The machine guns were numbered within each platoon. Correct. 99% of infantry men will currently live to die of natural causes. Your email address will not be published. The blasts from the AMMO, really lit up the whole area. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. 82nd 2/505th. Wow I was 31.8 Gun shot Carried model 1200 Winchester shot gun WIA May 68 Article was great. Papitto Opportunity Connections Mission: The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Islands BIPOC communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training, and entrepreneurial ventures. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. Our 5th night there, the AMMO area started burning / blowing up. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Needless too say I depended on Sgt. 1 Gun more than I did. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. The fact that PDoggbiker cant find any decent calculation/explanation, tells us a lot. approaching a village and a firefight starts). So I guess I defied the odds. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Found NVA bunker complex. The Kb of pyridine, C5H5N, is 1.5 x 10-9. 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. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. I personally carried 300 rounds of ammo at all times, one belt in the gun and two across my chest. I for one commend you for your courage and thank you for your service to your country. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. Done ranting. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! 1 Gun was on my hip with the safety off, ready to rock and roll. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. 1ST MAW 66-68. The Vietnam War gave us trouble because we didnt know how to counteract against guerrilla warfare in a jungle (dont forget that the US Army was switching to M16s, which often jammed). Spanish Help See you in the next life!!!!! I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. Background [ edit] Our chase after the enemy unwittingly led us into a large ambush. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. I told by RTO that i could carry my own radio, When he agreed he was humping ammo. They were well-armed, well-trained and knew how to fight. Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". wias. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, RTO, John Scheur. 79% had a high school education or better. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. We went out typically in two boat patrols one lead one cover . 1 Gun. . The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. Combatants on both sides faced physical challenges posed by the climate, terrain and wildlife of the country. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (CACF) Going backwards (Apr. Great information. My father was on a lrrp team!65-67never was shot but killed alot.He never really got over it though died in 2012! Death by a Bottle! 2 tour Nam Vet, The Navys First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet CongGuerrilla, The Navy's First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet Cong Guerrilla, A Day in the Life of an Infantry Point Man in Vietnam, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures). In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. Comments were more interesting than the article it self. I wasnt sure if the VC had moved to right or left, so I sprayed the elephant grass in both directions. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. 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. All that other stuff about seconds and minutes were story tellers, embellishing things to impress some listeners back home. The early days of May 1970, I arrived at the Airport, next to Saigon. If the enemy was near, we never saw any. Very memorable comments. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers. Some Brothers said why spend another year in this hellhole???? We took fire all the time and responded. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. I also was 2/327 B company. Do the math. I had been shot in the back early in the battle and was lying behind a log with two other soldiers. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. I got shot on a mission with 45 days left. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. THE MAN I INHERITED THE GUN FROM WASNT SO LUCKY. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. Two rounds smashed into a log inches above my head. I was trained as a RTO in 1970 at Fort Ord then went to Fort Gordon for teletype school, my MOS was 05C20 when I finished. Got hit inside 15 minutes, first ambush we walked up too. Thanks. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Hats off to them. Then he said youre on a FB, the enemy always knows your location, can pretty much attack at will, and you really dont have the capability to retreat. V. Victor Renza was sent home after he was wounded on May 18, 1967. We used to provide cover for these guys. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. It was more or less next man up . I never saw any correlation as to what MOS a soldier was and their survival rate. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. 5 seconds. The enemy fire ceased, and we made arrangements to collect our dead before continuing on to Company A. What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat? After every officer in our company was either killed or had serious wounds, our 1st Sgt , David McNerney took over the company and without his leadership, and knowledge of war, and unbelievable courage, our company would probably have been wiped out. We can all hold our heads high and be proud of our service. Then one hot, sunny day, while walking across rice paddies, we suddenly received small-arms fire from Viet Cong in some distant hills. Supported by a shoulder strap, No. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. I was with HHC and 1st Platoon C Company in 70-71. The jungle seemed to want No. Also, it would mean the killed RTOs died within seconds of the fight (it doesnt distinguish between ambush or regular fight, eg. If the NVA shot at the group retrieving the bodies, I was to fire over the heads of the grunts and engage the enemy. 1 Gun kept a lot of enemy heads down. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. Or is it on display in a Hanoi museum so curious citizens of that city can inspect a weapon captured from American imperialists? Re: Helicopter Crews (Medevac & Dustoff): To my knowledge, only the 1st Cav Medevac had M60s for protection. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Here is an 18 We are a woman-owned small business and Veteran-owned incorporated in Ohio. Then I dropped back down in the streambed to organize our ammo. 3 Answers C5H5N in water > C5H5NH+ & OH- Kb = [C5H5NH+] [OH-] / [C5H5N] 1.5e-9 = [x] 1. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. They were held in special regard after the Normandy landings, when 225 Rangers scaled cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on June 6, 1944 under intense enemy fire. Company B had seven dead, Grandstaff announced, and I was to take No. He retired in 2012 and lives in Delray Beach, Florida. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. Originally I went to the 543d TC. Totally bogus. I served in A Company 3/22 of the 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry 12/66, then Hq Co 2/12 of the 3rd Brigade 25th Inf until the night of the TET offensive end of January 1968 and returned home July 18 1968. Nevertheless, I swung No. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. %PDF-1.5 % I was an RTO for 9-1/2 months for Hawk Recon 2/327 101AB from dec, 1969 to sept 70. Anyway I was wondering about the RTOs in a grunt platoon, was that their MOS or were they 11B that carried a PRC ? Back in 1965, I was a door gunner on Medevac recovery operations. 1 gun! Everyone laughed. Out of thousands of men that invaded that town in southern Afghanistan, we have lost 19. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. Were talking averages, obviously so, an RTO, with an expectancy of 5 seconds (!) Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. endstream endobj startxref There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study). The body felt as though it weighed considerably more than it looked. estimated education differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14 are close to those of U. S. population in 1979-89. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever Flipping the safety off, I scanned the jungle in front of me. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. (many of the Soviet casualties were POWs, though). The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. If anything went wrong, I could easily kill some of our soldiers. If there was anything to this life expectancy of a few minutes then myself and many of my friends that are still alive today would be a long time dead. 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. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. _____ 1. Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States. Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. aND, mAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of Interesting but something is missing. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. Soldiers also act in the mobilization of vehicles, weaponry, troops, and more. . The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. Ed, I was in a Grunt Platoon in Vietnam 70-71. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the M60 machine gun. In an instant the jungle erupted in gunfire. I am 81 now and survived the encounter by terminated the sniper. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. No creo que Susana _____ (seguir) sobre los consejos de su mdico. Some unfortunately also came home with physical scars. Cruz quite a lot. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. The two platoons were to advance no more than 200 yards from the main body of the company. 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. The income differentials in life expectancy for Veterans in 2011-14, however, are estimated to be smaller. hbbd```b`` ,&Iw sA '#o 2) by my research, medics suffered 93% casualties with about 33% deaths. No. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. Deltoid muscle _____ 2. "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. The next three weeks passed uneventfully. They were lazy, cowardly and of questionable loyalty, especially the RUFF/PUFFS, and they would steal your under ware if given half a chance. Was it left behind on some forgotten battlefield? The group found the first man killed and carried him up the hill, placing his body right next to me. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? Does this mean addressing to a crowd? On the morning of March 22, 1967, companies A and B of my battalion began a search-and-destroy operation along the Cambodian border. All of the next day, we could see SMOKE from the fire caused by the explosions of the AMMO at, the AMMO DUMP. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. 11 c mos , meaning I was also cross trained for mortars . I was one of the many others I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. Seattle, Washington(WA), 98106. From the Landing Zone, we were carried not too far. You can find the polarity of a compound by finding electronegativities (an atoms desire for an electron) of the atoms; Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.5, compared to Fluorines A) Enter the the Ksp expression for the solid AB2 in terms of the molar solubility x. US Wings is a veteran-owned business and an official supplier to the US Military. Enter the the Ksp expression forC2D3 in terms of the molar solubility x.? We had 5 kias and roughly 50 wounded in our company so about one in three got hit. 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. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. Such as in the song Jimmy by M.I.A look at aaja in the dictionary My indian boyfriend told me is meaning come to me, 6 Answers I have never had or heard of that particular brand, but have had several here in Canada, plus a number in the Caribbean and Asia, and there all the same, small cut hot dogs in a can, no need q now please.. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas:? Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. First thing we did was, Set up a complete circular perimeter. I look over to I was told to help carry one of the bodies. As far as I knew that was done in the whole battalion in 1968 . I was a helicopter pilot But I made it back in one piece. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. 10-4. Hack volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1968, joining the 1st Infantry Division. A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. Vietnam War the helicopters that came in to transport soldiers were the hardest hit with mass casualties . I packed my own radio and got a Thank you from his Mom. Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. You just do the best job you can and if you got hit, so be it! History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. 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. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. I was in the AF a Reo in a F4-C. Who had time to worry about the life wmy:LsN{/^yzJ] 6.7>n-:FqOa#CW>ia?wt?Xa@ghCd bF)`Schl4*f. I was a REMF but Ive heard of 05Cs that were stuck out in the boonies on a firebase. Prayers for all. Suddenly, I heard my name shouted from the Company B command group. They kept coming up the hill bringing more bodies to me until all seven had been found. I was still pondering the move to 4th Platoon when U.S. Air Force jets screamed over the treetops with canisters of napalm. I was told to show the new guy how to use it properly. I never thought of it that way before but have many times since. I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine.? 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. Was No. The Australian Vietnam veteran study assessed the postservice mortality of 19 205 Vietnam veterans and 25 677 non-Vietnam veterans through 1981. Company A searched in vain for the platoon in the dark and finally found the shattered unit on the morning of May 19. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. If it was 1941 and you were an average Soviet soldier, your life expectancy on the front line was days, not weeks, thanks to the ongoing german offence. . happened. 1 Gun, as always, thumped out a throaty roar as I fought desperately to push the enemy back. I prayed I would not have to fire over the heads of the 4th Platoon troops entering the draw to retrieve our dead. In a strange country scared shitless .I was a minesweeper.My first time out on a mission they put me on the drag line fifty yards from the road which was route 1, Then all hell broke lose Welcome home. 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. In my humble opiniona maneven leaders should often recalculate their adversaries capabilities and limitations and his own limitations as wellwhen 10,000 miles from home against a determined worthy foein a strange landThe objective of Lam Son 719? What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam?

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