We had a 10,000 gal balloon full of gas while we watched for someone shooting at us or placing a bomb on the bottom of our boat. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. I was in Vinh Long in 1965, Mekong delta area. 35th CBSG, 315th CAMS Working on C-123,s. 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. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111. His wife and family should be very proud of him. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, Ive also created a poll to help identify my website audience before leaving, can you please click, Vietnam: The War that killed Trust (GuestPost), Gold Star Families Memorial Monument DedicationCeremony. My husband was also a door gunner (191st AHC gunship) but he was there later than you (70-71). I am a Viet Nam combat veteran. Tough and crazy. It was an incredibly tumultuous time in US history and, for that reason, its unclear how many people actually served during this struggle. Alice, my sister lost hers in Oct 2020 from throat cancer due to agent Orange. Luck of the draw my twin that received a silver star got the luck of the draw made it home. Was in 82nd and served from a firebase up North to near South China Sea down South, remember some names but 53 years. (Mar 1969-Sep 70) 2/23, 196 LIB & 1/23 MP Co, 11 LIB, AMERICAL DIV. However, he did not return to the United States until March 22, 1979. I know the difference, do you ? 11B20 and proud of it. Funny, none of them were called WWII Era Veterans. There is a bird in India that says Did you Do it? Im going with 2.9 and saying the person who wrote 9.2 has the seing disease whereas they see everything in reverse. This trip always was a concern, because I would be in a vulnerable condition in Indian Country with only two surveyors alone in a ton jeep. He now has a 100% disability as unemployable. Some likely in error (or on purpose to avoid Agent Orange Claims). I do not believe that the question of who is a Vietnam Veteran is that difficult Assignment to a unit stationed in country is 1 criterion, another is the number of days assigned and served in country Combat at sea of pilots from carriers and rescue crews that flew over the country and those downed I think that there are really 2 classes of Vietnam Veterans, combat and non-combat that is a more difficult designation to separate As a combat platoon Sgt engaged in several large battles and many smaller fire fights, nights being mortared with shells exploding in the trees above The VA needs to add one more medical anomaly, Chronic Butt Pucker for all combat veterans. Therefore there are a lot fewer combat veterans from Vietnam. BTW, Why would this conservative believe anything the New York Times says anyway! I have read about Canadians coming south to fight in Vietnam but have never seen any real authority to support this. I was a Pilot, Licensed Aircraft Mechanic and Maintenance Inspector before going into the Army. I was on merchant ships for three years in viet nam. The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. I have heard many stories (more in the past 30 years) of people claiming to be a combat veteran, maybe seeking some kind of hero status or valid excuse for why they are where they are. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Based on them, and allowing for a couple of intervening years, there appear to be about 600,000 veterans still living who actually set foot in Vietnam or flew in the skies above it. 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. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. If true, 390 VN vets die a day. According to the American War Library, as of February 28, 2019, it is estimated that approximately 610,000 Americans who served in land forces during the Vietnam War or in air missions over Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 are still alive to this day. I agree with the rest of your post, and so did the Army. It was also projected that, from here, 138,000 Vietnam veterans are expected to die each year. Damn it, government could have sent anyone serving at any time to Vietnam. Aside from that, I have always doubted any fact stated by the NY Times; although the federal government is no better. Nov.62 I got off a PanAm flight at Tan Son Nhut with a US passport, wearing civilian clothes and colorful floral leis around my neck after a stop in Hawaii. I have had stage III melanoma, stage III squamous cell throat cancer and now stage II bladder cancer. I am a Proud US Army Veteran retired in 1984. There are no foolproof questions. What is left of them is in Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, and they still smell today. i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. I knew that I was gravely wounded, and bullets were kicking up dust clouds as they were landing around my feet. While there troops from our unit were deployed to Vietnam as replacements yet some people dont consider us as support for troops in Vietnam. Over 8.7 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era from 1964 to 1973 (1). There is a MOUNTAIN of difference in each s experience, combat veterans, those of us who lived and died in the jungle muck, snippers, booby traps, mortar attacks, and the battles with dozens killed and scores wounded. Tell it like it is. Sgt. Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska. we got one daily the other one weekly. I knew I was dying, but I struggled with all my might to stay alive. What other conclusions have been made about the percentage of Vietnam veterans who are still alive? my larger point is that , in my opinion, they were veterans. We need a better more definitive for VIETNAM Vet. 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. Im a 1967-68 Vietnam combat veteran. This is a controversial post. i am not better, but i am not worse. I am unsure of how many Native peoples joined the US marine corps and volunteered for combat duties. An overwhelming number are buried by family and friends. I always ask if they know what a fuck you lizard was. The book by Hal Moore & Joe Galloway We were soldiers once, and young describe what many of us experienced. (52. years later) All with the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Air Borne Division. But I guess I knew where I was if we were at a base. https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War. Dave, Well again, nothing that you have posted tells the story that you were in Vietnam. The total number of is estimated at 2.8 million US veterans who were exposed to the poisonous chemical while serving and later died. Real combat veterans will share with other combat veterans as their stories have many similarities. I have done lots of research, read a bunch of historical history, and met and talked to well over 1000 NAM VETS !!!!! Bob, Excellent questions. My brother claims he is a Vietnam veteran. Another 2,000,000 were in country but worked supply or support [based on 10% rule]. my point is that they were shot at and in country. Thank you. 2500 to 3000 US Air Force troops stationed in Guam, Thailand, and other countries that were involved in the Vietnam War effort. Welcome home! Findings are made available to the public in an Annual Report. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. Im glad you made it back! If you are diagnosed with a condition that they know is caused by exposure to the chemical, they will presume that condition is service-connected. 109, 000 died in the service during this period. I can tell you that those who served in Thailand should definitely be considered Vietnam Vets. Lying on my back in the underbrush, watching the blue sky, bleeding on the jungle floor alone. I dont know why we have to make this simple arithmetic drill so difficult. the draft board made that very clear. Does having your ramp down and touching a river bank count as boots on ground while we were not allowed to go off the boat when we were pumping gas to the airbase? Although my time had come, my death brought a realization that, I WOULD NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO DYE IN THAT JUNGLE. I discovered a conviction, antithesis to my beliefs, that it was not the North Vietnamese Army that sealed my fate, nor the soldier that touched off the RPG that distorted my body; I had the power from GOD to go to the next phase in my journey. Not sure what to think about the article. Me? The report is based on national death certificate data currently available through 2020. i appreciate i was not in a company and humped for a year. We and they generally slept in the same bunks in the same tent if we werent up on call during the night. About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Whether you were sprayed or not makes no difference, and YOU ARE NOT required to prove anything other than being present in Vietnam. The politicians and fake news along with the Berkeley professors lost it for the American people after that. The VVA Veteran boils it down to a totally different conclusion that the American War Library drew. Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response. One of the things that really bothers me is the statement that we lost in Vietnam? GREAT I was there in 1964-1965 then 1967-1968 then my last tour was 1971-1972. One good way to detect a phony is to ask him what his MOS was. I think there about 250,000 Virtnam Vets that saw actual combat. Alternatively, to transfigure my destiny. Cheers, go to the top of this article and choose the magnifying glass and search for Canadians in Vietnam to read an article on this website about them. none more than the ERA Vets. I volunteered for 3 TDY tours 18 months total. (There are other locations and occupations also, but lets not muddy the waters in this paragraph.) These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. SP5 Mark Kuzinski 86.6K 296 151 53 53 0 Vietnam veterans are dying at the rate of 390 deaths each day. This battle resulted in the loss of 13 Marines (10 in combat, 3 were left behind and executed by the Khmer Rouge, 2 Navy Corpsmen, and 3 Air Force pilots.