Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. For those and a handful of other unique circumstances, Doubek made his own list of men who had died due to the injuries in the combat zonesnames that may have been listed by an individual service branch, but not by DoD. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. Army Major Dale Buis' name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. His name does not appear at either far end. 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. 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. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. 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. I went through the whole list of names eight times, because I was concerned about the correct formatting, remembered Doubek. 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. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War Memorial wall? National Mall and Memorial Parks , Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. Digital History The popularity of the GI Bill after Vietnam emphasized this yearning. The burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. What happens to items left at the memorial? You could also keep these files on a computer at your It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. How to Order a Draft Record. If each Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. If a service member were to return alive, a circlethe symbol of lifewould be inscribed around the plus sign. . From 1964 to 1973, 2,100,000 men and women served in Vietnam, but this was only 8 percent of the 26,000,000 Americans who were eligible for military service. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. 1970 - ca. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a symbol of American honor and appreciation for the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. 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. It should be emphasized that 55 percent of all Navy and Air Force officer casualties came as a result of reconnaissance and bombing sorties into North Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. The Reading of the Names - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. 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. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. 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. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries, 1941-1980 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. 26 Similar Questions 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. The Vietnam Wall - vva310.org 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. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angles open side and contained within the earth itself. 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. 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. Eight women were killed in Vietnam, five Army lieutenants, one Army captain, one Army lieutenant colonel and one Air Force captain. 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. Its unlikely that anyone who visits the memorial on a given day would have the time, the heart or the stomach to read and consider each one. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. Buis was in Vietnam by his own volition. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Are the names on the Vietnam Memorial in alphabetical order? It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. Congress. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . do this, be sure to have an alternate reader assigned to take over in case Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. is complete, or you've done a "save as", you can use any word processor How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. 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. Count down from the top of the panel. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. Who were they? 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. A new Department of Defense (DOD) database computer tape released through the National Archives allows researchers to take a much closer look at our 58,152 Vietnam casualties. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in this brief introductory video. On Patrol caught up with Pete Peterson to find out how the U.S.-Vietnam relationship has progressed since the normalization of ties in 1995. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory - National Park Service Search the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s database of names on the wall. the reader loses composure. Instead its nearly in the center. 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). And they all went to Vietnam. 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. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. Vandegeers message also depicted a man who believed the worst was behind him. More names are added to the wall every year. "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. The National Archives prepared these state level casualty lists by creating extracts from the Korean War Extract Data File and the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File, both as of April 29, 2008, of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, part of Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. It ripped men from their loved ones, family, friends, and it left a wave of death in its path. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense and the individual service branches maintained separate casualty lists with slightly differing criteria. The same profile holds true for the Marine Corps, where 87 percent of all officer casualties (821 of 938) were warrant officers, lieutenants or captains. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. Kurt Buis was 8 years old the day his father died. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page And, as in every American war, it is the very young who are the most willing to volunteer. Fill out the tour request form. The Classification History (SSS Form 102) may contain: name; date of birth; classification and date of mailing notice; date of appeal to the board; date and results of armed forces physical examination; entry into active duty or civilian work in lieu of induction (may include date, branch of service entered and mode of entry, such as enlisted or ordered); date of separation from active duty or civilian work; and general remarks. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall Since the days of Alexander the Great and the Roman Legions, it has always been the young, inexperienced, low-ranking enlisted man who has taken the brunt of combat casualties. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. The index gives birth and death dates, country of death, cause of death (air, ground, or sea), town and state of residence at time of enlistment, race, religious affiliation, marital status, service number, rank, and branch of service. The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. Through the AFQT process, the men scoring in the higher categories were more likely to be channeled into further specialized training and eventually assigned to technical and administrative units. name within a given date. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. Charles Holley; chief editor, Robert J. Martin, 4th Infantry Division. 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. 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. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. An aunt came and loaded the three boys into the car. 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. These officer casualties came more from the South and West regions, 4.1 deaths per 100,000, in contrast to 3.5 from the Northeast and Midwest regions. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. . And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. Names that become eligible for inclusion are added once each year, in May, a few weeks before Memorial Day. The Navy fatalities were 2,556 or 2 percent. Interested in a tour as part of your visit? 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. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. Much more detailed Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. Please say a prayer for our fallen heroes, their family members, and our hero Vietnam War Veterans during your visit. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. As Maya Ling Lin, the architect of the Wall, has said: It was as if the black-brown earth were polished and made into an interface between the sunny world and the quiet dark world beyond that we cannot enter. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. 1972, United States, National Archives, Military Records, 1885-2004, United States, National Archives, Korean War and Vietnam War Records, Start your Military Service Record Request, National Archives at St. Louis, Selective Service Records. No single persons service or sacrifice would be any greater than anyone elses. The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. With this list in hand, he went to the various locations where individual service records were kept to review files. the person they know. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. Brothers Marlin and Norman Eversgerd were both killed in Vietnam. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two The Army lost the greatest number of officers 4,635 or 59 percent of all officer casualties. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. The trigger came when the recruiters pointed out that the volunteer could enlist as early as 17 (with parental consent); that he was allowed to select his branch of service; that he would receive specialized training if he qualified; that he could request a specific overseas assignment; and that his three year enlistment followed by three years in the inactive reserves satisfied his military obligation immediately. Inscribed dots in the margins of every other panel mark every 10 lines to aid in counting. For blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. These directories help locate names on the wall. Thus we can see that the channeling philosophy continued within the armed forces. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. Her name? Unfortunately, he mistakenly added a small number of names of men who were still alive. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. It specified the geographic areas of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and surrounding coastal areas as combat zones. 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. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. This came at a time when blacks made up 11 percent of the male population nationwide. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. Library of Congress, National Archives Reference Information Page 90 A Finding Aid to Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Missing Vietnam Military Resulting from Hostile Forces, Missing Vietnam Military NOT Resulting from Hostile Forces, Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. Getting to Washington, D.C. This was a reflection of the role of warrant officers as helicopter pilots (of the 1,277 warrant officer casualties, 95 percent were Army helicopter pilots), and of the young lieutenants and captains as combat platoon leaders or company commanders. At some The Moving Wall sites, the sponsor makes arrangements 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). information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed As a result, the software improperly truncated or abbreviated names. The job of cross-referencing the information of individual branches with the DoD fell to Doubek. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. Those who died in the Vietnam War whose last names begin - Virtual Wall
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