He then said that they were generally on patrol moving through their area, both attacking and being attacked depending if the VC knew their location. I never even got a shot off. Before I became a team leader on ambush and recon I was in command of the scout jeep for the 25th ID resupply convoy from January 1968 to June 15, 1968 and I found the resupply convoys a lot more dangerous because the enemy always knew where it would be and when. Originally I went to the 543d TC. Welcome Home Brothers ! In Vietnam 70% 0f the casualties were Infantry BUT it might be 70% of ALL the Infantry that served in Vietnam. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (CACF) Going backwards (Apr. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. One was holding a carbine. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was . He also worked on Jacqueline Kennedys hair pieces and wigs. 82nd 2/505th. Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. I applaud your courage as I know an RTOs job is essential, difficult (carrying the weight of his radio transmitter, his rifle, his ammo, and his rucksack), and dangerous as the enemy surely wanted to knock out any communications for support. Nervous, I set up my gun on the hill and loaded a new hundred-round belt. Sept 69 to Sept 70. Activated in 1915, as the 173rd Infantry Brigade, the unit saw service in World War II but is best known for its actions during the Vietnam War. Joe DeLong joined the company, and Sholly informed me that he would be the M60 gunner. The NVA had wedged a blocking force between our company and Company A, preventing us from advancing any farther. Answer (1 of 12): It heavily depends. Diaphragm _____ 3. Thank God I made it. What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? B)Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x. Jimmy aaja -M.I.A. You of course had the radio plus xtra batteries & handsets plus your rucksack with 7 to 8 canteens , 20 mags ( I used to carry 17 rounds in the mags instead of 20 ) because the springs would force the round into the chamber causing jams . Different jobs have different life expectancy. Love you Wortman!!!! It weighed 24 pounds, was 43.5 inches long and had bipod legs that folded down to stabilize the weapon when firing from a prone position. ), special forces, combat support, engineering, medics, and vehicle assault weapons. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some That means you lose five RTOs in 5 seconds. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. It was a daily challenge to know who your real enemy was. Good article. Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, in their recently published book All That We Can Be, said they analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder during Vietnam and can report definitely that this charge is untrue. Postservice Mortality in Vietnam Veterans : 30-Year Follow-up - JAMA Dap, Hope this helps. A Marine on patrol crosses a rice paddy in Vietnam holding an M60 machine gun in 1966. We all gotta die sometime, Red. SSgt Barnes, Platoon, its nothing to really concern yourself with, on a long enough time line everyones survival rate is 0%. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the M60 machine gun. Very memorable comments. The Davis Station in Saigon was named for him. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. Because if only 1 RTO fought for say only 10 or 15 minutes before being killed, that would up the AVG for the total war! I told by RTO that i could carry my own radio, When he agreed he was humping ammo. We had one RTO killed because he was too close to a 2ND Lt, same thing happened to another RTO. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. Hurrying forward with No. You were a Great RTO. It was very nearly my last. My heart was pounding out of my chest. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. No. In all that time, the Tet 1968 fighting in Saigon was the only time the unit fought a pitched urban battlevery unusual during the war. I am one lucky SOB. We had 5 kias and roughly 50 wounded in our company so about one in three got hit. The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. 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. Now, to calmly answer your question, air strikes have actually been an efficient technique used by us for years now. Company B arrived in-country with four rifle platoons, and each platoon was armed with two M60s. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. I was a grunt with c co. 4/31 196th it inf bade. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). But I made it back in one piece. A former expert with the M60 machine gun shares his experiences wielding the fearsome weapon in Vietnam. The rule of thumb was , any new guys would get the radio and keep it until another new guy came in. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. I had scary thoughts about myself humping the bush as a RTO, I was a real puny guy back then. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. Not to mention that right now its safer than some cities in the us. Soldier Life Expectancy in Ukraine 'Meat Grinder' Is 4 Hours: Marine I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. 2 Gun team, Ranallo and May, without any support. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Quickly learned to control rate of fire. News media have reported tha an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc.Those are incorrect. (You can unsubscribe anytime), The US Wings website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant and adheres to their standards for accessibility of the internet so people with disabilities can surf the web more easily & efficiently. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of . Arthur Parker and Spc. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. The one number that is really important is 56,220 and we all know what that number represents. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. They have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups. My dog and I walked point my whole tour in Vietnam. The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. I loved it. I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. Amen I was a machine gunner for 7 months 503rd infantry 173rd airborne and you hit the nail right on the head. Your article was quite interesting. The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. 1: physical position (in the field / column) Were talking averages, obviously so, an RTO, with an expectancy of 5 seconds (!) Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of More importantly, Grandstaff was very gung-ho. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. I was sitting on the ground one day trying to dry out my gear and better configure my ruck when my squad leader came walking over to me and said, Gow, youve got the radio. As he turned and walked away! 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. When the Company B units that landed on the opposite side of the river got to the bank, some troops reached in and pulled the enemy from the water. I know the scouts in my company had a slightly longer rate but not much. If you have other information let me know. The man with the carbine immediately dropped it, and the two VC surrendered. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. In your rucksack . He was killed in an ambush along with three others. NFS. three, he believes he is doing what his country wants him to dojust like you So you better damn well treat him with the compassion you want for you!! %PDF-1.5 % To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. !We dont abuse prisoners Now, if he reaches for his weapon to continue the fight BLOW HIS ASS AWAY THIS AINT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!! No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. 1 Gun was firing. The body felt as though it weighed considerably more than it looked. First thing we did was, Set up a complete circular perimeter. hmK#1+yNvA In the few firefights and skirmishes we had with local VC, the gun always performed well. I spent my year in Vietnam with the 1/22nd infantry part of the 4th division. Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. Very Good , I was a radio operator up in I corps in 68 & to me the worst thing was the walking . meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. My assistant gunner and my ammo bearer also carried 300 rounds each. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. I was on a radar crew and we were told that, during war time, we would most likely be killed within minutes. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975. See also: Population I applaud the courage and difficult and all so dangerous job of Roger Herforth when he served as an RTO for the Hawk Recon Platoon of the 101st airborne division in Vietnam.. Over the next two months, we exchanged fire with groups of the NVA. You just do the best job you can and if you got hit, so be it! They kept coming up the hill bringing more bodies to me until all seven had been found. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Ed, I was in a Grunt Platoon in Vietnam 70-71. 79% had a high school education or better. The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. US Wings recently added to OTEXA's Made in U.S.A. Some Brothers said why spend another year in this hellhole???? Dont know why, but generally, their aircraft were not armed (door gunners, etc.). We (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF, according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. We gathered the casualties and set out for Company A. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam - lbgf.org The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. Done ranting. I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. The next three weeks passed uneventfully. The one that should be there is the combat medic. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. I couldnt see DeLong and didnt know if No. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. There must have been a real mathematician to come up with those calculations. We all die, so its not even worth worrying about when in my opinion, id rather do something that i knew was worth it and risk dieing instead of living in fear of death. Before he was drafted Renza had worked as a hairdresser for women in his hometown of Peekskill, New York. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Was No. Cruz quite a lot. Thats why they called us GRUNTS ! Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. What Was It Like To Hump The Boonies in Vietnam? Bruce Grandstaff and my best friend, Sgt. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunners life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. Back in 1965, I was a door gunner on Medevac recovery operations. We had run patrols for about a month when I first saw action. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. It didnt matter who you were or where you were. The Australian Vietnam veteran study assessed the postservice mortality of 19 205 Vietnam veterans and 25 677 non-Vietnam veterans through 1981. I picked up my M60 and walked to the center of the perimeter, where I found the company commander, Capt. I am convinced the same NVA soldier who shot at me moments before had killed my good friend, a budding doo-wop singer from Long Island, New York. Its just (bad) luck, fate, randomness theres no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. Once we turned on the radar they could hit us with a harm missile. I've never heard about the life expectancy of 6 weeks (even with a short google search). Thanks for the reply. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. A battery of big 155 mm howitzers blasted the tiny platoon perimeter, tearing trees out of the ground and hurling chunks of red-hot shell splinters through the air. I worried about that kind of leadership style in the highlands. Tony told me that either he or I would greet all incoming troops and we did- and here is the speech we gave to them. In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. E)V_5lu[vC3+"vg2L& The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. Two of my classmates were killed within 2 weeks incountry and three wounded I know of. For example: 7*x^2. When we reached Company A, we placed our dead in the center of the two-company perimeter. If you look at all of the things the radio operators were tasked with, it becomes abundantly clear why commo guys weren't expected to last long. Different strokes for different folks in war fer sure. (tirotactico.net). There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study). Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. 5 seconds. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years, after the fall of Saigon in 1975, than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam.