. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). He did it allsing, dance, create music and crack wise. A few years after the dedication, the issue of geographic criteria was expanded by DoD to include people who had been killed outside of the war zone while on or in support of direct combat missions. Some recent studies tend to refute what had been the perceived wisdom of social scientists and other commentators that our Vietnam dead came overwhelmingly from the poor communities. Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950 - 1976 NAID 745, RG, 472, Meritorious Unit Commendations, 1967 - 1971 NAID 4726287, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. Nor did America recognize, on July 8, 1959the day he was killedthat another long and bloody war lay in wait. Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. If your browser displays the text file, you can then use 1970 NAID 570973, State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists sorted Alphabetically by Last Name, List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (196165) Wikipedia, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group A (Recoverable), 1941-1975, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975, Vietnamw-Era POW/MIA Databases & Documents.
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