12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. In the event a service members remains are returned or accounted for, then a diamond symbol is engraved over the plus sign. Our combat arms were thought to be completely classless. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. 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. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. 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. Please be patient 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. 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 Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent. 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. that each name was a real person. 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. VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. 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). An Air Force member, with his back to the camera, holds the POW/MIA flag during a full honors funeral for Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer at Arlington National Cemetery on October 27, 2000. Message & data rates may apply. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. Another challenge was ensuring the accuracy of the names. Only 5 to 10 percent of enlisted men in the combat units were estimated to have had some college, and less than 1 percent of these enlisted men were college graduates. AGE 17 TO 21 PREFERRED ARMY AND MARINE COMBAT MATERIAL. 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. 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. If a name was particularly long, it would be swapped with a shorter name. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Who were they? 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. but will allow you to download it after you specify a file name. Others, later in the war, were simply ineligible because of high lottery number. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. Congress. 1972 NAID 305367, Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award Case Files, 19711971 NAID 5721359. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. Lins intention from the beginning was to have the names appear chronologically, beginning and ending at the apex. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. Kurt became the man of the house, even as a boy. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. 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. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. 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 USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. 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. 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. The Army as a branch had 134,982 killed or wounded (9.5 percent), but the Marines suffered 66,227 killed or wounded (22.5 percent) or almost one of every four Marines who served. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morencis mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. 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. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. 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. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. 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. This, they felt, would offer these men the opportunity to get remedial training in the service and then be able to compete successfully when they returned to civilian life. And they often show a heartbreakingly wry sense of humor with the same sensibilities as their college-bound peers. 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. 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. Derek Turner is a freelance writer and a former senior editor of On Patrol. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. Names can also be located on The Wall of Faces on VVMFs web site, www.vvmf.org/wall-of-faces, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. 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 Vietnam Wall. There are students on field trips, some solemn and curious, but some just happy to get out of class. Fully 50 percent were in the 17- to 24-year age group, and astonishingly, there were 764 Army officer casualties who were 21 or younger. The feeling is that the poor, the undereducated and the minorities made up the vast majority of the combat arms during that war. 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. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 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. All other individual draftee files from that period were destroyed by the Selective Service System in 1978, in accordance with approved records retention schedules. 26 Similar Questions The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers. I can envision a small cottage someplace, with a lot of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace, and maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee now and then and entertain my two friends , I dont think it will be too terribly long until we are together again.. The Order of Precedence For Military Ribbon Wear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubH-5CulqI, Military Funeral Guide for Families & Funeral Homes, The Ultimate Military Gift Guide for Unique Military Gifts, Black Military History and Black Medal of Honor Recipients. If officers are added, then almost 70 percent of those who died were volunteers. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable 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. 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. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. 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. A correspondingly greater tradition of military service in the other regions had its effect on U.S. regional casualties. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. 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. 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. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. The widely held notion that the poor served and died in Vietnam while the rich stayed home is way off the mark. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service members status: either missing or confirmed dead. The Vietnam War was no different. 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 their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. Thus, the wars beginning and end meet. compiled by Military Records and Research Library, Department of Military Affairs; edited by Julia D. Rather and Jeffrey Michael Duff, Research Our Records. 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. Senate. For information regarding official military unit histories, contact: Air ForceU.S. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/vietna.. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969.