The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. the reader loses composure. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. The panel number is a number/letter combination, such as 10W or 35E. 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. And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. 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. . 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. 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. ARMY AND MARINE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Locate the corresponding panel at the Memorial. Once additions are approved by DoD, VVMF receives the list of approved names, coordinates the inscribing and absorbs the costs. Please say a prayer for our fallen heroes, their family members, and our hero Vietnam War Veterans during your visit. They drew on every segment of American society. Folded American flags were presented to his parents and an Air Force helicopter flew over the ceremony. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. A diamond symbol signifies that the service members death was confirmed. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. 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. For weeks and weeks, a team worked through the list, verifying spellings and ensuring that the computer printout that was to be used for the stenciling was correct. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. 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. (Surprisingly, as it turned out, the percentage of Vietnam veterans who applied for the GI Bill was higher than either World War II or Korea. 8 Women are on the Wall. For more information on this index on, Records relating to American prisoners of war and missing in action from the Vietnam War, including lists and descriptions of the record groups covering the Vietnam War that are held by the National Archives are also found in the FS Library US/CAN Book. November 11, 1982. Many high-ranking military men (including General William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam) opposed the program, feeling that the effectiveness of some units would be reduced and that fellow soldiers would sometimes be put in greater jeopardy by these less mentally capable personnel. This change prompted the addition of 110 names in 1986. Search the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s database of names on the wall. "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. 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 most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 2,415 casualties were incurred. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, creating the countrys first peacetime draft and officially establishing the Selective Service System. 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. 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. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. 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. The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. 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. A(1780 names - 239023 bytes) B(5502 names - 737972 bytes) C(4363 names - 586584 bytes) D(2790 names - 374290 bytes) E(1082 names - 144866 bytes) F(1979 names - 265759 bytes) G(3036 names - 407075 bytes) H(4463 names - 598834 bytes) I(218 names - 29278 bytes) J(1845 names - 247563 bytes) K(2039 names - 273818 bytes) L(2594 names - 347007 bytes) Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. I.. J.. K.. L.. M. N.. O.. P.. Q.. R.. S.. T.. U.. V.. W.. X.. Y.. Z He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. 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 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. The first Americans to die did not perish in a foxhole or beneath stars obscured by a jungle canopy. 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. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! The casual visitor might not immediately recognize that Buis name is the first. Every one of the names on the Wall has a story worth telling, as do all who served in our nation's Armed Forces during that time. (The 58,000 Names) Our fallen Vietnam War heroes are herethe 58,000 heroes who died in Vietnam. It would also enable veterans to find groups of friends who died during the same incident. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. 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 west wall is on the left when standing facing the vertex, and the east wall is to the right. Buis was in Vietnam by his own volition. Full casualty records may be retrieved online through the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases resource. for all 58,228 names to be read aloud. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. 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. 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. A relatively small number refused to register for the draft at all. For families who have worked to have their loved ones name added, the journey can be long and exhausting. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. 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. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. This came at a time when blacks made up 11 percent of the male population nationwide. This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. What will be the evolving historical judgment for those names on the Wall? The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. Please take a moment to let our troops know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. The Names - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The Names When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. If the demographic is expanded to 17- to 21- years, then we find there were 83 percent of Marine enlisted casualties, and 65 percent of Army enlisted casualties. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and The trigger came when the recruiters pointed out that the volunteer could enlist as early as 17 (with parental consent); that he was allowed to select his branch of service; that he would receive specialized training if he qualified; that he could request a specific overseas assignment; and that his three year enlistment followed by three years in the inactive reserves satisfied his military obligation immediately. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Millions more come to experience this Memorial each year. The Vietnam War was no different. You could also keep these files on a computer at your "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. site, for searching with a word processor. I went through the whole list of names eight times, because I was concerned about the correct formatting, remembered Doubek. A correspondingly greater tradition of military service in the other regions had its effect on U.S. regional casualties. Message & data rates may apply. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. 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. The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history. The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. They were at their peak physically. 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. U.S. Army Personnel and Dependent Casualties, 1961-1981 85% of the records in this database are related to the Vietnam Conflict. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. What the MIT study almost certainly showed was that members of the so-called working class consisting of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, firemen, policemen, technicians, skilled factory operatives, farmers, etc., were living in middle class communities and were, therefore, part of our burgeoning middle class. VVMF does not have the authority to overrule those who adjudicate these matters. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. 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. 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. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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. Of 2,590 total Air Force casualties, 1,674 or 65 percent were officers. The idea that American enlisted dead were made up largely of societys poverty stricken misfits is a terrible slander to their memory and to the solid working-class and middle-class families of this country who provided the vast majority of our casualties. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. Air Force Historical Research Agency 600 Chenault Circle Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424Telephone: (334) 953-2395, ArmyU.S. The National Archives has an online searchable database, entitled "Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War," documenting the period 6/8/1956 - 1/21/1998. Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service members status: either missing or confirmed dead. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. 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. 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. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. 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. 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. The major service academies and other military colleges provided close to 900 of the Vietnam officer casualties: the U.S. Military Academy, 278; the U.S. Air Force Academy, 205; the U.S. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. Patricia Krause. Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. Names that become eligible for inclusion are added once each year, in May, a few weeks before Memorial Day. The combination of the selective service policies with the skills and aptitude testing of both volunteers and draftees (in which blacks scored noticeably lower) conspired to assign blacks in greater numbers to the combat units of the Army and Marine Corps. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. Brothers Marlin and Norman Eversgerd were both killed in Vietnam. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent of its own men. 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. Hed volunteered to join a small U.S. military advisory team attached to the South Vietnamese army, and hed been in the village of Bien Hoa for only two days. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. Only 5 to 10 percent of enlisted men in the combat units were estimated to have had some college, and less than 1 percent of these enlisted men were college graduates. prepared by Frances A. Hortsch for the Phoenix Genealogical Society. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Once download 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. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. The National Archives prepared these state level casualty lists by creating extracts from the Korean War Extract Data File and the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File, both as of April 29, 2008, of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, part of Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. Senate. 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. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, 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. 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.. While VVMF finances the name additions to the Wall, it is the Department of Defense that makes these difficult and often technical decisions. Her name? The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. . Why are names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall? Additionally, many of the names on the wall were other teenagers from the suburban white collar communities with siblings who were in, or would go on to college, but who, as individuals themselves, were slow to mature, struggled through high school and were therefore very available for the Vietnam War. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. Nor did America recognize, on July 8, 1959the day he was killedthat another long and bloody war lay in wait. 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. Fully 50 percent were in the 17- to 24-year age group, and astonishingly, there were 764 Army officer casualties who were 21 or younger.
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