November 11, 1982. 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. If a name was particularly long, it would be swapped with a shorter name. Quite a different profile emerges among the Navy and Air force officer corps. Lins intention from the beginning was to have the names appear chronologically, beginning and ending at the apex. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. Little about it is concrete. the person they know. . The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. NAID 5709942, U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, National Archives Command Chronologies:Vietnam War, National Archives Command Chronologies: Vietnam War: Index to Reports, National Archves. 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. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. During one review, Doubek found a glitch with the computer software: it did not recognize the spaces that appeared within a last name, such as van der Meide. Nor could it properly discern a compounded first name, such as Billy Bob, versus a traditional first and middle name. ".for those who have died." Vietnam Veterans Memorial (U.S. National Park Service) 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. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. But there is a beginning. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. Since then, 379 names have been added, for a total of 58,318 (as of Memorial Day 2017). It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldnt quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didnt have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Since its adoption in 1951, at the time of the Korean War, this policy had been renewed by Congress every four years. I went through the whole list of names eight times, because I was concerned about the correct formatting, remembered Doubek. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. Seeking Names of Marines killed in Vietnam in D | History Hub Who were they? The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. Be the first to learn about news, service member stories and fundraising updates from USO. And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. An estimated 11,000 women served in Vietnam. 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. 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. He did it allsing, dance, create music and crack wise. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. "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. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. The individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) may contain information such as: name, Selective Service registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, place of residence at time of registration and basic physical description. They were at their peak physically. prepared by Frances A. Hortsch for the Phoenix Genealogical Society. Please take a moment to let our troops know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. 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. Thus, the wars beginning and end meet. The Vietnam Wall Flashcards | Quizlet 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. 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. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. As a result, the software improperly truncated or abbreviated names. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. This takes about 72 hours. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. The Vietnam War was no different. This change prompted the addition of 110 names in 1986. The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers. By his estimate, he helped pull out close to 2,000 people. 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. 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. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 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. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and . Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. The Wall is about names. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morencis mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Several hundred such designation changes have been made since the Wall was built in 1982. There are students on field trips, some solemn and curious, but some just happy to get out of class. The Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent. 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. They drew on every segment of American society. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. Those who died in the Vietnam War whose last names begin - Virtual Wall The lists are based on the "home of record - state" data provided by the serviceman or woman upon last entrance into military service. that each name was a real person. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. Photo credit DOD photo by Army Sgt. We were one giant Hollywood B-17 bomber crew, one perfect socioeconomic platoon storming Omaha Beach or Okinawa. The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old. Frequently Asked Questions - Vietnam Veterans Memorial (U.S. National do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Kansas, Sheridan County, Viet Nam records, 1955-1975, Vermont, National Guard, Vietnam war, 1950-1953, University of Utah - American West Center - Saving the Legacy/ Vietnam Veterans, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=United_States_Vietnam_War_1964_to_1972&oldid=5123794, Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960, Personnel discharged, September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964, The Military Index is available at the FamilySearch Library and at most FamilySearch centers. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! Twenty years passed before Vandegeers remains were identified and another five passed before his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. 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. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. Although valuable, this study was almost certainly misinterpreted by its authors when they said that their data showed that most privileged and influential segments of American society were not insulated from the perils of Vietnam conflict. 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 Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. The Wall USA is a non-profit endeavor maintained by veterans . It gives the names in alphabetical order and . This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. 3rd Battalion. 1970 - ca. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. 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. The Marine Corps losses were skewed even more to the lower ranks, 91 percent were privates or corporals. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall Every one of the names on the Wall has a story worth telling, as do all who served in our nation's Armed Forces during that time. As of 2017, there are 58,318 names inscribed on The Wall. 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. 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. Wall Information - The Wall USA . THE WALL OF FACES - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Online Vietnam War Indexes & Records - Military Indexes The Wall on the Web < < - vietvet.org Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. 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. Eight women were killed in Vietnam, five Army lieutenants, one Army captain, one Army lieutenant colonel and one Air Force captain. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. They refer to older or younger siblings who are either in or on their way to college. Joe Moore's VN Memorial Wall Start Page - cantho-rvn.org 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. For families who have worked to have their loved ones name added, the journey can be long and exhausting. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. The casual visitor might not immediately recognize that Buis name is the first. 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. The casualty date is the date the person was killed or wounded in combat or injured during an accident; for the missing, the date is when the person was reported missing. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. 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. Once download Vietnam Wall Memorial Names | Medals Of America The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. We honor and remember their sacrifice.". "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 mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. In 2004, the total is 58,241 names. The panel number is a number/letter combination, such as 10W or 35E. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. Its now one of the most popular memorials in Washington. 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. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. If you These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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. 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. 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. You could also keep these files on a computer at your The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page With few exceptions, almost all of the 6,600 commissioned officers who died in Vietnam were graduates of the service academies, college Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), or the Officer Candidate School (OCS) programs. The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. 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. Where previously a high school diploma had been an acceptable goal, now it was college and all the benefits it would bring. Vietnam Memorial.com - Vietnam Memorial List of Heroes - Vietnam On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site in Washington, D.C., a special plaque reads: "In Memory of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. The DOD database provides no civilian or military educational levels for the Vietnam casualties specifically, but it does give us general levels for all enlisted men across all the services during the Vietnam era. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. She wanted the names to tell the journey, or the timeline, of the war. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released in 1992, found that our Vietnam casualties were only marginally greater from the economically lowest 50 percent of our communities (31 deaths per 100,000 of population), when compared with the economically highest 50 percent (26 deaths per 100,000 population). 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. Full casualty records may be retrieved online through the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases resource. Look at the bottom of each panel on the wall for its number. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, Look up the name in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 5th Marines were killed in . IN MEMORY HONOR ROLL - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The vision of VVMF is to ensure a society in which all who have served and sacrificed in our nation's Armed Forces are properly honored and receive the recognition they justly deserve. 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. The black granite walls are engraved with the names of more than 58,000 men and women who laid down their lives or remained missing. 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. columns per page. 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 Wall. Air Force Historical Research Agency 600 Chenault Circle Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424Telephone: (334) 953-2395, ArmyU.S. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. 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.. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. About the Registry - The Vietnam Registry 1st Class Michael J. Carden, "'The Vietnam War' Sponsor Bank of America Teams With The Lumineers to Support the USO ", Programs for Service Members and Their Families. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. Millions more come to experience this Memorial each year. And they all went to Vietnam. 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. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965. Only 3 returned home. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. 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. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. The combination of the selective service policies with the skills and aptitude testing of both volunteers and draftees (in which blacks scored noticeably lower) conspired to assign blacks in greater numbers to the combat units of the Army and Marine Corps. The affected record collections are described below. On November 7, 2021 VVMF began a daily virtual Reading of the Names. information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed 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. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. to open, search, edit, or print the name files. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. 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. All other individual draftee files from that period were destroyed by the Selective Service System in 1978, in accordance with approved records retention schedules. Army Major Dale Buis name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. This year, 14 names were etched into the wall. The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 2,415 casualties were incurred. The National Archives has an online searchable database, entitled "Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War," documenting the period 6/8/1956 - 1/21/1998. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Is there a list of names on the vietnam wall? - vietnam - 2023 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 .