This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. True enough, but many of the surviving Vietnam casualty families would reply that the ultimate unfairness is death at an early age, in a land far from home, for reasons not clearly defined. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. 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. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. 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. 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. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. You must refer to a database, which gives the names in alphabetical order and includes the position of each on the Memorial. 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. The Wall of Faces allows family and friends to share memories, post pictures and connect with each other. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. Click to learn about the In Memory program . As Vietnam War Veterans Day nears March 29, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation's Wall of Faces is nearly complete but needs help from the public to track down the last few dozen photos. We worked very hard with volunteers from the Gold Star Mothers, recalled Doubek. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. On that panel, above the names is this inscription: In honor of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. 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. It specified the geographic areas of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and surrounding coastal areas as combat zones. 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. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. As we search for proper bookends to encapsulate the story of a generation at war, perhaps the best we can do is look at what is written in stone. 26 Similar Questions Thats a tragic 2,415 more names on the Vietnam Wall in a single month. 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. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. A doctor arrived and gave his shaken mother a sedative. 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. Look at the bottom of each panel on the wall for its number. But you had stories of guys in the Air Force who would die in their aircraft over Thailand after having been shot over Vietnam. Technically, they were ineligible for inclusion on the Wall. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. The casual visitor might not immediately recognize that Buis name is the first. Congress and the Johnson administration, therefore, sought to protect our college-bound and educated young men. We honor and remember their sacrifice.". The central idea of the poem is that the Vietnamese War took hundreds of lives away from the United States of America. 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. Frequently relatives or buddies of casualties History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. (The 58,000 Names) Our fallen Vietnam War heroes are herethe 58,000 heroes who died in Vietnam. The training for American officers is thought by most foreign military authorities to be the best in the world. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. He admitted no particular feelings about the righteousness of the war, and allowed himself to look ahead into a future free of war and obligation. Early on President Johnson, his advisers and especially the Congress, realized that if the draft was to be truly equitable and had included combat assignments in Vietnam for the sons of the educationally advantaged and influential Americans from the professional and managerial classes, then the resulting uproar would have shut down the war. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. Once download 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. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. 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. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. 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. This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 18:28. the person they know. 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. . Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. 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. The Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. Records of U.S. Military Casualties, Missing in Action, and Prisoners of War from the Era of the Vietnam War are available through the National Archives. Only 10 percent of enlisted men had even some college to their credit and only 1 percent were college graduates. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 The Navy had a similar profile: 55 percent of its 622 officer casualties were 30 years of age or older, and 45 percent were ranked at lieutenant commander or above when they died. However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. This year, 14 names were etched into the wall. Charles Holley; chief editor, Robert J. Martin, 4th Infantry Division. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. Nor did America recognize, on July 8, 1959the day he was killedthat another long and bloody war lay in wait. site, for searching with a word processor. . 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. 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. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. While their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable Every day at 3:00 p.m. EST, VVMF will play a daily reading of all the individuals who died upon that day in alphabetical order. 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. for all 58,228 names to be read aloud. 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. The men and women who valiantly fought in the Vietnam War certainly deserve the title of hero. 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. How to Order a Draft Record. 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. More than 200 names have been added to the Wall Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War Memorial wall? There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975. The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. 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. | The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. Names that become eligible for inclusion are added once each year, in May, a few weeks before Memorial Day. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. And there is an end. Note the panel and line number for the name listed. It stands near Panel 1W, which holds the name of the last to die in combat. Items are gathered by park staff. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. It would also enable veterans to find groups of friends who died during the same incident. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. 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. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. 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. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . 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. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. And mores the pity, because many of them were trying to escape this background and didnt make it. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. The Vietnam Wall. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. "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 DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. 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. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. Quite a different profile emerges among the Navy and Air force officer corps. 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. This takes about 72 hours. Every day, Americas service members selflessly put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two Officers of all services, by tradition largely Protestant, remained so during the Vietnam war, sustaining casualties in comparison with Catholics by a 5 to 2 ratio. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. In the military it can be somewhat more deadly. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
