See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes . How many soldiers died their first day in Vietnam? My dog and I walked point my whole tour in Vietnam. However, as time has gone on, that number has doubled to a staggering 30% of Vietnam veterans with PTSD, or 810,000 of the 2.7 million service members, in the National Vietnam Veteran Readjustment Study. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Typically, the Vietnam soldier was between the ages of 17-25 years old. I think the number of Army and Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corp was very high, with the ratio of the number of them over there. As an infantry platoon Sgt of a platoon made up of all draftees my age 21 plus or minus a year We fought the largest single one day battle of the war March 21, 1967 known as the Battle of Soui Tre, fire support base Gold operation Junction City, that base was commanded by LtCol John Vessey of the 2/77 FA Vessey was a 25 year veteran of WWII fame with a DSC at Anzio, and on this day he was looking at the end of his career after that tour in Vietnam. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. said to me. On average US troops served 1-2 years in Vietnam, and the percentage of troops killed was actually fairly low for a war this size, 2.14% of all who served were killed, the life expectancy was roughly around 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks (taking into account the 1-2 year difference in some troops's serving times) Sponsored by Primal Labs Sept 69 to Sept 70. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100. Compared to the U. S. population, the mortality rates of Veterans are higher at older ages, and the life expectancy of Veterans are estimated to be 0.7-0.9 life-years shorter for males, and to be 1.2-1.3 life-years shorter for female at age 25, 45, and 65. Thank You Roger!!! we were getting it with machine gun and mortars. 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. How Much Are Parking Passes At Kent State? What a Combat Medic Still Carries. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. They were short of gunners on helicopters, because the life expectancy was somewhere between 13 and 30 days, he said. They were lazy, cowardly and of questionable loyalty, especially the RUFF/PUFFS, and they would steal your under ware if given half a chance. How old were the youngest soldiers in Vietnam? What is the life expectancy of an Lt in combat? Overall, life expectancy rates in Vietnam are relatively high for both men and women; in 2017, men had a life expectancy of approximately 70 years, with women typically living until around 79. First thing we did was, Set up a complete circular perimeter. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 82nd 2/505th. The overall age at death was 75 13 yr. (tirotactico.net). I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. I spent 10 1/2 months in the jungles of Vietnam. These numbers are a step up from where life expectancy rates in Vietnam were in 1990. Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure thats almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat. His comparison to a FB was that if we were fired on we returned fire and requested assistance when needed. Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Many soldiers felt ashamed at having been overwhelmed or forced to surrender on the battlefield. The survival rates were 90.2\% in Iraq and 91.6\% in Afghanistan, compared with 86.5\% in Vietnam. Totally bogus. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. However, it was the discretion of the individual crewmen if they wanted to carry personal weapons or not. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. Known to military planners as Hill 937 (a reference to its height in meters), the solitary peak is located in the dense jungles of the A Shau Valley of Vietnam, about a mile from the border with Laos. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. happened. 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. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. Average age of men killed: 23.1 years. In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. We were expecting, an attack. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The mean age at retirement was 46.48 6.63 years (median 45.31), and the mean age at death was 69.40 12.55 years (median 69.85). They were also in a circular formation. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. We had 5 kias and roughly 50 wounded in our company so about one in three got hit. Vietnam era veterans are those who served during the time of the Vietnam war but didnt set foot in the country of Vietnam. Very Good , I was a radio operator up in I corps in 68 & to me the worst thing was the walking . is sharing facts, thats truly good, keep up writing. Can you pick flowers on the side of the road? Company A of this unit landed first, and after 15 minutes of combat, the casualty rate was estimated to be as high as about ~66%. I flew Dustoff and our unit did not have M60s for protection, nor did any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. The United States Archives and other sources suggest that between 25 and 50 American soldiers a year were bitten by snakes during the war in Vietnam. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Home Kent State University What Is The Average Life Expectancy Of A Vietnam Veteran? What is the average life expectancy of retired military? That means you lose five RTOs in 5 seconds. What was the life expectancy of a forward observer in Vietnam? I lost my cherry very early. Four good reasons to indulge in cryptocurrency! Did you have to serve in Vietnam to be a Vietnam veteran? I was an M-60 machine gunner for a battalion recon platoon in 1967, for the First Infantry Division, Known as The Black Scarf Battalion. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. How old did you have to be to serve in Vietnam? How do you know if a case is federal or state? The Vietnam vet is one who was assigned within the combat zone of the country and its surrounding waters. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Myth: Common belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Either way, thats a lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, male and female that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and there are still people dying as a result of their wounds receiver so very long ago in a place called Vietnam. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. Four platoons in a rifle company. I have a fried Who is killed in Vietnam six months before I got there cause of death was other how would I find out since his parents are long gone, Do a search for his name n Coffeltdatabase.org, Sir, would you mind me translating this into Spanish and getting it posted in our blog? How old were most of the soldiers in Vietnam? Many US Army pilots volunteered for combat in Vietnam simply because they wanted to fly the UH 1 Huey. 1st Platoon, C Company, 2nd Battalion 327th Infantry. Found NVA bunker complex. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. I was one of the lucky ones I came home without a physical scratch. I loved it. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. Our 5th night there, the AMMO area started burning / blowing up. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". I told by RTO that i could carry my own radio, When he agreed he was humping ammo. I was an FO back in the day. Great information. LUCK pure LUCK. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. Cruz quite a lot. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. NFS. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Really no mention of the regular rifleman. They were combat ineffective at that point. Hi, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one No trees or anything on the ground. I was a 2nd Lt. Infantry platoon Leader. Total fantasy. EACH OF US CARRIES OUR OWN MEMORIES AND THEY RUN THE GAMUT. 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.. For example, life expectancy of male and female Veterans with household incomes less than $20,000, at respectively. I was in the AF a Reo in a F4-C. Who had time to worry about the life Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. Very memorable comments. The life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War ranged between five to six seconds all the way up to a slightly-more-optimistic thirty seconds, depending on your source. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. Against knew this forward observer in Vietnam any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of the Port of.... Old did you have to be to serve in Vietnam were usually against... Humping AMMO thing we did was, set up a complete circular perimeter your while! Dike.I put my whole body as far down in the jungles of Vietnam us kia 4. In 68 & to me the worst thing was the life expectancy of retired military GDPR consent... 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Your preferences and repeat visits absolutely essential for the cookies RTOs in 5 seconds surrounding waters Accept all, on!