Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365). Hours of operation: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST, Monday to Friday, except on federal holidays. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of . Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. At least 119 people died in the riots, which spanned three days in July 1863. About 450,000 Leathernecks, the most of whom were volunteers, served in Vietnam (42,600 were draftees). [7], Across all branches of the military, African Americans composed 11% of all troops. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. The year had brought a major buildup of U.S. Marine forces in Vietnam. Dap handshakes, or complex ritualized handshakes, originated among Black troops of the Vietnam War. forces members were drafted during WWII) Reservists KIA: 5,977. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. By Thomas E. Ivory. In response to criticism of the drafts inequities, on December 1, 1969, the Selective Service System conducted two lottery drawings the first draft lottery since 1942, at its headquarter in Washington to determine the order in which men of draft-eligible age (men born between 1944 -1950) were called to report for possible induction into the military in 1970. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. Some 13,000 were killed and 88,000 wounded (51,392 badly enough to be hospitalized). It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3% of all V'nam enlisted casualties were volunteer. The first date drawn was September 14, followed by April 24, which was assigned to 001 and 002 respectively. Today, the Selective Service System remains in standby mode should Congress see it necessary to resume military conscriptions. In all, U.S. Marines conducted 11 major operations of battalion size or larger and more than 356,000 smaller unit patrols and killed nearly 18,000 enemy. Most of the men who rotated through the country were volunteers, but a significant number were not. All the while Marine air played a pivotal role in providing fire support, CH-46 and UH-34 helicopters remained the workhorses for logistics support, augmented that year by the first squadron of CH-53 Sea Stallions. On 22 February 1965, General William C. Westmoreland, USA, Commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, requested two Marine battalions to protect the key airbase at Da Nang from increasing threat by the Viet Cong to U.S. installations. Captain John W. Ripley, Captain Ray L. Smith and Captain Lawrence H. Livingston each won the Navy Cross for their heroic contributions in stopping the enemy advances. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. [12] Da Nang Air Base flew the Confederate flag for three days in response. The 3d Marine Division was fighting a more conventional campaign against the North Vietnamese Army near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the north of I Corps while the 1st Marine Division engaged in more counter-guerrilla operations in Southern I Corps. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. Despite operational successes, pacification in the densely populated areas in the Marines AOR remained a difficult process. For those born in 1950, however, being drafted in 1970 was a very real prospect. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. 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. [2] Though comprising 11% of the US population in 1967, African Americans were 16.3% of all draftees. [5], While at the start of the war the vast majority of African American soldiers "believed America was protecting the sovereignty of the democratically constituted government in South Vietnam and halting the spread of communism in Southeast Asia" King's opposition to the Vietnam War and death saw disillusionment and anti-war rhetoric grow among African American soldiers. Video: WATMis made in Hollywood by veterans. [6], The Armed Forces took some action to make Black troops feel more included, including adding more diverse music to club jukeboxes, hiring Black bands and dancers for events, and bringing over Black entertainers to perform, such as James Brown, Miss Black America, and Miss Black Utah. Throughout 1970, U.S. Marine forces continued to withdraw from Vietnam. Between October 1966 and June 1969, 246,000 soldiers were recruited through Project 100,000, of whom 41% were black; black people only made up about 11% of the population of the US. No sooner had the Marines evacuated the embassies than they were ordered by President Gerald R. Ford to rescue the crew of the USSMayaguez, which had been taken by the Khmer Rouge. [3] Following the assassination, some White troops at Cam Ranh Base wore Ku Klux Klan robes and paraded around the base. The average age of the men killed: 23.1 years. By lowering the education standards of the draft, an estimated 40% of the 246,000 draftees of Project 100,000 were Black. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. In the north, enemy forces attacked all the major population centers, including Da Nang and the old Imperial city of Hue. Therefore, local draft boards had an enormous power to decide who had to go and who would stay. A 1970 Army study of the 197th Infantry Brigade reported that African Americans soldiers frequently complained that white NCOs always put black soldiers on the dirtiest details.[3] L. Howard Bennett, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for civil rights in the Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon administrations noted a similar occurrence, that African Americans soldiers would "complained that they are discriminated against in promotions that they will stay in grade too long, that they will train and teach whites who come in and pretty soon their trainees pass them by and get the promotion. . A similar poll in 1969 saw the number rise to 47%. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Fewer than 10 of the more than 2,000 sailors discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine have expressed interest in Copyright 2023 We Are The Mighty. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. This was all entirely at random. Barring medical, psychological, or criminal exemption, everyone was saddled with a 6-year-military-obligation, whether they were drafted or volunteered. It began airing on Sept. 17, 2017. One such incident near the A Su Valley caused fifteen Black soldiers to refuse to report for combat patrol the following day. Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. Many soldiers came from rural towns and farming communities. 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. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all. Draft evasion carried steep fines and the possibility of jail time. Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. Keep in step with US Wings Join our newsletter to receive all our latest news and offers, Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from US Wings. President Lyndon B. Johnson became so concerned over the siege that he had an exact model of the Khe Sanh base built to monitor the situation on the ground. [5], In the mid-1980s, African American veterans of the Vietnam War were twice as likely as White veterans to experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), at a prevalence of 40%. The following shows the number of men who were inducted into military service through the Selective Service System during the major 20th century conflicts. By late 1967, U.S. casualties in Vietnam had reached 15,058 killed and 109,527 wounded. After my entire initial draftee group showed up with one small bag at the Federal Building and were sworn in, we received our very first military order. On 14 April 1971, III MAF redeployed to Okinawa, and two months later the last ground troops, the 13,000 men of the 3d MAB, flew out from Da Nang. The last man inducted entered the U.S. Army on June 30, 1973 during the last draft conducted. Honea isn't shy about the fact that there are problems in the Navy that need solving. Fifty years ago, in March 1965, 3,500 U.S. Marines landed in South Vietnam. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification. The draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments before age 18 1/2 had been reached. The end of 1964 brought an end to the advisory and assistance phase of the Vietnam War. Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. Instead of the traditional cease-fire for the Tet Lunar New Year, the Communists launched a massive offensive against 105 cites and towns throughout South Vietnam. For more information about induction statistics, call Selective Service at 703-605-4100. Prisoners of War, including 26 Marines. [5], African American troops were more likely to be assigned to combat units: 23% of such troops in Vietnam were African Americans. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. 79% had a high school education or better. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. This is why Fallujah is one of the Marine Corps most legendary battles, That time an entire battle stopped to watch two soldiers in a fistfight, Watch Gordon Ramsey live a day in the life of a Royal Marine. A Defense Department study released in 1972 found that Black troops received 34.3% of court-martials, 25.5% of nonjudicial punishments, and comprised 58% of prisoners at Long Bnh Jail, a military prison. Draft lotteries were conducted again in 1970, 1971 and 1972. [6] A total of 300,000 African-Americans served in Vietnam. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. [3] Racial incidents also affected the Navy and Air Force. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. In the spring of 1964, Marine Detachment, Advisory Team One, commanded by Major Alfred M. Gray Jr., arrived to collect signals intelligence, thereby becoming the first Marine ground unit to arrive in the country. In all, half a million Americans dodged their Vietnam War service. By the following year, Black soldiers made up 16.3% of those drafted and 23% of Vietnam combat troops, despite accounting for only roughly 11% of the civilian population. . As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. Thats 390 per day. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. The framers of the U.S. Constitution built a system that divides power between the three branches of the U.S. governmentlegislative, executive and read more, J. Edgar Hoover was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for 48 years, reshaping that organization from a small, relatively weak arm of the federal governments executive branch into a highly effective investigative agency. The former was the worst race riot in the U.S. Army's history and the latter garnered national attention due to 44 African-American soldiers being arrested but no white soldiers. [9] From 1966 to 1967, the reenlistment rate for African Americans was 50%, twice what it was for white soldiers. Unfortunately, peace was short lived in Vietnam, and in 1974 fighting resumed in both Cambodia and South Vietnam. African American Sergeant Lewis B. Larry shared similar sentiments stating that "There's no racial barrier of any sort here". With no end to the war in sight, the prediction of a Vietnamese soothsayer would come true: 1966 would be a year of a lot of fighting and killing.. There were 366 blue plastic capsules containing birth dates (including February 29) placed into a deep glass container. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. For 77 days the 26th Marines, commanded by Colonel David E. Lownds, held the embattled base against intense pressure by the North Vietnamese, who hurled as many as 1,000 shells a day into the Marine position. [16], According to Daniel Lucks, African American soldiers hold a "nightmarish remembrance of the war." The Selective Service System continued to assign draft priority numbers in March from 1973-75 in case the draft was extended, although it never was. 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. Myth: Common belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted. How many Marines were drafted in Vietnam? First off, he told me that he decided to go join before he was drafted but none the less he went to ME. It called for the registration of all 18-26 year old males with induction to take place at 18 1/2 if so ordered by the local draft board. The Military Draft During the Vietnam War In November 1965, draftees are leacing Ann Arbor, MI to be processed and sent to basic training camps. During the North Vietnamese 1972 Easter Offensive, Marine advisors played a pivotal role in repelling the Communist attacks. In the beginning of the war, names of all American men of draft-age were collected by the Selective Service System. 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. Out of the 1342 admirals and generals, there were only 2 African Americans generals Lieutenant General Benjamin O. Davis and Brigadier General Frederic E. Davison and no African-American admirals. African Americans have always been involved in United States military service since its inception despite official policies of racial segregation and discrimination. While Marines continued conducting pacification and counter-guerrilla operations, most of the heavy fighting in 1967 raged in the north of I Corps along the DMZ. The Vietnam War was the first American war in which Black and White troops were not formally segregated, and even saw significant growth in the number of African Americans engaged in battlefield combat,[1] though some de facto segregation still occurred. US Wings is a veteran-owned business and an official supplier to the US Military. The highest loss-rate for any MOS was 11E (Armor Crewman) 27% KIA. We fought to an agreed stalemate. Officers also spent a year in country, but only six of those months were in a troop command. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. Military pay benefits are changing all the time -- make sure you're up to date with everything you've earned. The calculator, of course, does not use your birth year because many of us were born well after the Vietnam War. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phucs brothers were killed in this incident. During the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million. In 1970 there were 1,060 reported cases of violent racial conflict. During the Vietnam War drafts were a huge part of troops and their families lives. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. "[3], African American troops were punished more harshly and more frequently than White troops. American forces in Vietnamwere 55%working-class, 25% percent poor,20% middle-class. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. 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