The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A , who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. Anyone suggesting that only a CIB award means you were a combat veteran is very uninformed The Battle of Soui Tre March 21, 1967 the men of the 2/77 Artillery were every bit infantry as well as Arty that day and many many other FSB battles. i said once if you walked , you worked. I entered an L shaped ambush. I was searching aria, even though these ruts are a real bitch! I was jostled and jerked by the truck over the dusty road. Floyd James ThompsonHe was one of the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history that was returned or captured by troops, spending nearly nine years in captivity in the forests and mountains of South Vietnam and Laos, and in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. and by the way, they never got benefits after their time at sea. The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! Thats sad and should stop. Why all this devisiveness. Things that they did not tell you. I went on about 500 missions. If we dont include forces in Thailand or Guam why are we including anyone except Navy pilots, because I dont remember any deep water people who were subjected to enemy hostilities. 101st Airborne Division 69-70 It too bad that guys that never fought think for some reason they deserve credit for being in Vietnam when they werent. My Company was A Co, 5th Trans Bn, 101st Abn. This is a reasonable number but you get very different notions of the death rate when you compare 800,000 to 2.7 million versus 800,000 out of 9.2 million. Therefore there are a lot fewer combat veterans from Vietnam. Their lives should be given importance. Ive never seen so many people so full of shit trying to answer a question like how many Vietnam veterans are still alive today. we got one daily the other one weekly. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. Unless they kept track by service or SSN, how many Vietnam Veterans are there ? I knew I was dying, but I struggled with all my might to stay alive. One moment is eternity- the next may never!. Educate your self and search the web for the last battle of the Vietnam war. The group in my AIT Class were all happy about this. He was a Private First Class who was killed in action in the Second World War. As I started to slowly stagger upright towards the opposite side of the road, trying with all my might to gain my balance, I went down hard. Bien Hoa & Phu Bai, two badly polluted areas! If they enlisted or were drafted before 1975, they likely are in their late 60s now. Not sure what to think about the article. Bullets were flying everywhere, and the noise was tremendous. Pop, POP POP. So, I must be a VN Vet and VN Era Vet and Cold War Era Vet but not a Cold War Vet because I never got anywhere near the USSR. I pulled up to the local tailor shop to fix some of my fatigue pants. I arrived in country Dec. 5, 1967. 100,000 or more to suicide and most of those occurred after the men came home. Our side would have collapsed without you. John, The youngest Vietnam War veteran was a 15-year-old child named Dan Bullock. The average annual payment was $18,100. The 30 September 2007 Veterans Administration estimate places the daily deaths of WWII US veterans at 1,000 per day. Sorry for your loss of your loved one. Id like to ask a question. i do not remember the moss but the went on quite a while. On Sat, Jun 19, 2021 at 4:22 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: This is a controversial post. Assuming were talking solely about U.S. Vietnam veterans, all I would add is that anyone who served in the military and entered the war zone is technically a Vietnam veteran. Presently, I approached the road to the top of PDL hill, and I was thinking what a beautiful day this would have been if this were some other place in some other world. It should be duly noted that these numbers do not include the 2500 to 3000 US Air Force troops stationed in Guam, Thailand, and other countries that were involved in the Vietnam War effort. I got the disability benefits at age 79. I realized what control I had in the cosmos. A few times Id meet a group of guys claiming they were all Nam Vets. They wore the Vietnam Service Medal. Im 75 and served in South Vietnam (30 Dec 1967-68) A/504th MP Bn. As I moved my right hand to change gears, it just blew apart, as red blood and parts of my hand flew everywhere instantaneously, but in slow motion I seemingly was catapulted onto some parallel universe. YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. Army Reserve: 189,500 Welcome home! Tough and crazy. Without a doubt Helicopter Crews are COMBAT VETS, to fly so low & slow over the most hidden turf below.. On landing at LZ Gold March 19, 1967 we lost 6 Hueys and 7 pilots. Aint this fun? How old is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? Separate war. I have one, but I fought a ferocious battle at FSB Gold at the beginning of Operation Junction II March 21, 1967, the artillery guys in Vietnam were every bit an infantryman as well, they suffered mortar & rocket attacks, enemy probes and attacks They were lucky in some ways that they did not have to crawl through the shit every day. I am unsure of how many Native peoples joined the US marine corps and volunteered for combat duties. The fear returned, as I knew he was of small stature. The book by Hal Moore & Joe Galloway We were soldiers once, and young describe what many of us experienced. Perhaps the reason for guys is that there were times we had to drink out of bomb craters that were in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. Anyone who says you guys werent there will have to fight me. The now call them Vietnam era veterans. 11B20 and proud of it. NO, some who got to sleep in the same bed night after night, yet were low slow flying targets by day are NOT REMF. I still consider myself lucky every day! We dont respect the combat Vets and they shouldnt disrespect us. Currently, it is estimated with data provided by the United States Census Bureau, that there about 100,000 Oregon Vietnam era veterans alive today. to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between '95 and '00. Awakening, I was the only person there, so the enemy was concentrated on me. Then I down shifted entered the worst section of massive ruts and the broken-up roadbed threw the truck all about its grooves. Some idiot in DC decided to do this. 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. The last three I knew had lost a lot of weight, two had each lost a lung. As anti-war vet , all these years later, I respect yall and your stories. I can smell a fake and phony 10 seconds after we meet !!!!! How many WWII veterans die each day? We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! Thousands of sorties departed from Thailand, Guam, and from aircraft carriers at sea to kill MIGS, bomb factories and bridges, and generally create havoc. Age 20y 11mo. A half century after serving in Vietnam, hundreds of veterans have a new reason to believe they may be dying from a silent bullet test results show some men may have been infected by a. Thats what we did in Vietnam we left and am glad we did. Id like to know what the 1 in 14 men figure is based on. 3rd Brigade 4th ID attached to the 25th ID 111.40 & 112.40 later these became 11B.40 & 11C.40. Stolen Valor the American Way! I do not like pretenders but do not want to take on the duty of Valor Police. I served in 67 69 & had stroke in 93 then heart attack in 2002 with 2d in 2004 . Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. Yes, Vietnam War veterans are still eligible for various benefits and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including disability compensation, health care, and education benefits. when we carried peaches and beer, no problem. Thank you for taking the time to read this. You were in Combat!!! Using the 2.7 million and assuming one hundred thousand did two tours, I would use the six hundred thousand as the amount still living, due mainly to the delays in Agent Orange treatments and PTSD delays with the sucides from 1970 approx. That is correct, Dow Chemical is responsible for three times as many Viet Nam veteran deaths as the NVA and the VC. How many Vietnamese citizens died in the Vietnam War? If you served anywhere at all, anywherre during WWI, you are a WWI vet. And a count of military that flew over Nam bombing etc. 8,113,000 are still alive (May 2000) Post navigation I was there in 1969. What do you think? I was C 3/17 Air Cav. Was in 82nd and served from a firebase up North to near South China Sea down South, remember some names but 53 years. I remember that the minute we came around the coast and headed up for Vung Tau, as merchantmen on American Export LInes ships, we got a sizeable war zone increase in our pay. remember) there will likely be a debate as to how But I didnt beat him he just left. We all served in our assigned duties, some bled, and some died. How many REAL Vietnam vets are alive today? - American War Library The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A, who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. There is a bird in India that says Did you Do it? References:https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htmhttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/how-many-vietnam-veterans-are-still-alive.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War, The Armys FY 2023 budget request is ~$177.5 Billion. Then, I stopped at the 5th. The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. I dont remember the exact number but remember it was over 500,000 in country and the number was the most ever at one time as the article was about Nixon beginning troop withdrawals that would continue until 1975. was i a veteran? when we carried ordnance we had to accept 50 cal fire from the shore on the way to saigon. This accurate accounting gives us persepective on the cost of current and future wars. It was only a short ride. Another long time friend served on the Riverine Force actually served on John Kerrys boat and is mentioned prominently in his book, told me stories about being ambushed, as those boats made a lot of noise. The thing is the question/topic here is not how many Vietnam combat veterans are there, or how many Vietnam Era veterans are there; its how many Vietnam veterans are there. Additionally, the American War Library approximated that around 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters during the same time are still alive today. The Truth About 22 Veteran Suicides A Day - Task & Purpose a few years ago i was flying from rome to possibly germany or holland on the way back to montreal. It took about 30 years for the government to acknowledge we were even there. We are not ashamed of our service or the fact we killed and had friends die, far more than we care to remember. If they reply that they do not talk about their experiences They are not Combat Veterans maybe not even Vietnam Veterans. The Vietnam Veterans of America have cited that they will remain an organization until last man standing. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. TRUE, yes more may have had a mortar or rocket land in the vicinity, or heard a sniper round shot, but the manpower rule is 1 out of 7 10 is an actual seek out and engage the enemy, tip of the spear veteran. to Ken Drombosky Today is Sun 22 Aug 2021 but the actual date HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED as the US is SENDING GIs BACK! He was drafted and qualified for Helicopter pilot school. BTW, Why would this conservative believe anything the New York Times says anyway! The artillery, Helo crews, combat engineers, in Vietnam are also considered Combat Vets, Well, I guess it just did not count for us Huey Teams (Sky Angels) supporting infantry/artillery units by flying in to lay down suppression fire, flying you into hot LZs, taking you out of the boonies, bringing you ammo and supplies, flying the wounded and dead back to base camp, not to mention Huey night Hawk missions to rectify an enemy ambush for our infantry that would be pinned down with no hope of survival. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. I recall combat pay (Hazard DutyPay) at $60 dollars a month. it is the duty of the community to stay behind their warriors to heal them and at the back of them when they come back. 2025. It was a free-fire zone, and a nearby flight of gunships was engaged in shooting up the western valley. 1 in 14 men pulled a trigger in Nam. To that we can add those who served in adjacent waters and countries, but 2.6 is likely the closest figure to those in country. Pleiku, Dak To, An Khe. In addition 18 US AF Security Police personnel and their 5 person aircrew were killed responding to the incident (the seizure of the USS Mayaquez), some do not recognize them as combat related deaths either. Im a 1967-68 Vietnam combat veteran. The 9 million was the total number of people in the military during 64-75 . If the ratio of approximately 10% remains the same about 314. Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska. as far as who is a vietnam vet is simple. I wonder how many vets died of one of the cancers on the list before it made the list? Peter my husband is now deceased but he was a door gunner with the 191 st AHC Bounty Hunters (gunships), Very good. I would say anyone who has drawn Vietnam Hazard Duty pay, 30 dollars for every month or part of any month, in or over country, should qualify. The truth is that until Vietnam veterans can agree amongst themselves what constitutes a real Vietnam vet, the debate may continue. The total number of is estimated at 2.8 million US veterans who were exposed to the poisonous chemical while serving and later died. Still, other sources like the New York Times claim the number of Vietnam veterans is actually somewhere around 9.2 million. fired on coming up river, a few other things. In my Book if you didnt step foot in Nam Your sure not a Vietnam Vet, Period. Even if his job depended on them doing theirs well. I always ask those who claim to be Compare yourself to the Marines at Fallujah, if they are a 10, what number are you, Thanks for your comment! NO! retired university professor A Co. 2/8th, First Cavalry, 1968-69. 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. You go, brother! Vietnam Vet_combat. one of the ships i sailed on had a captain that was drunk for 5 months. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. 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. Bob ONeal, Lt.Col. **********************************************************. am i two Vietnam veterans or one. Serving during the TET offensive and time after. When the 3rd Brigade,82 ABD moved from Camp Rodriguez (I Corps) in October 1968 my first base was Tent Citynear Bien Hoa (III Corps) then my unit was moved to Phu Loi. So yes, we did indeed see combatoften. Real combat veterans will share with other combat veterans as their stories have many similarities. I stomped the gas and the engine roared- the truck jumped forward and bounced crazily and so did, garbing the steering tightly. Please do your own due diligence on the American War Library before citing them on ANYTHING, ever. 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. The first US advisors that I can find evidence of arrived in country in 1955. We had a dustoff attached to us. This part of Pleiku Province is a combination of mountains, triple to single canopy jungle and/or open valleys. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. Due to TCDD among other toxic substances, we are dying off faster than other American men born between 1944-1950. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. I think I know the answer but like youjust being picky. Combat veteran means far more than having a CIB. Music That Moves the Military. That's 390 per day. About the same number of draft dodgers.or so I was told. I was drafted in Sep 1966, went to Vietnam Aug 67-Aug 68, and Im 75 until Oct. ONLY Vietnam Vets are separated into two categories. Good for him! The one question I have is how many in country vets did multiple tours over there. How many Vietnam War veterans are still alive 2023? These numbers were not included since these service members were far removed from combat experience and did not spend any amount of time in harms way. We have been betrayed by all Globalists. 2.8 million tour because some guys just couldnt get enough! you tell me. My mom had all three sons in the war my twin brother and i were drafted he got combat I got artillery the younger one joined the air force . According to the American War Library website, it was concluded by the Department of Defense that their best estimate is that between 2,709,918 and 3,173,845 GIs served in Vietnam and its surrounding waters between the years 1954 and 1975. Ive often wondered how many of us are left. Combat Vet, Vet on ships that never touched country, military who were passing through and were on airport tarmac? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Base was 1st MAW Danang AB which got hit early Tet with rockets, mortars and sappers. Im still here after all the BS of AO has really messed up my life with illnesses, surgeries ect since 1975, noting problems while I was in Vietnam in 69, and confirmed. How were WWII veterans & Korean War Veterans accounted for? My uncle John was in Company A, 290th Engineer Combat Bn during WWII. All opinions graciously welcomed. The Vietnam War was the nation's longest and costliest conflict of the Cold War. I remember a distorted image of reality. Vietnam IS a Vietnam veteran. Hundreds of Vietnam vets infected by a slow-killing parasite - NBC News Interesting and certainly thought-provoking. This is a controversial post. It caused extreme political unrest and was widely protested. After Vietnam I hitchhiked for about 12 years. the merchant marine needed every officer and sailor they could find. Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (Mit), Missouri University Of Science And Technology, State University Of New York Health Science Center At Brooklyn, Suny College Of Environmental Science And Forestry, The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte, The University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston, The University Of Texas Health Science Center At San Antonio, The University Of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University Of Texas Medical Branch At Galveston, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Uniformed Services University Of The Health Sciences, University At Buffalo Suny School Of Engineering And Applied Sciences, University Of California, Los Angeles (Ucla), University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, University Of Maryland Baltimore County (Umbc), University Of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester, University Of Tennessee Health Science Center, University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. While there troops from our unit were deployed to Vietnam as replacements yet some people dont consider us as support for troops in Vietnam. So it only makes sense that for those very few of the 9+ million in the service during those years so be able to distinguish themselves. Question One: Are we talking Vietnam Veterans or Vietnam Era Veterans. Since Sept. 11, 2001, just over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide four times more than the number of U.S. military personnel who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He objected, and was assigned as an interpreter attached to the American Embassy in Sweden. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? I would hope they are considered Vietnam combat Vets. As well, those who served in Thailand in late 1973-1975 are often looked down upon as not being real Vietnam Veterans. We are, as we helped conduct many support missions in the region, helped with draw assist during the fall of Cambodia, S. Vietnam and Laos. As a child I knew several WWII veterans. Age: 84. to 1984 approx. ******************************************************* The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. no body turned down extra hands, and my india purchased white shirt and shorts made me attractive target in the event of a problem, and provided some humor to the 130 crews. Every grunt I know would say no. i thank every soldier for their service, i do not exaggerate my actions. That is exactly what I was going to post. I managed to stand again, stepped, and hurled myself into the jungle. Check out this post and see if you can figure this > out. Jorge Otero Barreto. Having studied the war for years, I believe that the correct figure for those on the ground in South Vietnam is 2.6 million. But if the 800,000 number is right then it has to be out of the 9,000,000 and not out of the 2.6 million. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents But having spent a little time thinking about it, I go with the 2m figure.
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