Thank you in advance! Hazardous duty pay was $65 and overseas pay varied by rank $8 to $ 16. it is the duty of the community to stay behind their warriors to heal them and at the back of them when they come back. Additionally, the American War Library approximated that around 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters during the same time are still alive today. Our med company was on 6 different LZs during the year I was with them, supporting the 3rd Bde 4th ID. Im sorry I did. Floyd James ThompsonHe was one of the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history that was returned or captured by troops, spending nearly nine years in captivity in the forests and mountains of South Vietnam and Laos, and in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The wheels were bouncing crazily as the tires encounter deep furrows dug in the hard dirt from the last monsoon. Heres a fact: Jeffery Lynn Scheller, USN, born July 31, 1954 was Killed In Action on October 1, 1972. If you have any doubts, take a closer look at your DD-214. Welcome home! The site is owned and run by a crook and charlatan named (?) Also, some do not consider those who served in Thailand as Vietnam Vets. If you served anywhere at all, anywherre during WWI, you are a WWI vet. All others should not be accepted to have served either on land or at sea in Vietnam. VA's Veteran Population Projection Model estimates that there are approximately 6.1 million living Vietnam War-era Veterans, as of 2021. yep I wonder also. Just like ALL Vets who served DURING WWII are classified as WWll Vets regardless of where they served. Im now 74. Arrived in country March 1969, subsequently assigned to B Battery 1/14 Arty. Canada did not enter the war so many Canadians joined the americansThey wanted to put a memorial in Ottawa and were refused the built it someplace on the Canadian side I beieve near Detroit, The monument is on the Canadian side of the Detroit River (Windsor). The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 530 Vietnam veterans die every day. David, please do not compare this to Merchant Seaman in WWII who braved the many packs of Submarines etc as that is how so many died in WWII. eventually i commented that i had flown into dong ha on resupply missions , having become bored with my mates work on merchant ships that spent long weeks at da nang. Or did you spend 24/7 365 days in the boat? 1 in 14 men pulled a trigger in Nam. I found out from a vet in 2017, filed in 2018. Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents This part of Pleiku Province is a combination of mountains, triple to single canopy jungle and/or open valleys. These numbers were not included since these service members were far removed from combat experience and did not spend any amount of time in harms way.. I got in about 20 firefights. If you are diagnosed with a condition that they know is caused by exposure to the chemical, they will presume that condition is service-connected. I flew as a crew chief / door gunner from dec 12 th 1965 till dec 15th 1967,I may not have had my boots on the ground out side the wire but we flew close air support , every time you grunts got your ass in a sling we were there to help you, i was on old B model gun ships low and slow ,I was shot down three times, so i dont think your cib means that much to me. In country Vietnam Vets are the only Vietnam Vets. How many ww2 vets left 2021? They wouldnt know the truth even if they tripped over it. I was C 3/17 Air Cav. As the Department of Veterans Affairs studies, each day over 20 veterans take their own lives. When were the last Vietnam POWs released? Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. We didnt make it on shore very often but I still feel I was in VietNam. I was also at LZ Bayonet. that conversation has stayed with me. 109, 000 died in the service during this period. I do not believe that the question of who is a Vietnam Veteran is that difficult Assignment to a unit stationed in country is 1 criterion, another is the number of days assigned and served in country Combat at sea of pilots from carriers and rescue crews that flew over the country and those downed I think that there are really 2 classes of Vietnam Veterans, combat and non-combat that is a more difficult designation to separate As a combat platoon Sgt engaged in several large battles and many smaller fire fights, nights being mortared with shells exploding in the trees above The VA needs to add one more medical anomaly, Chronic Butt Pucker for all combat veterans. But a growing army of strangers is. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. So, I must be a VN Vet and VN Era Vet and Cold War Era Vet but not a Cold War Vet because I never got anywhere near the USSR. They used the same aircraft, and there was anything left in the aircraft, whatever the spray for the day was added, so you got both. I opted for love! Bullets were flying everywhere, and the noise was tremendous. The number of Vietnam veterans affected by the chemical Agent Orange is astonishing. (52. years later) All with the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Air Borne Division. we both served and i think that is what distinguishes us from draft dodgers or people that claimed bone spurs or kept getting deferments those are the people i despise. This included Westmorland and Abrahms. In the highlands we had to take one every day in addition to the once a week pill. young men and woman who were there and did get fired on, or were in danger, should be recognized . Today, the state with highest number of Vietnam veterans is California, with 596,130, followed by Florida with 519,224. Operation Homecoming was completed on March 29, 1973, when the last of 591 U.S. prisoners were released and returned to the United States. i know what a combat veteran is. I appreciate the fact that I Sam in the combat group that won the war against the communist rabble during their Tet Offensive in 1968. How many Vietnam veterans are dying . I still consider myself lucky every day! The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 530 Vietnam veterans die every day. Now 69 years/old. I remember reading in the Stars and Stripes there were 500,000 plus in Vietnam at the time. I Never got to Korea but I have friends who got a medal for service in Korea. I was out of my earthly shell. I think 9+ million total in US military service during the peak years of the Vietnam War and 2.6 2.7 million in Nam and its waters and air space is right. My whole essence was involved it the quest of one more heartbeat, one more breath, one more gasp of pain averting energy, one moment at a time. Question One: Are we talking Vietnam Veterans or Vietnam Era Veterans. I needed the rest! We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! Most of those who flew had Air Medals which are a combat medal. I was there in 1964-1965 then 1967-1968 then my last tour was 1971-1972. I flew several hundred sorties in a gunship. This is a reasonable number but you get very different notions of the death rate when you compare 800,000 to 2.7 million versus 800,000 out of 9.2 million. My time stands still. Age: 77. give me a date between June 25, 1968 thru June 25 1969 and I can tell you where I was in country. go to the top of this article and choose the magnifying glass and search for Canadians in Vietnam to read an article on this website about them. Due to TCDD among other toxic substances, we are dying off faster than other American men born between 1944-1950. Got a nice break the last 5 months, got to drive a bird colonel around Chu Lai as he delivered classified info all over the base !!!!! If you assumed that 500,000 new troops served there every year from 1962-1975, you still couldnt get to 9,000,000 serving there, so using the peak number is not realistic. How many Vietnam War veterans are still alive 2023? So, here well dive a little bit deeper into how many Vietnam veterans are estimated to still be alive based on various approximations and predictions. While that's a staggering figure is, the actual amount could be higher. Seems there are a lot of phony ones out there trying to scam the system which takes away from the true Vietnam Vets. Are we counted as two people or have they accounted for us already. My government murdered me. I have spoken at many VETS EVENTS, and done interviews with the media .. Never get tired of people telling me Thank You for your service, and absolutely love hearing WELCOME HOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wounded evaced) then Am 3/21 196th LIB. The Korean War was not supported by the ENTIRE nation, actually that is why it is known as the Forgotten War. One of the things that really bothers me is the statement that we lost in Vietnam? If you served in any other places you are a Veteran, ERA is an embellishment of your service. A Co. 2/8th, First Cavalry, 1968-69. How old are Vietnam vets now? we had a crew of about 42, spent weeks at anchor in vung tau or da nang. When he first got out we roomed together, and I came home from school one day s clss was canceled. We had a 10,000 gal balloon full of gas while we watched for someone shooting at us or placing a bomb on the bottom of our boat. why not compare them?. I was ASA, 1960-1963, Ft Dix, Vint Hill Farm, DaNang and PhuBai. 610,000 figure is more accurate., NYT was referring to VN Era Veterans. I turned left into the open valley dirt road that lead to the OP, crossed the blue line (river or stream on a map) and raced through the dense, triple canopy jungle to the open valley floor. Still, other sources like the New York Times claim the number of Vietnam veterans is actually somewhere around 9.2 million. (LogOut/ Rear echelon? I was in Vinh Long in 1965, Mekong delta area. A few times Id meet a group of guys claiming they were all Nam Vets. The oldest living Vietnam War veteran is believed to be a man named Larrivee Ronald A, who was born in Feb, 24, 1935. We, the U.S. have lost over 158,000 American lives to the Vietnam war and that count is still rising. All the others are Vietnam ERA Vets. These numbers have come about due to the extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources by the American War Library which concluded that about one-third of those who served in the Vietnam War are still alive today. Then, I stopped at the 5th. But that number will probably go down by at least 50,000 to 75,000 per year. It seems to be all about syntax. From what my son in law says (Apache gunship pilot) they also flew a tremendous number of combat hours everyday, And I know from what few stories he did tell (hes now deceased) they often had mortar rounds incoming. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. no , i could not quit. I have heard many stories (more in the past 30 years) of people claiming to be a combat veteran, maybe seeking some kind of hero status or valid excuse for why they are where they are. A Vietnam era veteran is certainly not a Veteran of the Vietnam War. Spent a year in training and ended up a buck Sargent airborne ranger. It seems to be all about syntax. NO! The last number of Viet Nam veterans alive today was 730,000, which would equate to around todays number of 610,000. That makes more sense. In my mirror I saw its beam illuminate each and every particle of dust that my passing vehicle spewed into the air; thus creating a mobile, magical, camouflaged chamber of brightly dancing fairies shielding me from harm. Excellent questions. I served in 67 69 & had stroke in 93 then heart attack in 2002 with 2d in 2004 . I knew place names like War Zone C, Filijo (rubber Plantation), Iron triangle, Bo Lo woods?, I was wounded on the Laos border near a fire base with the 101st. As Ive mentioned before, I dont think posing this question was intended to be divisive among veterans, but it has turned out to be. Dr. Paul A. Scipione I served a second tour and know quite a few Marines that did also. It was also projected that, from here, 138,000 Vietnam veterans are expected to die each year. Likewise, drafted Sep 66, Vietnam Aug 67-Aug 68, and Im 75. I think by now weve pretty much said all that can be said about this question. Great article! Im a 1967-68 Vietnam combat veteran. If they reply that they do not talk about their experiences They are not Combat Veterans maybe not even Vietnam Veterans. Lets ask somebody on Facebook where we can get all the correct true data and facts. Hometown: New York City. If you prefer to differentiate who served in country and who did not, then the arithmetic must divide the groups into two lists accordingly. . I left this Sunday, as other mornings, to make a supply run and a code book and frequency transfer to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB); to gather C-Rations, mail, and most importantly to acquire our new radio codes of the confidential frequencies for this period. Findings are made available to the public in an Annual Report. I didnt know that. My 2.6 million figure refers to American vets. I think its just a generalization but should be cleared. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. Door gunner with the 191st AHC Bounty Hunters. Was back at LZ Bayonet the last part of my tour after being medevaced off of Professional and in the hospital at Chu Lai. While there troops from our unit were deployed to Vietnam as replacements yet some people dont consider us as support for troops in Vietnam. Luck of the draw my twin that received a silver star got the luck of the draw made it home. For the are all Vietnam Vetersns.I was stationed. On this Memorial Day 2021, VA honors their service and recommits itself to . AFAIC, anyone within the bounds of South Vietnam was on the ground. In or out of a compound or an LZ or anywhere else. Thank you..Its been many years sinice I left, needed answers, read the 1987 pulitzer prize book on Vietnam, A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan, and later Secrets by Daniel Ellsberg a Marine who worked at the pentagon cable room.both left me so shaken I couldnt finishe either but Ilearned so much. These Veterans are now in or about to reach . No reflection on your daily activities, just a friendly piece of information. You may not care but us guys that stepped foot in Nam AND had bullets flying at us, we care, and we are genuine vietnam Combat Vets. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Very true One of those is my younger brother. These numbers do not include the Americans who served in Vietnam during World War II. I KNOW MY STATS BECAUSE I WAS THE LONGEST SERVING MEMBER (20 YRS) on the New Jersey Agent Orange Commission, including four years as Chairman. The average annual payment was $18,100. in one way or another. Active Duty: 473,000 Base was 1st MAW Danang AB which got hit early Tet with rockets, mortars and sappers. The NOISE ringing in my ears, the torment, the muggy damn heat, and the distance echo of gunfire ALL STOPPED! REAL Vietnam War veterans are all those who are officially authorized the Vietnam Service medal and possess official military-issued documentation to confirm their medal authorization. I raised my left leg and body up and pushed off that knee with my left hand. i thank every soldier for their service, i do not exaggerate my actions. and i abhor those who say they served when they were plumbers in texas and talk of medals they never earned. Those of us on the battlefield who bled and many died would take issue with your opinion. The amount of compensation a Vietnam War veteran can receive varies depending on their individual circumstances, such as their disability rating and the number of dependents they have. I meant any one that stepped foot in According to the Department of Defense, infantry soldiers had the highest casualties during the Vietnam War, making infantry the deadliest job in Vietnam. Combat Vets served in country. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. Was I counted each time or once? All I know is that Im a Vietnam Combat Vet. Im proud to be a surviving vet and the men who served with me then and those after me. Your not a vet if you never stepped foot in another country. Vietnam War veterans can suffer from a variety of physical and mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug and/or alcohol problems, and hearing loss. Hometown: Detroit, Michigan. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. An overwhelming number are buried by family and friends. of the 1st cav div. It was only a short ride. even when i went out with the airforce on resupply to fire bases. How Many Vietnam War Veterans Are Still Alive? Divarty (how ironic), and with my DEROS (Date I returned to the States) in the end of May boarding The BIG Bird, flying across the Pond and back to the World! YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. Apparently, its been agreed upon that 800,000 Vietnam veterans had passed away by the year 2000. 2.4 million man who served in Nam approx. I PULL GUARD DUTY THE FIRST NIGHT ANY ONE EVERY STAYED THERE. (LogOut/ Just because some idiot politician or people want to say you were not a war vet unless you saw combat dont feel bad most of those people found ways to evade even getting drafted. so if you wore chinos instead of camo you are not a veteran? And just as the bell rang he got out of the ring , technically I won the fight. Served until April 28, 1968 !!!!!! i would like to confuse the issue a bit more. Their is a new book about to be released by Bill Comeau that tells a similar story of the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Duel with the Dragon about the Battle of Soui Tre that I fought in. As I started to slowly stagger upright towards the opposite side of the road, trying with all my might to gain my balance, I went down hard. References:https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htmhttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/how-many-vietnam-veterans-are-still-alive.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War, The Armys FY 2023 budget request is ~$177.5 Billion. His Engineer company was tasked to fight as Infantry, and they did. Vince. i do not denigrate their service or define them as inferior. Dec 1967 Dec 1968 & Jan 1969 Nov 1969.

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