Message & data rates may apply. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with Search the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s database of names on the wall. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. | National Mall and Memorial Parks , Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. Chronological order by date of casualty allows friends and family members to pick out their loved one from all of the others with the same name. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. The widely held notion that the poor served and died in Vietnam while the rich stayed home is way off the mark. The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. The Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. compiled by Military Records and Research Library, Department of Military Affairs; edited by Julia D. Rather and Jeffrey Michael Duff, Research Our Records. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. The Army lost the greatest number of officers 4,635 or 59 percent of all officer casualties. However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. 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) It is located north of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. along Constitution Avenue NW between 21st and 23rd streets. 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 If a person died or went missing in those areas, DoD considered that individual to be a combat zone casualty and eligible for inclusion on the Wall. Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. In honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. This uneven impact was caused by a number of factors: (1) While the South was home to some 53 percent of all blacks in the 1970 census, almost 60 percent of black casualties came from the South; (2) Although we cannot be as precise, we do know that a considerable majority of Hispanic-American casualties came from the West, (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado) and the South (Texas); (3) Better employment opportunities in the Northeast reduced the number of volunteers; (4) Greater college matriculation in the Northeast increased the number of status deferments for the regions 17- to 24- year olds; (5) More anti-war sentiment in the media and on college campuses in the Northeast. By his estimate, he helped pull out close to 2,000 people. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. Coast Guard Historians OfficeCommandant (CG-09224)U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters 2100 Second Street SW Washington, D.C. 20593. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. We honor and remember their sacrifice.". Her name? His name does not appear at either far end. 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. 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. . . W denotes the west wall, and E denotes the east wall. Often that advice, especially for professional athletes, rock stars, sons of politicians and other celebrities, was to join the never-to-be-called-up reserves or National Guard. With this list in hand, he went to the various locations where individual service records were kept to review files. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. The Vietnam War was no different. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. the requirements were expanded (by. If each in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last And they often show a heartbreakingly wry sense of humor with the same sensibilities as their college-bound peers. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in this brief introductory video. The article was originally published in the June 1993 issue of Vietnam Magazine and updated in November 2004. The training for American officers is thought by most foreign military authorities to be the best in the world. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. She wanted the names to tell the journey, or the timeline, of the war. 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. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. By and large, with the exception of the officer corps, most of the college bound and educated skipped the Vietnam War at the urging of, and with the approval of, their own government. 8 Women are on the Wall. 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 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. At some The Moving Wall sites, the sponsor makes arrangements He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. As a result, it was mainly the families of Navy and Air Force pilots and crewmen who suffered the great agony of the POW (prisoner of war) and MIA (missing in action) experience that came out of the Vietnam War. This makeup, they say, was the very antithesis of what we stand for as a democracy a shameful corruption of our values and our historical sense of fairness and social justice. I respect the process, but it can be hard to prove something thats in your heart., Thats what makes it so special when you see the name going up, she added. Bennett on March 25, 1968 and Dennis on August 02, 1970 Brothers Gabriel and Paul Trujillo were both killed in Vietnam. If the demographic is expanded to 17- to 21- years, then we find there were 83 percent of Marine enlisted casualties, and 65 percent of Army enlisted casualties. A more precise equation would be that the college bound stayed home while the non-college bound served and died. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case Please take a moment to let our troops know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. The 1970 census which is being used as our Vietnam era population base did not list an Hispanic count but gave an estimate of 4.5 percent of the American population. The Reading of the Names is an in-person event where every single name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is read in order of which it appears on The Wall. It is not surprising, for instance, that West Virginia, Montana, and Oklahoma had a casualty rate almost twice that of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. 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. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. Derek Turner is a freelance writer and a former senior editor of On Patrol. This, they felt, would offer these men the opportunity to get remedial training in the service and then be able to compete successfully when they returned to civilian life. 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. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. The Selective Service System it said, has the responsibility to deliver manpower to the armed forces in such a manner as to reduce to a minimum any adverse effect upon the national health, safety, interest and progress. United States. 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. Dates of enlsitment or selective service registration will be helpful along with the name military units they served with. The names would become the memorial. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . The list of names begins at the vertex of the walls below the date of the first casualty, 1959, and continues to the end of the east wall. And mores the pity, because many of them were trying to escape this background and didnt make it. In an effort to further preserve the legacy of those who sacrificed all in Vietnam, VVMF is committed to finding a photo to go with each of the more than 58,000 names on The . Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. 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 58,152 names of those who died in Vietnam are etched onto the two rising black marble slabs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. 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. Each entry includes a panel number and letter; "W" is for "west" or the left half of the memorial, "E" is for east, or the right half of the memorial. This index includes those who died or who were declared dead from 1950 to 1957 in Korea and from 1957 to 1975 in Southeast Asia. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. They lived only a few yards apart. And there would be nothing to denote service or rank. It is instructive to read the literature of the war, the letters written home from those who died, the novels and narrative accounts of those who served in combat and then returned. In addition to WWII Draft Records, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO maintains Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, for all men born before 1960. 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. 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. 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. 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. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. Getting to Washington, D.C. Every day, Americas service members selflessly put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free. "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's registry enables veterans across the world to be able to locate fellow Vietnam Veterans and of course, connect their stories with those who made the ultimate sacrifice. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. Although the names are not listed alphabetically, it is not difficult for visitors to find a name on the Memorial. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. "Walking through this park-like area, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. 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. 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. Once a master list was compiled, the names were checked manually for errors. 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. The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Where previously a high school diploma had been an acceptable goal, now it was college and all the benefits it would bring. These directories help locate names on the wall. while they download, thank you. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. Although it is a truism that the young die in war, one is still unprepared for the fact that 40 percent of Marine enlisted casualties in Vietnam were teenagers; that more than 16 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also teenagers; and that nearly a quarter of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam were between the ages of 17- and 19-years old. While VVMF finances the name additions to the Wall, it is the Department of Defense that makes these difficult and often technical decisions. Many of the 17- and 18-year olds were simply late in maturing. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . 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 person they know. But there is a beginning. Family members are invited to witness the inscription and also to attend the annual Memorial Day ceremony when the new names are read at the Wall. Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. On average, 43 percent of white enlisted entrants placed in categories I and II (scoring 65 to 100) and 57 percent in categories III and IV (scoring 10 to 64). You could also keep these files on a computer at your The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. 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. With the glitch discovered, Doubek and his team located and hand-corrected each error. Only 5 to 10 percent of enlisted men in the combat units were estimated to have had some college, and less than 1 percent of these enlisted men were college graduates. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. On the last day of his life, in the moments before our nations history changed forever, Dale Buis was sitting around a rec center watching a movie called The Tattered Dress, starring Jeff Chandler. In high school, he joined ROTC and kept his fathers medals pinned next to his own awards on a piece of crimson cloth. 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. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. A doctor arrived and gave his shaken mother a sedative. Colleen Pontes, whose father Kevin Joyce was added in 2003, remembered the rush of emotions she felt as she and her brother watched their dads name being inscribed in the granite. 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. 1972 NAID 305367, Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award Case Files, 19711971 NAID 5721359. 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. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! 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. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. The names of the 2,504 Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War are on the Tablets of the Missing at the ABMC Honolulu Memorial. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. The affected record collections are described below. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Nursing the wounded. The Vietnam Wall. Fill out the tour request form. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/vietna.. The young enlisted volunteer or draftee had not had much time to form any complicated theories about our Vietnam commitment. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. Note the panel and line number for the name listed. The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. 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. There is no question that all segments of American society were represented. Early in the war (1965 and 1966) when blacks made up about 11 percent of our Vietnam force, black casualties soared to more than 20 percent of the total. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history. Honor Vietnam Veterans you know with a gift from our VVA store, or a custom military embroidered shirt, jacket, or polo so they can proudly demonstrate their service to their grateful nation. 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. Senate. I could tell you about how real the fear was that I felt, since from the time we crossed the Delta and made the run into Saigon, we were over enemy territory. 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. It would also enable veterans to find groups of friends who died during the same incident. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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. https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. Though the memorial continues to grow and evolve, the last name on the wall still belongs to Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer, a pilot who died after his helicopter crashed on May 15, 1975, during the wars final combat action. 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. For blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. Full casualty records may be retrieved online through the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases resource. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. And they all went to Vietnam. The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers.