The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. The names are listed in chronological order, according to the date of casualty. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. 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. 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. 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. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. Many others joined the reserves or National Guard, which were not mobilized in any appreciable numbers during the 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 resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. the "save as" menu command to store each text file on your media. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. The Order of Precedence For Military Ribbon Wear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubH-5CulqI, Military Funeral Guide for Families & Funeral Homes, The Ultimate Military Gift Guide for Unique Military Gifts, Black Military History and Black Medal of Honor Recipients. Please be patient This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with We worked very hard with volunteers from the Gold Star Mothers, recalled Doubek. The figures show that on average 65 percent of white enlisted men and 60 percent of black enlisted men were high school graduates. . By his estimate, he helped pull out close to 2,000 people. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. But given the draft policies, the hard-sell recruitment, the severe escalation from month to month and the refusal by President Lyndon Johnson to call up the older reserves and National Guard, it could not have been otherwise. It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. The popularity of the GI Bill after Vietnam emphasized this yearning. 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. The unit diary portion of the muster roll should indicate when members of the Lima Company, 3rd platoon. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. What the MIT study almost certainly showed was that members of the so-called working class consisting of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, firemen, policemen, technicians, skilled factory operatives, farmers, etc., were living in middle class communities and were, therefore, part of our burgeoning middle class. Vietnam War Casualties- Main Alphabetical Index www.VirtualWall.org Find A Name Information Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. Some have tried for years before receiving approval from DoD. Although the names are not listed alphabetically, it is not difficult for visitors to find a name on the Memorial. True enough, but many of the surviving Vietnam casualty families would reply that the ultimate unfairness is death at an early age, in a land far from home, for reasons not clearly defined. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. 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. It is forgotten now, but in the beginning Congress and most of the American people were behind our containment effort in Vietnam. As Vandegeer piloted his CH-53 helicopter toward the island, a wall of anti-aircraft fire knocked it from the sky, and it crashed toward the water with 26 men aboard. The appearance of DoD visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Once a master list was compiled, the names were checked manually for errors. A correspondingly greater tradition of military service in the other regions had its effect on U.S. regional casualties. Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to Some recent studies tend to refute what had been the perceived wisdom of social scientists and other commentators that our Vietnam dead came overwhelmingly from the poor communities. Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. This approach would allow veterans, friends and family members to find a loved one by his or her date of casualty. The draftee, if found physically and mentally fit, would be inducted for a period of two years, to be followed by another two year period in the active reserves and a subsequent two years in the inactive reserves. Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. 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. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. Richard Sandza received the message on the morning of May 15, 1975, the day his friend became the last American to die in combat during the Vietnam War. Thus, the wars beginning and end meet. Perhaps more important, many of them probably did not yet fully understand their own mortality and were therefore less likely to be hesitant in combat. If you Instead its nearly in the center. Items are gathered by park staff. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. They came largely from California and Texas, with lesser numbers from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, New York and a few from many other states across the country. Thats a tragic 2,415 more names on the Vietnam Wall in a single month. Only the Navy, with 50 percent of its enlisted casualties over 21, and the Air Force, with 75 percent over 21, showed an older, more experienced age demographic. 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. Only 10 percent of enlisted men had even some college to their credit and only 1 percent were college graduates. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. How to Order a Draft Record. As a region, the South experienced the greatest numbers of dead, nearly 34 percent of the total, or 31.0 deaths per 100,000 of population. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. 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. Getting to Washington, D.C. 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. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. You could also keep these files on a computer at your Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. person reads for 20 minutes, (270 names) this will require 216 volunteer name Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. Some went to Canada or Sweden, but few of those who evaded the draft were actually prosecuted and most were eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. 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. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable Little about it is concrete. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Click to learn about the In Memory program . These names are followed by the inscription: Our nation honors the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of its Vietnam veterans. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. A diamond symbol signifies that the service members death was confirmed. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 18:28. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. Patricia Krause. . The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. . 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. I can envision a small cottage someplace, with a lot of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace, and maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee now and then and entertain my two friends , I dont think it will be too terribly long until we are together again.. What happens to items left at the memorial? Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. 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. 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. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Her name? Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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 Since then, 379 names have been added, for a total of 58,318 (as of Memorial Day 2017). While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . The panel number is a number/letter combination, such as 10W or 35E. Of course, the Marine, Navy, and Air Force enlisted casualties were all volunteers, but as it turned out, almost 50 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also volunteers. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. If officers are added, then almost 70 percent of those who died were volunteers. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. 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. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. Ziomek's name was finally inscribed on the Washington memorial on Sept. 15, 2020; he was one of just three veterans added in 2020. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. While their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. Message & data rates may apply. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. 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. 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. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. The article was originally published in the June 1993 issue of Vietnam Magazine and updated in November 2004. He tried to make the best call he could when adding names to the list. World War II had been, for the most part, a perfect war, clear of purpose, the forces of democracy and freedom lined up against the forces of fascism and tyranny. The officer corps casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. Thus it is safe to say that Hispanic-Americans were over-represented among Vietnam casualties an estimated 5.5 percent of the dead against 4.5 percent of the 1970 population. A(1780 names - 239023 bytes) B(5502 names - 737972 bytes) C(4363 names - 586584 bytes) D(2790 names - 374290 bytes) E(1082 names - 144866 bytes) F(1979 names - 265759 bytes) G(3036 names - 407075 bytes) H(4463 names - 598834 bytes) I(218 names - 29278 bytes) J(1845 names - 247563 bytes) K(2039 names - 273818 bytes) L(2594 names - 347007 bytes) Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. A more precise equation would be that the college bound stayed home while the non-college bound served and died. The Vietnam War is no different. The Air Force lost the highest percentage of officers. Chiseled on the wall are the names of the 58,196 men and women who either died or are still listed as missing in Southeast Asia between 1959 and 1975. . The Names - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The Names When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. It would also enable veterans to find groups of friends who died during the same incident. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. How many names are on the wall? They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. 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. Eight women were killed in Vietnam, five Army lieutenants, one Army captain, one Army lieutenant colonel and one Air Force captain. . Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950 - 1976 NAID 745, RG, 472, Meritorious Unit Commendations, 1967 - 1971 NAID 4726287, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. 26 Similar Questions 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. Sad to say, many of these recruitment promises were fudged in one way or another, and many of these young men found themselves shipped directly to Vietnam after basic training. 3rd Battalion. 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. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. There is some truth to this, but it is instructive to look at what the DOD database reveals in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, religious preference and casualties by U.S. geographic areas. 1970 NAID 570973, State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists sorted Alphabetically by Last Name, List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (196165) Wikipedia, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group A (Recoverable), 1941-1975, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975, Vietnamw-Era POW/MIA Databases & Documents. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. As the Vietnam War dragged on, Kurt tried twice to enlist. 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. The Buddies of Midvale LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975. Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. ".for those who have died." The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. Authority Record - NARA, Records of the U.S. Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. 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. The remaining 70 percent of our Vietnam enlisted casualties were of English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries, more from the South and Midwest than the other regions, many from small towns with a family military tradition. If a name was particularly long, it would be swapped with a shorter name. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. Several hundred such designation changes have been made since the Wall was built in 1982. Buis was in Vietnam by his own volition. Fully 50 percent were in the 17- to 24-year age group, and astonishingly, there were 764 Army officer casualties who were 21 or younger. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. 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. The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Photo credit DOD photo by Army Sgt. 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. 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. In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. peruse. 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. Why are names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall? This page has been viewed 167,336 times (0 via redirect). It ripped men from their loved ones, family, friends, and it left a wave of death in its path. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. 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. However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? readers. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. 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. There are the still-grieving family members who come to pay respects as they would at a cemetery, to leave mementos and make chalk renderings of a loved ones name. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. I looked at the record to determine whether mortal wounds were sustained, Doubek said of the men whose names were listed by the Army, but not by DoD. 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. Their names, however, have been removed from the printed Directory of Names. "Home of record" does not necessarily refer to the place of birth, residence of next of kin, place of longest residence, nor other common uses of the term "hometown." The wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is 493 feet and 6 inches long, built of thick, polished black Bangalore granite. With the end of the Cold War, many now believe that at its outset the Vietnam War was a quite honorable extension of our ultimately successful policy of Communist containment; that our effort in Vietnam became flawed because of political and strategic failures having nothing to do with those who died there; and that these young Americans were asked by three presidents and six Congresses to give up their lives so that freedom would have a better chance in the world. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. And they all went to Vietnam. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. since it was dedicated because additional casualty records were found and Every day at 3:00 p.m. EST, VVMF will play a daily reading of all the individuals who died upon that day in alphabetical order. His name does not appear at either far end. And mores the pity, because many of them were trying to escape this background and didnt make it. 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. For those and a handful of other unique circumstances, Doubek made his own list of men who had died due to the injuries in the combat zonesnames that may have been listed by an individual service branch, but not by DoD.