Who were they? Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. Count down from the top of the panel. Interested in a tour as part of your visit? 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. 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. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. NAID 5709942, U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, National Archives Command Chronologies:Vietnam War, National Archives Command Chronologies: Vietnam War: Index to Reports, National Archves. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. 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 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. While VVMF finances the name additions to the Wall, it is the Department of Defense that makes these difficult and often technical decisions. Records of individuals who left service more than 62 years ago are considered Archival Records and become records of the National Archives open to the general public. 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. the "save as" menu command to store each text file on your media. If a person died or went missing in those areas, DoD considered that individual to be a combat zone casualty and eligible for inclusion on the Wall. Although it is a truism that the young die in war, one is still unprepared for the fact that 40 percent of Marine enlisted casualties in Vietnam were teenagers; that more than 16 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also teenagers; and that nearly a quarter of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam were between the ages of 17- and 19-years old. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. . And there is an end. I could tell you about how real the fear was that I felt, since from the time we crossed the Delta and made the run into Saigon, we were over enemy territory. He admitted no particular feelings about the righteousness of the war, and allowed himself to look ahead into a future free of war and obligation. 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. Another challenge was ensuring the accuracy of the names. The Air Force lost the highest percentage of officers. In an effort to further preserve the legacy of those who sacrificed all in Vietnam, VVMF is committed to finding a photo to go with each of the more than 58,000 names on The Wall. On November 7, 2021 VVMF began a daily virtual Reading of the Names. ARMY AND MARINE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. Through the AFQT process, the men scoring in the higher categories were more likely to be channeled into further specialized training and eventually assigned to technical and administrative units. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. 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. The Vietnam Wall. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. As a result, it was mainly the families of Navy and Air Force pilots and crewmen who suffered the great agony of the POW (prisoner of war) and MIA (missing in action) experience that came out of the Vietnam War. On the other end of that phone call was an former Air Force officer who had served in Vietnam. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. Thus, the wars beginning and end meet. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. Kurt became the man of the house, even as a boy. U.S. Army Personnel and Dependent Casualties, 1961-1981 85% of the records in this database are related to the Vietnam Conflict. This makeup, they say, was the very antithesis of what we stand for as a democracy a shameful corruption of our values and our historical sense of fairness and social justice. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. As a region, the South experienced the greatest numbers of dead, nearly 34 percent of the total, or 31.0 deaths per 100,000 of population. Getting to Washington, D.C. do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. On average, 43 percent of white enlisted entrants placed in categories I and II (scoring 65 to 100) and 57 percent in categories III and IV (scoring 10 to 64). When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. 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. 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 Names - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The Names When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. 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. It is not surprising, for instance, that West Virginia, Montana, and Oklahoma had a casualty rate almost twice that of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. Senate. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries, 1941-1980 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. Message & data rates may apply. The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Our combat arms were thought to be completely classless. For blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. 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. Vandegeer was on a mission to rescue the crew of the SS Mayaguez, a merchant ship captured three days earlier off the coast of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. Photo credit DOD photo. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. Library of Congress, National Archives Reference Information Page 90 A Finding Aid to Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Missing Vietnam Military Resulting from Hostile Forces, Missing Vietnam Military NOT Resulting from Hostile Forces, Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. The Classification History (SSS Form 102) may contain: name; date of birth; classification and date of mailing notice; date of appeal to the board; date and results of armed forces physical examination; entry into active duty or civilian work in lieu of induction (may include date, branch of service entered and mode of entry, such as enlisted or ordered); date of separation from active duty or civilian work; and general remarks. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. site, for searching with a word processor. 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. On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site in Washington, D.C., a special plaque reads: "In Memory of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. Unfortunately, he mistakenly added a small number of names of men who were still alive. Their names, however, have been removed from the printed Directory of Names. I respect the process, but it can be hard to prove something thats in your heart., Thats what makes it so special when you see the name going up, she added. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. 26 Similar Questions It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. In civilian life, poor aptitude testing can have a tremendous negative impact, whether for college placement or for simple job advancement. And there would be nothing to denote service or rank. Why are names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall? The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. Interesting Veterans Statistics Of The Vietnam Memorial Wall There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. There is no question that all segments of American society were represented. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. If the two branches are combined, then 80 percent of the Army and Marine enlisted casualties were privates or corporals, grades E-1 to E-4. Its unlikely that anyone who visits the memorial on a given day would have the time, the heart or the stomach to read and consider each one. 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. | Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. 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. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972. If a service member were to return alive, a circlethe symbol of lifewould be inscribed around the plus sign. Chronological order by date of casualty allows friends and family members to pick out their loved one from all of the others with the same name. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. "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. Congress and the Johnson administration, therefore, sought to protect our college-bound and educated young men. Buis was in Vietnam by his own volition. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. Thats a tragic 2,415 more names on the Vietnam Wall in a single month. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. She wanted the names to tell the journey, or the timeline, of the war. The Vietnam War was no different. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. If you The list of names begins at the vertex of the walls below the date of the first casualty, 1959, and continues to the end of the east wall. An Air Force member, with his back to the camera, holds the POW/MIA flag during a full honors funeral for Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer at Arlington National Cemetery on October 27, 2000. Look at the bottom of each panel on the wall for its number. The Buddies of Midvale LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. Only 10 percent of enlisted men had even some college to their credit and only 1 percent were college graduates. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angles open side and contained within the earth itself. The job of cross-referencing the information of individual branches with the DoD fell to Doubek. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. The popularity of the GI Bill after Vietnam emphasized this yearning. 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. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. This takes about 72 hours. The Order of Precedence For Military Ribbon Wear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubH-5CulqI, Military Funeral Guide for Families & Funeral Homes, The Ultimate Military Gift Guide for Unique Military Gifts, Black Military History and Black Medal of Honor Recipients. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. Army Major Dale Buis name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. . They drew on every segment of American society. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. We were one giant Hollywood B-17 bomber crew, one perfect socioeconomic platoon storming Omaha Beach or Okinawa. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. Coast Guard Historians OfficeCommandant (CG-09224)U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters 2100 Second Street SW Washington, D.C. 20593. as the names on the Wall. The article was originally published in the June 1993 issue of Vietnam Magazine and updated in November 2004. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. Yet, a civilian heroine who served in a different capacity during that difficult time also merits particular acknowledgment. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. By and large, with the exception of the officer corps, most of the college bound and educated skipped the Vietnam War at the urging of, and with the approval of, their own government. In an effort to further preserve the legacy of those who sacrificed all in Vietnam, VVMF is committed to finding a photo to go with each of the more than 58,000 names on The Wall. AGE 17 TO 21 PREFERRED ARMY AND MARINE COMBAT MATERIAL. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. As we have pointed out earlier, more than 80 percent of our casualties were Army and Marine enlisted men with an average age of 19- to 20-years. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. 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. Chiseled on the wall are the names of the 58,196 men and women who either died or are still listed as missing in Southeast Asia between 1959 and 1975. . The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. There are the tourists who make the circuit of all the various monuments and landmarks in our nations capital. The names are listed in chronological order, according to the date of casualty. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. World War II had been, for the most part, a perfect war, clear of purpose, the forces of democracy and freedom lined up against the forces of fascism and tyranny. As the Vietnam War dragged on, Kurt tried twice to enlist. The feeling is that the poor, the undereducated and the minorities made up the vast majority of the combat arms during that war. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. The men and women who valiantly fought in the Vietnam War certainly deserve the title of hero. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The Selective Service System it said, has the responsibility to deliver manpower to the armed forces in such a manner as to reduce to a minimum any adverse effect upon the national health, safety, interest and progress. The widely held notion that the poor served and died in Vietnam while the rich stayed home is way off the mark. 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. 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. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. Search the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s database of names on the wall. 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. The Wall USA is a non-profit endeavor maintained by veterans . 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. In an audiotape recorded for a close friend shortly before Vandegeers death, and transcribed in Bernard Edelmans book Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, he described the perilous mission in Saigon. COL LEWIS HERBERT ABRAMS SSG SAMUEL ABRAMS Jr PFC TIMOTHY C ABRAMS Jr WO ANDREW JOHN ABRAMSON CPL MIGUEL A ABREU-BATISTA Jr SP4 ANTHONY JOSEPH ABRUZESE PFC ROBERT ALEXANDER ABRUZESE PFC MICHAEL JOHN ABRUZZESA Jr SGT WILLIAM WALLACE ABSHEAR SGT RICHARD FRANKLIN ABSHIRE PFC JAMES ESTUS ABSTON Jr SSG ROBERT JOSEPH ACALOTTO SP5 PEPITO RIVERA ACERET Each entry includes a panel number and letter; "W" is for "west" or the left half of the memorial, "E" is for east, or the right half of the memorial. (The 58,000 Names) Our fallen Vietnam War heroes are herethe 58,000 heroes who died in Vietnam. The panel numbers are inscribed at the bottom of each panel. In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable 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. Many of the 17- and 18-year olds were simply late in maturing. VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. 5th Marines were killed in . And mores the pity, because many of them were trying to escape this background and didnt make it. However, there have been no such cases. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. There are the still-grieving family members who come to pay respects as they would at a cemetery, to leave mementos and make chalk renderings of a loved ones name. "Home of record" does not necessarily refer to the place of birth, residence of next of kin, place of longest residence, nor other common uses of the term "hometown." The casualty date is the date the person was killed or wounded in combat or injured during an accident; for the missing, the date is when the person was reported missing. 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 draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. 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. 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 makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's registry enables veterans across the world to be able to locate fellow Vietnam Veterans and of course, connect their stories with those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. The casual visitor might not immediately recognize that Buis name is the first. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall The Wall is about names.