and for the most part, we had no weapons. There are no foolproof questions. retired university professor Without fanfare or much recognition. Some likely in error (or on purpose to avoid Agent Orange Claims). It takes military personnel to support the troops on ground or ships in war territory waters. i went to dong ha several times. This is a suicide rate of 1 EVERY 65-80 minutes (APPROX). Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. i served and i was affected like nearly every other person who spent time there. 240,000 survivingAbout 70 million people fought in World War II and, as of 2021, there are still approximately 240,000 surviving veterans in the United States alone. 58,184 died in the combat zone or from combat wounds. So the vets that actually saw combat numbers are swelled by the rear echelon members to 600,000. yet there were millions that signed up or were drafted. USA, (Ret.). you tell me. Combat was what we did. At this rate there will be only a few of us alive in 2015. fired on coming up river, a few other things. When you spend most of the time out in the Bad Lands, bad things happen. Chester/Gordon, If they reply that they do not talk about their experiences They are not Combat Veterans maybe not even Vietnam Veterans. best to all. When I opened my mouth and started talking about Nam, Id get this response, We dont talk about Nam .In my opinion we should tell everyone about our combat experience. I was ASA, 1960-1963, Ft Dix, Vint Hill Farm, DaNang and PhuBai. September 27, 2022 by Editorial Team. Last troops departed on 29 March, 1973. If the ratio of approximately 10% remains the same about 314. If you assumed that 500,000 new troops served there every year from 1962-1975, you still couldnt get to 9,000,000 serving there, so using the peak number is not realistic. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska. I wonder if I was not Dante- would I have the inspiration to survive? There is a bird in India that says Did you Do it? Clearly, the New York Times is referring to Vietnam-era veterans, not Vietnam veterans. Nha Trang (TET 68), The 9 million was the total number of people in the military during 64-75 . Operation Homecoming was completed on March 29, 1973, when the last of 591 U.S. prisoners were released and returned to the United States. Age: 77. Change). However, according to the Veterans Affairs Administration, there are an estimated 38,000 veterans die each day. Era vets are important but dont count. And i can tell you , we made a lot of money. A total of 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era, with over 2,709,000 Americans serving in Vietnam, about 9.7% of the generation.Vietnam Veterans by State 2022. I think 9+ million total in US military service during the peak years of the Vietnam War and 2.6 2.7 million in Nam and its waters and air space is right. We saved many a guy after you brought him to us from the boonies. 7,484 women served in Vietnam, 83.5% being nurses. Alternatively, to transfigure my destiny. Can You Join the Military With Depression? I knew I was dying, but I struggled with all my might to stay alive. The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. Im now 74. I know what I did while there in 1975, protecting USAF resources and aiding in the support of many end of the war mission. The dashboard gauges and the gearshift lever approached, as I hit the dashboard with my left side and my head crashed to the floor; My spirit rejoined and I was protected by the firewall. I did a short extra tour with the 97th Trans in Cam Rahn Bay, they had 30 or so LCUs that hauled artillery projectiles and other stuff including fuel up many of those rivers. But I guess I knew where I was if we were at a base. Most of those who flew had Air Medals which are a combat medal. So, with the lower estimate of 610,000, over 2.1 million VN vets have died since 1975 thats an average of 44,000/year. I saw the truck bounce towards the trees. . I had several Canadians in our Company in Vietnam. Overall, the death rate of Vietnam veterans seems to be rather consistent if not better than other people their same age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Steve The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". a few years ago i was flying from rome to possibly germany or holland on the way back to montreal. My question, How many guys are I still alive refers to the ones who were in direct combat action? Of the nearly 3Mil that served, only one in twelve were in fire fights. So, when we talk about Vietnam vets who are living or dead, we should be talking STRICTLY about Vets who participated in the Vietnam War. All Lawyer adds is for 2 percent, do you think that this was a greater risk for Cancer. Combat veterans will share their experiences with other veterans especially combat veterans (CIB). They used the same aircraft, and there was anything left in the aircraft, whatever the spray for the day was added, so you got both. It makes a big difference because stating that only one-third of Vietnam veterans are still alive today is much harsher than stating that three-quarters of Vietnam veterans are still alive and well. One count should be those Vietnam Veterans who had feet on the ground. Estimating the number of suicides among Vietnam veterans Unconfirmed reports that 50,000 or more Vietnam veterans have committed suicide give the impression that these veterans are at exceedingly high risk of suicide compared with other veterans and nonveterans of the same age. The last number of Viet Nam veterans alive today was 730,000, which would equate to around todays number of 610,000. Our 2003 NJAOC Desk Guide to the unique health issue of Nam vets and our children is still the Gold Standard. I asked him to give me his number, he did not put a number on it just that he was Not. There are questions like this that are hard to answere as being true boots on ground. Im going with 2.9 and saying the person who wrote 9.2 has the seing disease whereas they see everything in reverse. Welcome home! One moment is eternity- the next may never!. In the article, the writer quotes Patrick S. Brady of Vietnam Veterans of Americas magazine. 23 Div and finally MACV Tm 87, 43 RCAT 18th ARVN Div. The remaining 6.5 million were serving either at-home or abroad but not in Vietnam. Aint this fun? i appreciate i was not in a company and humped for a year. VA's Veteran Population Projection Model estimates that there are approximately 6.1 million living Vietnam War-era Veterans, as of 2021. i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. I do not doubt that it occurred, but can anyone cite a reliable source for this? Thats sad and should stop. They wore the Vietnam Service Medal. 2025. Its possible that the youngest living Vietnam Veteran may be 61 years old. The ERA Vets know perfectly well that they were neverNEVER..in Vietnam, and that this is nothing but a desperate attempt to gain the respect those men earned. I was with the 1st Inf Division from July 67 to June 68 and we received $15 overseas pay and $65 combat pay a month. There is a statistic that has been widely quoted in the veteran community that highlights an estimated 22 veterans a day are committing suicide. More than 300,000 Veterans were wounded during the Vietnam War. Those were the prime draft years, but of course there were a few older guys over there too.This does not include other American men there who are not covered by the A, like civilian contractors. However I know many many who have died these past 55 years & 6 months since the Battle of Soui Tre March 21, 1967 and I know what is a combat veteran. Heres a fact: Jeffery Lynn Scheller, USN, born July 31, 1954 was Killed In Action on October 1, 1972. I remember lots of the names Evana, Eagle, Bastone, Granite, Ripcord, Maryanne. Things that they did not tell you. The VA researchers analyzed the death certificates of 21 states to create the 2010 national estimate for veterans from all age groups. Im glad you made it back! Then I down shifted entered the worst section of massive ruts and the broken-up roadbed threw the truck all about its grooves. Exiting the jungle, still at the foot of the mountain opposite from my defenses; the mountains bulk acted as a radio barrier between help from S3 at Enari or the SFs at the Ville. The insistence to include Vietnam-ErA vets with those who served in-country results in a ridiculous skew to any meaningful stats. His Engineer company was tasked to fight as Infantry, and they did. i am not saying i was a hero, but i am saying that i did the job and i did not argue. And just as the bell rang he got out of the ring , technically I won the fight. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. My whole essence was involved it the quest of one more heartbeat, one more breath, one more gasp of pain averting energy, one moment at a time. I was there in 1964-1965 then 1967-1968 then my last tour was 1971-1972. It could be a Yard, Don Porier, or a sapper. I went into shock and lost conscienceless. How many Vietnam veterans died from Agent Orange? How many ww2 veterans are still alive 2021? Ive often wondered how many of us are left. I had encountered a learning experience, and inspirational contact with the celestial. Certainly leaves some doubt about the numbers because why are we including the years from 1954 to when the actual American forces entered hostile missions? The last three I knew had lost a lot of weight, two had each lost a lung. Finally got all the right stuff together; received benefits couple months ago. Only believing what Fox & Friends has to say is really what you need to question Most things in the NYT does get critical peer review and push back when questionable Fox NOT SO, look at the crap coming out of Tucker Carlson, now that is scary extreme BS, The picture tells far more than a Thousand Words, it is that thousand yard stare, and any veteran who was out there can fill in the blanks of what they were thinking at that moment Offshore ocean sailing is a lot like being out trucking thru the jungle Minutes , hours day upon day of monotony and boredom, interrupted by moments of fright & terror I know that thousand yard stare, and many a time since I have found myself back there in my mind, staring at whatever and seeing nothing but what was in my mind. How Many B 52S Were Shot Down During The Vietnam War? According to the Pentagons Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, there are currently 83,204 unaccounted for U.S. personnel, including 73,547 from World War II, 7,883 from the Korean War, 126 from the Cold War, 1,642 from the Vietnam War, and six from Iraq and other recent conflicts, including three Defense. we had a building where the company stored our property. U failed to remember the last name on the Wall was in 1975. hello, The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. While every GI serving around the world was important to securing our Cold War victory over Communism just as the Vietnam conflict was also, those who served in uniform in the SEA War Theater are the true veterans of the Vietnam War. My 2.6 million figure refers to American vets. My sister found enough info to get my brother in laws ship re-classified as a brown water ship and proved he was sent in country by the ships commander (Newport News). If you served anywhere at all, anywherre during WWI, you are a WWI vet. In addition, the US lost two F-111As, three F-4s, two A-7s, two A-6s, one EB-66, one HH-53, and one RA-5C. We were sprayed every 2 weeks with Melithon (Insecticide) that was 96 percent pure. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. Ive reached the age of truth telling, and have grown sick of pretending, and giving trophies to the undeserving I saw good men die, and their loved ones dont deserve this dishonor any longer. Christmas Night, Midnight, a guy in the next Bunker committed suicide.