Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. An aunt came and loaded the three boys into the car. Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . 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. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. The popularity of the GI Bill after Vietnam emphasized this yearning. Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. On November 7, 2021 VVMF began a daily virtual Reading of the Names. 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. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Chronological Lists of Names On The Wall - The Moving Wall 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. 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 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. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. 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. Many others joined the reserves or National Guard, which were not mobilized in any appreciable numbers during the war. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. 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. Inscribed dots in the margins of every other panel mark every 10 lines to aid in counting. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? "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 panel number is a number/letter combination, such as 10W or 35E. In terms of national origin/ancestries, an extensive sampling of the data-base reveals that Americans of French Canadian, Polish, Italian and other Southern and Eastern European surnames made up about 10 percent of the Vietnam casualties. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. Thats a tragic 2,415 more names on the Vietnam Wall in a single month. Derek Turner is a freelance writer and a former senior editor of On Patrol. They were at their peak physically. For families who have worked to have their loved ones name added, the journey can be long and exhausting. Patricia Krause. 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. The casual visitor might not immediately recognize that Buis name is the first. As we have pointed out earlier, more than 80 percent of our casualties were Army and Marine enlisted men with an average age of 19- to 20-years. Some went to Canada or Sweden, but few of those who evaded the draft were actually prosecuted and most were eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. 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. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . 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. How many women soldiers died in the Vietnam War? Its now one of the most popular memorials in Washington. 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. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. 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. U.S. Army Personnel and Dependent Casualties, 1961-1981 85% of the records in this database are related to the Vietnam Conflict. for all 58,228 names to be read aloud. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. 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 memorial is free and open to the public 24 hours a day, with rangers on duty to answer questions from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morencis mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. Joe Moore's VN Memorial Wall Start Page - cantho-rvn.org Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Full casualty records may be retrieved online through the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases resource. This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with Thus it is safe to say that Hispanic-Americans were over-represented among Vietnam casualties an estimated 5.5 percent of the dead against 4.5 percent of the 1970 population. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). 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. Message & data rates may apply. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. 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. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage. 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 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. 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. Once download All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. 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. The wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is 493 feet and 6 inches long, built of thick, polished black Bangalore granite. Is there a list of names on the vietnam wall? - vietnam - 2023 ".for those who have died." This takes about 72 hours. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. the requirements were expanded (by. There are the tourists who make the circuit of all the various monuments and landmarks in our nations capital. 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. 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. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. 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 feeling is that the poor, the undereducated and the minorities made up the vast majority of the combat arms during that war. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed 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 . Twenty years passed before Vandegeers remains were identified and another five passed before his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. 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. 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. Nursing the wounded. Once a master list was compiled, the names were checked manually for errors. peruse. Senate. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. 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. NAVY AND AIR FORCE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. 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. The major service academies and other military colleges provided close to 900 of the Vietnam officer casualties: the U.S. Military Academy, 278; the U.S. Air Force Academy, 205; the U.S. . Since its adoption in 1951, at the time of the Korean War, this policy had been renewed by Congress every four years. Click to learn about the In Memory program . Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. But there is a beginning. It is not surprising, for instance, that West Virginia, Montana, and Oklahoma had a casualty rate almost twice that of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. We worked very hard with volunteers from the Gold Star Mothers, recalled 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. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. Today, more than 58,000 names are engraved in the wall, and more were added in May. The officer corps casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. 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 blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two name within a given date. We were being fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. Wall Information - The Wall USA In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. Certainly, some who died did come from poor and broken homes in the urban ghettos and barrios, or were from dirt-poor farm homes in the South and Midwest. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. These directories help locate names on the wall. 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. Quite a different profile emerges among the Navy and Air force officer corps. How to Order a Draft Record. 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. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. 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. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. This year, 14 names were etched into the wall. 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. Seeking Names of Marines killed in Vietnam in D | History Hub Twenty-five years later, in an interview with People magazine, he described playing with his two younger brothers as the news reached their home in Imperial Beach, California. For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. 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. Please take a moment to let our troops know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. But in 1966, President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara decided to institute Project 100,000 that would allow category IV men to enter the military. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. . The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. 8 Women are on the Wall. 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. As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. 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. 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. All other individual draftee files from that period were destroyed by the Selective Service System in 1978, in accordance with approved records retention schedules. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. Are the names on the Vietnam Memorial in alphabetical order? As she wisely predicted, this would help bring the veterans back in timeand a cathartic healing would occur for many by facing this loss again.. Online Vietnam War Indexes & Records - Military Indexes What will be the evolving historical judgment for those names on the Wall? 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 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 Buddies of Midvale LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. 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. Getting to Washington, D.C. since it was dedicated because additional casualty records were found and And there would be nothing to denote service or rank. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. The Names - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Yet, a civilian heroine who served in a different capacity during that difficult time also merits particular acknowledgment. 1970 - ca. The Vietnam Wall. Family members are invited to witness the inscription and also to attend the annual Memorial Day ceremony when the new names are read at the Wall. The names would become the memorial. The lists are based on the "home of record - state" data provided by the serviceman or woman upon last entrance into military service. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. The men and women who valiantly fought in the Vietnam War certainly deserve the title of hero. 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. . Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. 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. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. This makeup, they say, was the very antithesis of what we stand for as a democracy a shameful corruption of our values and our historical sense of fairness and social justice. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. As a result, it was mainly the families of Navy and Air Force pilots and crewmen who suffered the great agony of the POW (prisoner of war) and MIA (missing in action) experience that came out of the Vietnam War. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. However, there have been no such cases. (Surprisingly, as it turned out, the percentage of Vietnam veterans who applied for the GI Bill was higher than either World War II or Korea. One additional factor, often overlooked, that influenced volunteer enlistment was military tradition the influence of fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles and others who had served in previous 20th century wars. In many of these families it was considered unpatriotic and indeed reprehensible to avoid active duty by requesting a status deferment or seeking out a draft counselor for advice on how to avoid the draft. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. While VVMF finances the name additions to the Wall, it is the Department of Defense that makes these difficult and often technical decisions. THE WALL OF FACES - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Authority Record - NARA, Records of the U.S. To put a circle around the symbol beside their names would not provide the correct historical context related to their situation. For weeks and weeks, a team worked through the list, verifying spellings and ensuring that the computer printout that was to be used for the stenciling was correct. 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. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. Frequently Asked Questions - Vietnam Veterans Memorial (U.S. National http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/vietna.. 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.