life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam

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. How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. 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. 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 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. I never understood why they didnt put M60s on Medevacs (once the VC shot them down) but then, we now know they never intended to win that war in the first place. As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. Four platoons in a rifle company. I kept the radio because I understood the power of having the first communication with the support mechanisms of the military. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! Lucky you. 1 Gun. Spanish Help The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. July 68 to July 69. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. I never thought of it that way before but have many times since. Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. After a quick lesson, DeLong became the new owner of 4th Platoons No.1 Gun. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. But it was my jobso I tried not to think about it much. I also earned a Combat Infantryman Badge, signifying that I had been actively engaged in combat. It began just as, it was getting dark. 1: physical position (in the field / column) Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. An Hinglish word (Hindi/English). Deltoid muscle _____ 2. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. Five RTOs. Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. 4 Bill May and Spc. Got hit inside 15 minutes, first ambush we walked up too. 2 Gun team, Ranallo and May, without any support. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. Originally I went to the 543d TC. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. If it had been up to me, I would have awarded my gun the CIB too. Papitto Opportunity Connections Mission: The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Islands BIPOC communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training, and entrepreneurial ventures. No. I was an RTO for 9-1/2 months for Hawk Recon 2/327 101AB from dec, 1969 to sept 70. Answer (1 of 12): It heavily depends. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). We were like sitting Ducks. 79% had a high school education or better. 99% of infantry men will currently live to die of natural causes. Cruz quite a lot. Sorry,I was one of your Brothers in Arms that helped talk you out of enlisting for another year in Vietnam. I was with HHC and 1st Platoon C Company in 70-71. 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. Different type units, different locations, different opinions on dangers. Thank God I made it. They were held in special regard after the Normandy landings, when 225 Rangers scaled cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on June 6, 1944 under intense enemy fire. a RTO got killed, it happened within 5 seconds but not that always ALL RTOs got killed. .. Now we know. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent . 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). I was never formally trained as an RTO. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. Soon I could take the gun apart and put it back together in the dark. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. The gas-operated, belt-fed gun had a maximum rate of fire of 550-650 rounds per minute. The smell of those charred bodies, blackened and smoking from the napalm strike, is something I can never forget. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine.? Welcome Home Roger. The machine guns were numbered within each platoon. . As mentioned, who kept track of that in the first place? Two rounds smashed into a log inches above my head. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike (a professor at the University of California, Berkeley), a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. Information presented by SFC (Ret) David Hack. We were in2dBn 503d . We are a woman-owned small business and Veteran-owned incorporated in Ohio. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. I just wanted to get off No. Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. Hurrying forward with No. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the . Both were infantry in WW2. I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. In January 1967, the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, was airlifted to Pleiku province in the Central Highlands. 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? 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. As we approached the battle, we heard intense firing. The U.S. Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual contains gems such as infantry "patrol tips," maneuver techniques, and fighting methods for various environments. 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. I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. 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. Terrified, I dropped down as fast as I could, pulling the gun and two ammo belts of 100 rounds apiece on top of me as I fell back into the dry streambed. I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. Your Dad and I had the same job. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. I applaud your courage as I know an RTOs job is essential, difficult (carrying the weight of his radio transmitter, his rifle, his ammo, and his rucksack), and dangerous as the enemy surely wanted to knock out any communications for support. His best friend is 86 and still alive. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. I was trained as a RTO in 1970 at Fort Ord then went to Fort Gordon for teletype school, my MOS was 05C20 when I finished. Thats 390 per day. Your email address will not be published. The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is four hours, a Marine said. Cause-specific . where can i find red bird vienna sausage? Id love to see the casualties listed by Corps ? In Vietnam, 1 in 400 of the wounded died of their . By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas? The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. We were very, lucky. In total, the 7th Infantry spent four years in Vietnam. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. Our patrols were typically about 14 hours 24/7 We operated of old LSTs and large barges. When I popped back up to put out some automatic fire, a bullet whizzed by my earno more than an inch from my headand slammed into the tree next to me, shattering the bark. 1 Gun was firing. We had been carrying machine guns for over seven months. PLEASE HELP!!! Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. It didnt matter who you were or where you were. wmy:LsN{/^yzJ] 6.7>n-:FqOa#CW>ia?wt?Xa@ghCd bF)`Schl4*f. 1 Gun was on my hip with the safety off, ready to rock and roll. 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. 8h%5HF8r,X'q#Vtgz%)P/Oi#rU(uO&*Xx1t^=xVLi Background [ edit] 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. To my surprise, I qualified as an expert with the M60 machine gun, nicknamed the pig because of the size, weight and sound of the weapon. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). While traveling through the boonies the first few men were usually always shot first. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. 1 Gun and I survived our first firefight. 1 Gun used to kill Americans? 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. We flew north, then made a stop, in Cam Rahn Bay. I put the M60s bipod legs down, lifted the weapon and positioned it on the ground outside the streambed facing the NVA. This article appeared in the October 2021 issue of Vietnam magazine. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. Wortman, another RTO never made it back to The World. Re: Helicopter Crews (Medevac & Dustoff): To my knowledge, only the 1st Cav Medevac had M60s for protection. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. Screaming Eagles! Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. But, once the enemy lays down his weapon, I want YOU TO REMEMBER THREE THINGS: 1, HE IS A SOLDIER, JUST LIKE YOU.2, HE IS AWAY FROM HOME And family, just like you. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. He then said that they were generally on patrol moving through their area, both attacking and being attacked depending if the VC knew their location. HOOAH!!! You seen the enemy you shots him and vice versa. hbbd```b`` ,&Iw sA '#o Love this analysis. The enemy fire ceased, and we made arrangements to collect our dead before continuing on to Company A. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. 1 Gun kept a lot of enemy heads down. 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. (LogOut/ Great reading. It was on the Job Training ! In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. 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. They were all up there scanning the terrain and looking for signs. I was in 2nd Platoon and carried the platoons No. 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. "The Cotton Balers, damn fine Soldiers." The Battalion returned to Fort Benning on October 11, 1970 and was inactivated. Rules may have changed, I was in the Delta region. No. 97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged. As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. Fighters and planes dont make up the Army, thats the Air Force. I had yet to fire a shot with No. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. I met a Marine a few years ago who was stationed North of Da Nang. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans group. 2) by my research, medics suffered 93% casualties with about 33% deaths. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen were killed in Vietnam. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. I couldnt disagree. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. means: 1 gets killed the 1st second, another one after 9 seconds avg. By mid-April 1967 I was pleading with the captain to get a replacement gunner for my M60 in 4th Platoon. Out of the 3,000,000 men and women in our armed forces and reserves, we have lost 4,500 in this 9 year war. Not long after the artillery barrage ended, the North Vietnamese swept through 4th Platoon and executed some of the survivors. The next three weeks passed uneventfully. The next morning, the blasting could still be, heard. My dad died of cancer at 52. He also worked on Jacqueline Kennedys hair pieces and wigs. Good article. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism. US Wings recently added to OTEXA's Made in U.S.A. El subjuntivo 11 c mos , meaning I was also cross trained for mortars . That was a hell of a responsibility to take on. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. I was told to help carry one of the bodies. Love you Wortman!!!! I know this is a standard cliche, but it is so true, All gave some. Address: 561 E Hines Hill Road Hudson, Ohio 44236 Phone: 1-800-650-0659 / 330-655-5050 Fax: 330-653-3750 Email: [emailprotected], Retail Store Hours: Monday-Friday: 9am - 5pm EST Saturdays: 10am -3pm (Oct-Jan) Sundays: Closed. Sholly finally agreed and stated that the next time we received replacements I could give one of them my M60. 10 1/2 months in the bush. Life expectancy at birth. I was a grunt with c co. 4/31 196th it inf bade. Then the tempo changed suddenly and violently. Soon after, Pfc. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. He said when they were ambushed they took defensive positions, returned fire, called for assistance when needed, and retreated when necessary. well I wonder how long your going to last lieutenant? I was one of the lucky ones I came home without a physical scratch. I also was 2/327 B company. Welcome Home Brothers ! An interesting comment I had. Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. 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. I applaud the courage and difficult and all so dangerous job of Roger Herforth when he served as an RTO for the Hawk Recon Platoon of the 101st airborne division in Vietnam.. Sure but so was everyone else who went 12 months without getting killed or wounded. Fortunately, it was recorded on Spotify and can be listened to here: Thank you for both articles: (1)Going up river to port and (2) the flight from Italy back to Nam. Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. Prayers for all. 5 seconds. We do have infantry (why do you think we have that MOS? Interesting reading. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. Well he didnt make it. Hi, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one I, in turn, would take an M16 rifle, which felt like a feather in comparison. I would suspect that stating with any accuracy the life span of a grunt like me, or any other MOS, would be pretty much pure speculation. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? 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. We were about 700 yards east of Company A when it was ambushed by an NVA battalion. THE MAN I INHERITED THE GUN FROM WASNT SO LUCKY. They were lazy, cowardly and of questionable loyalty, especially the RUFF/PUFFS, and they would steal your under ware if given half a chance. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. 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). The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine. I remember we were always short of replacements throughout 1968 because of the high Kia & wounded rate we suffered at that time ! You were a Great RTO. Thanks. (LogOut/ Back home he returned to hairdressing and got a job at Kenneth Salon in New York City working with top models and fashion magazine editors. I too never understood survivor quilt, Enjoyed your article. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. We used to provide cover for these guys. To my right, Piambino had poked his head out of the trench to fire his M16 rifle. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. Very Good , I was a radio operator up in I corps in 68 & to me the worst thing was the walking . Different jobs have different life expectancy. AS LEADERS IN AMERICAS SERVICES WE MUST BE PROFICIENT AND READY TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSIONS- As I made it back to the road I remember seeing the Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . well i have been army infantry for 12 years with 2 deployments, and still going strong. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. It is Honor in the Valley of Tears. More importantly, Grandstaff was very gung-ho. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. On the morning of March 22, 1967, companies A and B of my battalion began a search-and-destroy operation along the Cambodian border. 4 Charlie Ranallo, were on No. Required fields are marked *. Spent my year in a Recon platoon 2/35th 4th ID. Done ranting. See also: Population Your email address will not be published. The average age of the men killed: 23.1 years. We took fire all the time and responded. Why is my internet redirecting to gslbeacon.ligit.com and how do I STOP THIS. And us the living that served, who suffer from PTSD ,that figure or percent-aged would be about the greatest of all. 3 Answers C5H5N in water > C5H5NH+ & OH- Kb = [C5H5NH+] [OH-] / [C5H5N] 1.5e-9 = [x] 1. Dap, Hope this helps. It means, IF (!) Umm..maybe its because we also learn from experience. As we were, steadily building up, our area for protection. I always found life expectancy numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated. Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial Ron. Some were constantly exposed to combat, some not so often. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. I spent my year in Vietnam with the 1/22nd infantry part of the 4th division. Though I flew only about 1/2 dozen missions as a Huey door gunner, I was initially told to sit on my flak jacket I always did so (personal protection first). They were Kims cousins not her brothers. I had a 20% death rate in my Hospital Corpsman Class. In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. He was killed in an ambush along with three others. Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. Yes, I made E4 at graduation, that was considered a NCO then. I never saw any correlation as to what MOS a soldier was and their survival rate. I remember hearing somewhere about an RTO who wasnt getting the info out correctly and the Lieutenant (Kennedy) grabbed the mic and said My RTO Is Foxtrot Uniform. I was wounded 3 times during the 10 1/2 months I was in-country before being medevacd out in Apr of 68. located on the South End of, the Post. The machine gun was also mounted in the UH-1 Huey helicopter and other Army aircraft. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. Some Brothers said why spend another year in this hellhole???? However, it was the discretion of the individual crewmen if they wanted to carry personal weapons or not. 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. As a result, less than one percent of all Americans wounded, who survived the first 24 hours, died. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. In your rucksack . I was still pondering the move to 4th Platoon when U.S. Air Force jets screamed over the treetops with canisters of napalm.

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