Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. 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. 5th Marines were killed in . THE NAMES ON THE WALL: AN HISTORICAL JUDGMENT. Look for discharge papers, pictures, medals,etc. 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. This takes about 72 hours. 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. Of the 7,877 officer casualties, 7,595, or 96.4 percent, were white; 147, or 1.8 percent, were black; 24, or 0.3 percent, were Asian; 7, or .08 percent, were Native American; 104, or 1.3 percent, were unidentified by race. The Wall is about names. 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. In civilian life, poor aptitude testing can have a tremendous negative impact, whether for college placement or for simple job advancement. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall the "save as" menu command to store each text file on your media. 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. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . This change prompted the addition of 110 names in 1986. The Vietnam War was no different. This came at a time when blacks made up 11 percent of the male population nationwide. 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. The essence of the Wall is the names and the reaction of the visitor to seeing his or her reflection in this sea of remembrance. 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 1970 census which is being used as our Vietnam era population base did not list an Hispanic count but gave an estimate of 4.5 percent of the American population. 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. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. It specified the geographic areas of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and surrounding coastal areas as combat zones. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. Nursing the wounded. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. "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. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. This is the most accurate database online. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 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. 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 she wisely predicted, this would help bring the veterans back in timeand a cathartic healing would occur for many by facing this loss again.. Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. 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. 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. 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. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. However, there have been no such cases. All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. site, for searching with a word processor. 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. 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 USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). The names would become the memorial. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972. Colleen Pontes, whose father Kevin Joyce was added in 2003, remembered the rush of emotions she felt as she and her brother watched their dads name being inscribed in the granite. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. I.. J.. K.. L.. M. N.. O.. P.. Q.. R.. S.. T.. U.. V.. W.. X.. Y.. Z The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. What will be the evolving historical judgment for those names on the Wall? This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. It ripped men from their loved ones, family, friends, and it left a wave of death in its path. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. Much more detailed When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. 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. They drew on every segment of American society. I went through the whole list of names eight times, because I was concerned about the correct formatting, remembered Doubek. Buis died, as did Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand, whose name is second on the wall. The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. 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. His name does not appear at either far end. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. 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. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. More names are added to the wall every year. 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. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. For information regarding official military unit histories, contact: Air ForceU.S. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. Kurt became the man of the house, even as a boy. And, as in every American war, it is the very young who are the most willing to volunteer. Thats a tragic 2,415 more names on the Vietnam Wall in a single month. 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. Records of individuals who left service more than 62 years ago are considered Archival Records and become records of the National Archives open to the general public. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. Access to Non-Archival Military Service Records is limited. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. United States. Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. A correspondingly greater tradition of military service in the other regions had its effect on U.S. regional casualties. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. 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. 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. If each Air Force Historical Research Agency 600 Chenault Circle Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424Telephone: (334) 953-2395, ArmyU.S. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. 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. 26 Similar Questions 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. 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 Classification History (SSS Form 102) may contain: name; date of birth; classification and date of mailing notice; date of appeal to the board; date and results of armed forces physical examination; entry into active duty or civilian work in lieu of induction (may include date, branch of service entered and mode of entry, such as enlisted or ordered); date of separation from active duty or civilian work; and general remarks. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. There are the tourists who make the circuit of all the various monuments and landmarks in our nations capital. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. 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.