life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam

A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas? It was always quick/quick, load the bodies in and get the hell out. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. John Doever I also was 2/327 B company. The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. I had yet to fire a shot with No. You seen the enemy you shots him and vice versa. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). They were Kims cousins not her brothers. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served. As we approached the battle, we heard intense firing. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. He was wounded and suffered permanent disability shortly before his tour was up. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of I told by RTO that i could carry my own radio, When he agreed he was humping ammo. Like you, I carried a PRC-25 for about 5 months and never got hit. . Theres 58,276. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. Total fantasy. Got hit inside 15 minutes, first ambush we walked up too. Originally I went to the 543d TC. For example, life expectancy of Veterans at age 25 population, thus 3.6 and 0.5 life-years smaller income differentials for male and female Veterans, respectively, shown in Tables 17 and 18. three, he believes he is doing what his country wants him to dojust like you So you better damn well treat him with the compassion you want for you!! All of the next day, we could see SMOKE from the fire caused by the explosions of the AMMO at, the AMMO DUMP. Life Expectancy of the World Population. When we reached Company A, we placed our dead in the center of the two-company perimeter. Proudly holding my M60 over my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs, No. V. Victor Renza was sent home after he was wounded on May 18, 1967. 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. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. Sure, its softer than it was before, but the training they go through is intense, something a loser who spends his time on the computer all day attacking people he doesnt know anything about and all the facts CANNOT do. Of the . Needless too say I depended on Sgt. The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. Then the tempo changed suddenly and violently. It began just as, it was getting dark. 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. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. 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. Overrun and utterly destroyed, the 30-man 4th Platoon had suffered 21 killed and one missing. Artillery, and ground forces. I knew some of this, but certainly not all. Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. we were getting it with machine gun and mortars. 1 Gun used to kill Americans? Sholly finally agreed and stated that the next time we received replacements I could give one of them my M60. I am 16 years old an 150 pounds qith some good muscle. I was still pondering the move to 4th Platoon when U.S. Air Force jets screamed over the treetops with canisters of napalm. 1 Gun became my very best friend. They were a great bunch. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. The three of us had trained together at Fort Lewis and were good friends. Good article. As a result, less than one percent of all Americans wounded, who survived the first 24 hours, died. We are a woman-owned small business and Veteran-owned incorporated in Ohio. Certainly got my attention. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. Michael Doolittle..I was with 1/8 inf, 1st Brigade, and that day, March 22nd was also our darkest day. By mid-April 1967 I was pleading with the captain to get a replacement gunner for my M60 in 4th Platoon. I had scary thoughts about myself humping the bush as a RTO, I was a real puny guy back then. Most of us have memories of these kind of experiences. I want to know what the life expectancy of a us infantry army soldier is. If there was anything to this life expectancy of a few minutes then myself and many of my friends that are still alive today would be a long time dead. Very interesting I carried theM 60 for 5 months that gun would cut down anything. What unit lost the most soldiers in Vietnam? meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. Bob Sanzone. The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. 1 Gun was firing. Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. Now, the wisdom of this soldier tough but humanly compassionate warrior ethos can be assessed through the 2d Bn recordNO complaints about mistreatment of prisonerswhile achieving the most combat SUCCESSES IN THE BRIGADE. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. In Vietnam, 1 in 400 of the wounded died of their . Lt lost a finger, same time. We did interdictions, blocks and other fun things on the river. In the 1st Cav medics were right behind the rto making them a very easy find also. https://www.historynet.com/no-1-gun-an-m60-machine-gunner-in-vietnam-tells-his-story/, 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. I was an Artillery Forward Observer 13F20 E-5 at that time. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Oh, and even the Air Force has ground units. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. 2. 4322 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E412331B845E54EBDFDC79FA0627A18>]/Index[4314 16]/Info 4313 0 R/Length 65/Prev 560501/Root 4315 0 R/Size 4330/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. Fact: The domino theory was accurate. Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21 years old. In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. 4. I watched in horror as four NVA soldiers ambled through the branches of a downed tree that partially concealed us. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I met a Marine a few years ago who was stationed North of Da Nang. Hurrying forward with No. No. May they rest in peace. I was drafted on Nov. 10, 1965, and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. My dad died of cancer at 52. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. Cruz quite a lot. 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. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. The machine guns were numbered within each platoon. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. Foot soldiers went by the grace of God, but had a better chance than the infantry platoon commander in combat. A Co, 1/5 Cav, 1 Cav Division. The average man who fought in World War II was 26 years of age. We all have opinions, this is mine. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Carrying a dead man some 300 yards through thick jungle in 100-degree heat was extraordinarily difficult. It means, IF (!) . Sept 69 to Sept 70. Helicopters, F4 fighters. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Well, according to current mortality and morbidity statistics for the USright around 77.5 Years! Robert Sholly, standing with Platoon Sgt. said to me. THANKS! These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of . If youre a foreigner, I respect what you think, but make sure you read ALL your facts, and dont come to rash conclusion until you know everything from BOTH sides. They were all up there scanning the terrain and looking for signs. 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. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. Such as in the song Jimmy by M.I.A look at aaja in the dictionary My indian boyfriend told me is meaning come to me, 6 Answers I have never had or heard of that particular brand, but have had several here in Canada, plus a number in the Caribbean and Asia, and there all the same, small cut hot dogs in a can, no need q now please.. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas:? I had been shot in the back early in the battle and was lying behind a log with two other soldiers. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. Without the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure the border). Sgt. Hats off to them. maybe your question i vauge. Contents 1 Unclear objectives 2 North Vietnamese strategy Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. It was the silent power of the pig, I suppose. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. The machine gun was also mounted in the UH-1 Huey helicopter and other Army aircraft. I saw killed and wounded everywhere in our combat operations. Interesting reading. Carried the prc25 for about 7 months. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. I wasnt sure if the VC had moved to right or left, so I sprayed the elephant grass in both directions. Shea's gallantry in action at the cost of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon . Your email address will not be published. As we were, steadily building up, our area for protection. My second tour was as the S3 for LTC Anthony Herbertone of Americas greatest leaders and WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. "The Cotton Balers, damn fine Soldiers." The Battalion returned to Fort Benning on October 11, 1970 and was inactivated. I was a 2nd Lt. Infantry platoon Leader. As soon as he did, a round hit him in the forehead, blowing out the back of his skull. It was just part of the job. US Wings is a veteran-owned business and an official supplier to the US Military. https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. El subjuntivo As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. Phi Pow B.Sc (econ) in Economic History & Economics (college minor), London School of Economics and Political Science Author has 212 answers and 234.6K answer views 2 y Originally Answered: What soldier had the shortest life expectancy? Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365). One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. Love this analysis. As I carried a PRC25 radio for over seven-months in the > Nam, I was curious to find out what I did RIGHT to surv >, One MOS I figured was a sure short timer was POL{Fuel} Truck Driver. 4329 0 obj <>stream The dead were placed on ponchos. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all. After every officer in our company was either killed or had serious wounds, our 1st Sgt , David McNerney took over the company and without his leadership, and knowledge of war, and unbelievable courage, our company would probably have been wiped out. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent . Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. Four platoons in a rifle company. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phucs brothers were killed in this incident. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. B)Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x. Jimmy aaja -M.I.A. I was told my life expectancy was about 45 secs during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. Work Plz. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. US Wings recently added to OTEXA's Made in U.S.A. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. Totally bogus. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. Jimmy aaja, jimmy aaja. Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. 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. Screaming Eagles! Different jobs have different life expectancy. I never even got a shot off. Thanks. We could not see any enemy soldiers, but we could see smoke coming from their weapons through the trees. In the few firefights and skirmishes we had with local VC, the gun always performed well. The man with the carbine immediately dropped it, and the two VC surrendered. BS but ia a way you are correct. After a quick lesson, DeLong became the new owner of 4th Platoons No.1 Gun. 0 He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1974. As it was, less than 40 did not need evacuation. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. 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. Be glad you served with a soldiers soldier like LTC Herbert. E)V_5lu[vC3+"vg2L& I was constantly untangling the barrel and bipod of the gun from grasping vines and branches. 6 Answers They say Kali Ma Theyre referencing this scene from the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: What is the life expectancy of an army infantry soldier? I also earned a Combat Infantryman Badge, signifying that I had been actively engaged in combat. Just to show that its hard to get an accurate number, note my typo of 56,220. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. They were great patriots fighting for their families and their homeland. His comparison to a FB was that if we were fired on we returned fire and requested assistance when needed. So do us all a favor and please learn to be tolerant, intelligent, and active. I was an FO back in the day. The next morning, the blasting could still be, heard. my left and saw this rice paddie farmer and his ox and I was trying to motion him to get down he just looks at me and starts 97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged. You can find the polarity of a compound by finding electronegativities (an atoms desire for an electron) of the atoms; Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.5, compared to Fluorines A) Enter the the Ksp expression for the solid AB2 in terms of the molar solubility x. We fought to an agreed stalemate. Seattle, Washington(WA), 98106. Wortman, another RTO never made it back to The World. Thank You Roger!!! Some of my men didnt. Once we turned on the radar they could hit us with a harm missile. LUCK pure LUCK. I always found life expectancy numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated. HOOAH!!! 1 Gun had registered its first kill. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. hb```8fB cBLd2>Tb jz1@E; aK6Tmc.Nn"&gn7hj'wm,h d6p4u0`&88:,TMV& y@ b=e>a&^ >{2b`ZHE3psn QZ The enemy fire ceased, and we made arrangements to collect our dead before continuing on to Company A. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. One afternoon, while Company B was still in the Tuy Hoa area, we received orders to gather up our gear and get ready to board choppers for an assault into a hot landing zone. My 31-months in-country was in three Direct Support US Army aviation units, 15TC BN, First Cav, 335TH, Americal and 17TH Cav 101ST ABD65-71In the last battle I was directly involved, LAM SON 719, into Laos, cost army aviation units over 600-helicopters shot down or battle damagedthe NVA were waiting for our SECRET mission in early 71I was glad to go home at battles end, in March 71 , almost unscathed, I was TDY for my absurd third tourTo the point, many ARVN Rangers, airborne and their other best died in Lam Son 719US Army Infantry were forbidden entry to Laos in 71.. the ARVN were massacredand many US Army pilots and crew mambers were KIA & WIAeven MIA. It didnt matter who you were or where you were. I know the scouts in my company had a slightly longer rate but not much. Completa las oraciones con la forma correcta del presente de subjuntivo de los verbos entre parntesis.? Both were infantry in WW2. DeLong was later killed attempting to escape from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Cambodia. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. Now, to calmly answer your question, air strikes have actually been an efficient technique used by us for years now. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. We had been carrying machine guns for over seven months. 1 Gun more than I did. His body was torn to pieces. Required fields are marked *. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. July 68 to July 69. And dug Berms, in the area. At Fort Lewis, every recruit learned to operate various weapons. Ever since that fateful day in 1967, I have often wondered what became of my beloved M60. Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. Soldiers also act in the mobilization of vehicles, weaponry, troops, and more. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. This makes our site more accessible to the blind, visually impaired, motor disabled, people with cognitive disabilities and more. No creo que Susana _____ (seguir) sobre los consejos de su mdico. The Vietnam War gave us trouble because we didnt know how to counteract against guerrilla warfare in a jungle (dont forget that the US Army was switching to M16s, which often jammed). I always felt that Infantry units were in more danger because of ambush issues and no permanent defensive structures. 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. Ha Ha always enjoyed being a volunteer! I was an Artillery Forward Observer with the Infantry. We were very, lucky. I picked up my M60 and walked to the center of the perimeter, where I found the company commander, Capt. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. If you look at all of the things the radio operators were tasked with, it becomes abundantly clear why commo guys weren't expected to last long. 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. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. The first six or seven months I walked point for our platoon and led many ambushes and green eye patrols. Our Aussie Dust off choppers had door gunners, we worked on the theory if the Noggies would shot at Red Cross choppers, we would return fire, Aussie grunt, 60000 00 Aussies fought in Vietnam, Up the Old Red Rooster and more beer. Interesting but something is missing. 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. Its not all written down. Look for the blue accessibility symbol floating on every page of our website and click on it to tailor your viewing experience to your particular disability. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. Does this mean addressing to a crowd? Cluster F, SNAFU and FUBAR fer sur. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. Rules may have changed, I was in the Delta region. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. Database. My shit got weak and a sniper popped three rounds in my young ass. Five RTOs. Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. They were lazy, cowardly and of questionable loyalty, especially the RUFF/PUFFS, and they would steal your under ware if given half a chance. 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. All the comments and replies are of absolute truth, I was only 18 when I got to Nam ,Im a country boy from NC so here I am Nobody attacked, where we were. Sergeant Galiano's experience does not deny Brands depiction of the battle in Vietnam, but offers a typically overlooked perspective of a drafted soldier fighting in the central highlands of Vietnam. Diaphragm _____ 3. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. 5 Answers There is no word like addressal. Life expectancy at birth. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. 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. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. Unable to reach Company A, my company pulled back, formed a perimeter and called in air and artillery support. We looked for cover and returned fire the best we could. The Statistics in the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF 11/93) show an average age of death much higher than that of news reports. African Americans played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. I too never understood survivor quilt, Enjoyed your article. We were all in our Bunkers, and at the ready with our weapons. Done ranting. My father was on a lrrp team!65-67never was shot but killed alot.He never really got over it though died in 2012! Death by a Bottle! The jungle seemed to want No. Average age of men killed: 23.1 years Total Deaths: 23.11 years Enlisted: 50,274; 22.37 years Officers: 6,598; 28.43 years Warrants: 1,276; 24.73 years E1: 525; 20.34 years Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. 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.