HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. 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. Although valuable, this study was almost certainly misinterpreted by its authors when they said that their data showed that most privileged and influential segments of American society were not insulated from the perils of Vietnam conflict. 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. Officers of all services, by tradition largely Protestant, remained so during the Vietnam war, sustaining casualties in comparison with Catholics by a 5 to 2 ratio. In terms of national origin/ancestries, an extensive sampling of the data-base reveals that Americans of French Canadian, Polish, Italian and other Southern and Eastern European surnames made up about 10 percent of the Vietnam casualties. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. 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. Vandegeers message also depicted a man who believed the worst was behind him. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. 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. He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. True enough, but many of the surviving Vietnam casualty families would reply that the ultimate unfairness is death at an early age, in a land far from home, for reasons not clearly defined. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Derek Turner is a freelance writer and a former senior editor of On Patrol. 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. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. Lins vision prevailed. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. Though the memorial continues to grow and evolve, the last name on the wall still belongs to Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer, a pilot who died after his helicopter crashed on May 15, 1975, during the wars final combat action. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. The Army lost the greatest number of officers 4,635 or 59 percent of all officer casualties. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. If each 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 burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. Every day at 3:00 p.m. EST, VVMF will play a daily reading of all the individuals who died upon that day in alphabetical order. Buis died, as did Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand, whose name is second on the wall. 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. 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. Names that become eligible for inclusion are added once each year, in May, a few weeks before Memorial Day. This approach would allow veterans, friends and family members to find a loved one by his or her date of casualty. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. The Reading of the Names is an in-person event where every single name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is read in order of which it appears on The Wall. 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. 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 DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldnt quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didnt have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. Another challenge was ensuring the accuracy of the names. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. The Navy fatalities were 2,556 or 2 percent. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. Congress. A more precise equation would be that the college bound stayed home while the non-college bound served and died. Buis was in Vietnam by his own volition. The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. Thus we can see that the channeling philosophy continued within the armed forces. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). And there is an end. . He did it allsing, dance, create music and crack wise. The wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is 493 feet and 6 inches long, built of thick, polished black Bangalore granite. The Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. Others, later in the war, were simply ineligible because of high lottery number. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! Doubek was tasked with identifying all of the names to be included on the Wall. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. 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. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angles open side and contained within the earth itself. Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service members status: either missing or confirmed dead. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. VVMF does not have the authority to overrule those who adjudicate these matters. Where previously a high school diploma had been an acceptable goal, now it was college and all the benefits it would bring. With the glitch discovered, Doubek and his team located and hand-corrected each error. The officer corps has always drawn heavily on English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries from middle-class white collar homes, with other large percentages from ambitious working class blue collar and, of course, career military families. 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. Twenty years passed before Vandegeers remains were identified and another five passed before his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage. Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. During and after the Vietnam War, the Department of Defense (DoD) compiled a list of combat zone casualties according to criteria in a 1965 Presidential Executive Order. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. Please say a prayer for our fallen heroes, their family members, and our hero Vietnam War Veterans during your visit. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. 1972, United States, National Archives, Military Records, 1885-2004, United States, National Archives, Korean War and Vietnam War Records, Start your Military Service Record Request, National Archives at St. Louis, Selective Service Records. This came at a time when blacks made up 11 percent of the male population nationwide. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. 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. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. I mean, it was bad.. During one review, Doubek found a glitch with the computer software: it did not recognize the spaces that appeared within a last name, such as van der Meide. Nor could it properly discern a compounded first name, such as Billy Bob, versus a traditional first and middle name. 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. VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. that each name was a real person. name within a given date. 1970 - ca. The draftee, if found physically and mentally fit, would be inducted for a period of two years, to be followed by another two year period in the active reserves and a subsequent two years in the inactive reserves. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. 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 . Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. For information regarding official military unit histories, contact: Air ForceU.S. The Navy had a similar profile: 55 percent of its 622 officer casualties were 30 years of age or older, and 45 percent were ranked at lieutenant commander or above when they died. The index gives birth and death dates, country of death, cause of death (air, ground, or sea), town and state of residence at time of enlistment, race, religious affiliation, marital status, service number, rank, and branch of service. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site Of the 8000 Coast guardsmen who served in Vietnam, 3 officers and 4 enlisted men were killed and 59 were wounded. 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. If a service member were to return alive, a circlethe symbol of lifewould be inscribed around the plus sign. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. Photo credit DOD photo by Army Sgt. 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. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. 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. readers. For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. This year, 14 names were etched into the wall. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. Often that advice, especially for professional athletes, rock stars, sons of politicians and other celebrities, was to join the never-to-be-called-up reserves or National Guard. 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. Items are gathered by park staff. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. Locate the corresponding panel at the Memorial. The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, MA; he was listed by theDepartment of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. Much more detailed Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. The training for American officers is thought by most foreign military authorities to be the best in the world. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. 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. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. Since its adoption in 1951, at the time of the Korean War, this policy had been renewed by Congress every four years. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. 1972 NAID 305367, Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award Case Files, 19711971 NAID 5721359. These names are followed by the inscription: Our nation honors the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of its Vietnam veterans. Look for discharge papers, pictures, medals,etc. They lived only a few yards apart. The panels come together to form a point, linking the first and last together in enduring tribute. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. 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. The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). There was no need to embellish. It gives the names in alphabetical order and . 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. Names can also be located on The Wall of Faces on VVMFs web site, www.vvmf.org/wall-of-faces, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . Vietnam Veterans Memorial Learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in this brief introductory video. 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. Ziomek's name was finally inscribed on the Washington memorial on Sept. 15, 2020; he was one of just three veterans added in 2020. 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. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. Senate. With this list in hand, he went to the various locations where individual service records were kept to review files. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. The individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) may contain information such as: name, Selective Service registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, place of residence at time of registration and basic physical description. Fill out the tour request form. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent of its own men. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. 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. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. I went through the whole list of names eight times, because I was concerned about the correct formatting, remembered Doubek. The appearance of DoD visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. 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. Order it can be difficult but there are a few ways to find a name at either end of the memorial are stands with books inside these list the names in alphabetical. 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. peruse. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. The remaining 70 percent of our Vietnam enlisted casualties were of English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries, more from the South and Midwest than the other regions, many from small towns with a family military tradition. The Air Force lost the highest percentage of officers. 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. 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. I.. J.. K.. L.. M. N.. O.. P.. Q.. R.. S.. T.. U.. V.. W.. X.. Y.. Z THE NAMES ON THE WALL: AN HISTORICAL JUDGMENT. They were at their peak physically. As she wisely predicted, this would help bring the veterans back in timeand a cathartic healing would occur for many by facing this loss again.. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. 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). Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. 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. This, they felt, would offer these men the opportunity to get remedial training in the service and then be able to compete successfully when they returned to civilian life.
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