Vietnam Veterans Memorial Learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in this brief introductory video. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. Air Force Historical Research Agency 600 Chenault Circle Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424Telephone: (334) 953-2395, ArmyU.S. 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. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. From 1964 to 1973, 2,100,000 men and women served in Vietnam, but this was only 8 percent of the 26,000,000 Americans who were eligible for military service. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The memorial consists of three separate parts: The Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, also known as The Wall That Heals, which is the most popular feature. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. 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 . Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. What will be the evolving historical judgment for those names on the Wall? With few exceptions, almost all of the 6,600 commissioned officers who died in Vietnam were graduates of the service academies, college Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), or the Officer Candidate School (OCS) programs. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense and the individual service branches maintained separate casualty lists with slightly differing criteria. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. peruse. 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. Congress. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. 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. Others, later in the war, were simply ineligible because of high lottery number. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order I.. J.. K.. L.. M. N.. O.. P.. Q.. R.. S.. T.. U.. V.. W.. X.. Y.. Z Charles Holley; chief editor, Robert J. Martin, 4th Infantry Division. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. It called for the registration of all 18 to 26-year old males, with induction to take place at 18 1/2 if so ordered by the local draft board. 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. 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 wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is 493 feet and 6 inches long, built of thick, polished black Bangalore granite. but will allow you to download it after you specify a file name. Since then, 379 names have been added, for a total of 58,318 (as of Memorial Day 2017). Its been more than 20 years since Forrest Gump debuted on the silver screen and nearly a generation later, its characters still resonate with todays service members. Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger. 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. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. 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. Yet, a civilian heroine who served in a different capacity during that difficult time also merits particular acknowledgment. The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. 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. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angles open side and contained within the earth itself. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. 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. As a result, the software improperly truncated or abbreviated names. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. Coast Guard Historians OfficeCommandant (CG-09224)U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters 2100 Second Street SW Washington, D.C. 20593. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. 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. 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. How to Order a Draft Record. And there is an end. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. He did it allsing, dance, create music and crack wise. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. The lists are based on the "home of record - state" data provided by the serviceman or woman upon last entrance into military service. 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. 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 DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. However, there have been no such cases. 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. Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service members status: either missing or confirmed dead. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. The Vietnam War is no different. All of this was one of the great and abiding agonies of the Vietnam War, causing repercussions within families and on the national political scene to this day. 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. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. 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. When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. Honoring the men and women who served in the controversial Vietnam War, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial chronologically lists the names of 58,318 Americans who gave their lives in service to their country. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? They refer to older or younger siblings who are either in or on their way to college. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. On the other end of that phone call was an former Air Force officer who had served in Vietnam. 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 first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. NAVY AND AIR FORCE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. 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. readers. The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. 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. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. Another challenge was ensuring the accuracy of the names. And, as in every American war, it is the very young who are the most willing to volunteer. ".for those who have died." Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. Inscribed dots in the margins of every other panel mark every 10 lines to aid in counting. Where previously a high school diploma had been an acceptable goal, now it was college and all the benefits it would bring. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. Be the first to learn about news, service member stories and fundraising updates from USO. There was no need to embellish. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. . Items are gathered by park staff. For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. His name does not appear at either far end. This page has been viewed 167,336 times (0 via redirect). Lower end category IVs consisting of those who scored below 20 on the AFQT were usually rejected for service. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. We were one giant Hollywood B-17 bomber crew, one perfect socioeconomic platoon storming Omaha Beach or Okinawa. Message & data rates may apply. 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. The affected record collections are described below. This was a reflection of the role of warrant officers as helicopter pilots (of the 1,277 warrant officer casualties, 95 percent were Army helicopter pilots), and of the young lieutenants and captains as combat platoon leaders or company commanders. The Vietnam War was no different. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. 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. The first Americans to die did not perish in a foxhole or beneath stars obscured by a jungle canopy. Since its adoption in 1951, at the time of the Korean War, this policy had been renewed by Congress every four years. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 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. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. to open, search, edit, or print the name files. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. But there is a beginning. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. These officer casualties came more from the South and West regions, 4.1 deaths per 100,000, in contrast to 3.5 from the Northeast and Midwest regions. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. A diamond symbol signifies that the service members death was confirmed. What happens to items left at the memorial? Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. 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. 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. 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. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. Authority Record - NARA, Records of the U.S. 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. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. These names are followed by the inscription: Our nation honors the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of its Vietnam veterans. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. 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. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last A.. B.. C.. D.. E.. F.. G.. H.. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. An aunt came and loaded the three boys into the car. 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. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. As Vietnam War Veterans Day nears March 29, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation's Wall of Faces is nearly complete but needs help from the public to track down the last few dozen photos. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent of its own men. These directories help locate names on the wall. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all 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. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. | 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. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. 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. Please be patient This uneven impact was caused by a number of factors: (1) While the South was home to some 53 percent of all blacks in the 1970 census, almost 60 percent of black casualties came from the South; (2) Although we cannot be as precise, we do know that a considerable majority of Hispanic-American casualties came from the West, (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado) and the South (Texas); (3) Better employment opportunities in the Northeast reduced the number of volunteers; (4) Greater college matriculation in the Northeast increased the number of status deferments for the regions 17- to 24- year olds; (5) More anti-war sentiment in the media and on college campuses in the Northeast. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. . 1970 - ca. Of the 8000 Coast guardsmen who served in Vietnam, 3 officers and 4 enlisted men were killed and 59 were wounded. Look for discharge papers, pictures, medals,etc. 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. Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. the reader loses composure. 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 The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. Several hundred such designation changes have been made since the Wall was built in 1982. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. The article was originally published in the June 1993 issue of Vietnam Magazine and updated in November 2004. National Mall and Memorial Parks , Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. 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. 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. 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 officer corps casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. It ripped men from their loved ones, family, friends, and it left a wave of death in its path. And there are the Vietnam veterans, who come to recognize the sacrifice of their fellow warriors, wondering why their own names are not there, too. site, for searching with a word processor. Thus, the wars beginning and end meet. Vietnam War Casualties- Main Alphabetical Index www.VirtualWall.org Find A Name Information Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed.
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