The job of cross-referencing the information of individual branches with the DoD fell to Doubek. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. 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 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. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, "'The Vietnam War' Sponsor Bank of America Teams With The Lumineers to Support the USO ", Programs for Service Members and Their Families. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. for all 58,228 names to be read aloud. This approach would allow veterans, friends and family members to find a loved one by his or her date of casualty. Please be patient The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. There are students on field trips, some solemn and curious, but some just happy to get out of class. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. And there is an end. It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. In this study we will refer to casualties as the 58,152 who died in Vietnam, but it should be emphasized that there were 153,303 who were wounded seriously enough to be hospitalized. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. In the event a service members remains are returned or accounted for, then a diamond symbol is engraved over the plus sign. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. Where previously a high school diploma had been an acceptable goal, now it was college and all the benefits it would bring. 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 Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. But there is a beginning. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. 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. Photo credit DOD photo. 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. The figures show that on average 65 percent of white enlisted men and 60 percent of black enlisted men were high school graduates. Army Major Dale Buis name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. This number of deaths per 100,000 compared strikingly with the 23.5 in the Northeast region, 29.9 in the West and 28.4 in the North Central (Midwest) region. The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. We were one giant Hollywood B-17 bomber crew, one perfect socioeconomic platoon storming Omaha Beach or Okinawa. Thus we can see that the channeling philosophy continued within the armed forces. Early on President Johnson, his advisers and especially the Congress, realized that if the draft was to be truly equitable and had included combat assignments in Vietnam for the sons of the educationally advantaged and influential Americans from the professional and managerial classes, then the resulting uproar would have shut down the war. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. Yet, a civilian heroine who served in a different capacity during that difficult time also merits particular acknowledgment. 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 Marine Corps losses were skewed even more to the lower ranks, 91 percent were privates or corporals. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. Once a master list was compiled, the names were checked manually for errors. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. Many others joined the reserves or National Guard, which were not mobilized in any appreciable numbers during the war. It stands near Panel 1W, which holds the name of the last to die in combat. The Wall USA is a non-profit endeavor maintained by veterans . 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. You could also keep these files on a computer at your and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. Our combat arms were thought to be completely classless. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Vietnam War Casualties- Main Alphabetical Index www.VirtualWall.org Find A Name Information Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. The VC had commandeered Air America Hueys, and they were flying them around, which simply made for a very interesting chess game. Fill out the tour request form. ".for those who have died." In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. Lins intention from the beginning was to have the names appear chronologically, beginning and ending at the apex. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. since it was dedicated because additional casualty records were found and VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. A doctor arrived and gave his shaken mother a sedative. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? The lists are based on the "home of record - state" data provided by the serviceman or woman upon last entrance into military service. Little about it is concrete. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/vietna.. 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. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. 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 burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. The young enlisted volunteer or draftee had not had much time to form any complicated theories about our Vietnam commitment. United States. 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. If your browser displays the text file, you can then use 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. Several hundred such designation changes have been made since the Wall was built in 1982. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. The Navy fatalities were 2,556 or 2 percent. Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War Memorial wall? Twenty-five years later, in an interview with People magazine, he described playing with his two younger brothers as the news reached their home in Imperial Beach, California. Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. And mores the pity, because many of them were trying to escape this background and didnt make it. Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. A.. B.. C.. D.. E.. F.. G.. H.. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. Folded American flags were presented to his parents and an Air Force helicopter flew over the ceremony. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable 8 Women are on the Wall. Instead its nearly in the center. Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file W denotes the west wall, and E denotes the east wall. Derek Turner is a freelance writer and a former senior editor of On Patrol. One additional factor, often overlooked, that influenced volunteer enlistment was military tradition the influence of fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles and others who had served in previous 20th century wars. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. . The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to But you had stories of guys in the Air Force who would die in their aircraft over Thailand after having been shot over Vietnam. Technically, they were ineligible for inclusion on the Wall. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in this brief introductory video. As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969. The unit diary portion of the muster roll should indicate when members of the Lima Company, 3rd platoon. As Maya Ling Lin, the architect of the Wall, has said: It was as if the black-brown earth were polished and made into an interface between the sunny world and the quiet dark world beyond that we cannot enter. 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. Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. In the military it can be somewhat more deadly. Brothers Marlin and Norman Eversgerd were both killed in Vietnam. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. 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. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Her name? The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . Locate the corresponding panel at the Memorial. The black granite walls are engraved with the names of more than 58,000 men and women who laid down their lives or remained missing. This index includes those who died or who were declared dead from 1950 to 1957 in Korea and from 1957 to 1975 in Southeast Asia. The wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is 493 feet and 6 inches long, built of thick, polished black Bangalore granite.