The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. The officer corps has always drawn heavily on English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries from middle-class white collar homes, with other large percentages from ambitious working class blue collar and, of course, career military families. Only 10 percent of enlisted men had even some college to their credit and only 1 percent were college graduates. Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. Of 2,590 total Air Force casualties, 1,674 or 65 percent were officers. 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. 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. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. 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. No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. Kurt became the man of the house, even as a boy. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morencis mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. AGE 17 TO 21 PREFERRED ARMY AND MARINE COMBAT MATERIAL. And there is an end. The remaining 70 percent of our Vietnam enlisted casualties were of English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries, more from the South and Midwest than the other regions, many from small towns with a family military tradition. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. The central idea of the poem is that the Vietnamese War took hundreds of lives away from the United States of America. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. 1970 - ca. This can help veterans or relatives find other persons who died with Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file Items are gathered by park staff. On the last day of his life, in the moments before our nations history changed forever, Dale Buis was sitting around a rec center watching a movie called The Tattered Dress, starring Jeff Chandler. 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. And there would be nothing to denote service or rank. 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. 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. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The Wall USA is a non-profit endeavor maintained by veterans . Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. Its now one of the most popular memorials in Washington. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. The young enlisted volunteer or draftee had not had much time to form any complicated theories about our Vietnam commitment. Message & data rates may apply. Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Kansas, Sheridan County, Viet Nam records, 1955-1975, Vermont, National Guard, Vietnam war, 1950-1953, University of Utah - American West Center - Saving the Legacy/ Vietnam Veterans, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=United_States_Vietnam_War_1964_to_1972&oldid=5123794, Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960, Personnel discharged, September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964, The Military Index is available at the FamilySearch Library and at most FamilySearch centers. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. 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. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . In 2004, the total is 58,241 names. The Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order Vietnam War Casualties- Main Alphabetical Index www.VirtualWall.org Find A Name Information Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. This is the most accurate database online. Who were they? It stands near Panel 1W, which holds the name of the last to die in combat. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent of its own men. And, as in every American war, it is the very young who are the most willing to volunteer. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The names would become the memorial. 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. Please say a prayer for our fallen heroes, their family members, and our hero Vietnam War Veterans during your visit. If each What happens to items left at the memorial? 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. Thats a tragic 2,415 more names on the Vietnam Wall in a single month. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. Others, later in the war, were simply ineligible because of high lottery number. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. If a person died or went missing in those areas, DoD considered that individual to be a combat zone casualty and eligible for inclusion on the Wall. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 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. There are officially 58,228 names on the Wall, but the database these files were derived . "Home of record" does not necessarily refer to the place of birth, residence of next of kin, place of longest residence, nor other common uses of the term "hometown." The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. 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. And mores the pity, because many of them were trying to escape this background and didnt make it. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Honor Vietnam Veterans you know with a gift from our VVA store, or a custom military embroidered shirt, jacket, or polo so they can proudly demonstrate their service to their grateful nation. Many high-ranking military men (including General William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam) opposed the program, feeling that the effectiveness of some units would be reduced and that fellow soldiers would sometimes be put in greater jeopardy by these less mentally capable personnel. 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 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 "save as" menu command to store each text file on your media. The vast majority of Americans who were eligible by age but did not serve in the armed forces were exempted by reason of physical, mental, psychiatric, or moral failure; or they were given status deferments because they were college students, fathers, clergy, teachers, engineers or conscientious objectors. 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. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. 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. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 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. 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. Millions more come to experience this Memorial each year. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. There was no need to embellish. More Info At www.themovingwall.org Visit site Since then, 379 names have been added, for a total of 58,318 (as of Memorial Day 2017). Nor did America recognize, on July 8, 1959the day he was killedthat another long and bloody war lay in wait. The Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent. Of the 8000 Coast guardsmen who served in Vietnam, 3 officers and 4 enlisted men were killed and 59 were wounded. Records of individuals who left service more than 62 years ago are considered Archival Records and become records of the National Archives open to the general public. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/vietna.. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. Army Major Dale Buis' name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. NAVY AND AIR FORCE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. 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. How to Order a Draft Record. The list of names begins at the vertex of the walls below the date of the first casualty, 1959, and continues to the end of the east wall. . 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 Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. 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. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis maintains Vietnam War Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF). For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. 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. Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. readers. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. Be the first to learn about news, service member stories and fundraising updates from USO. Many others joined the reserves or National Guard, which were not mobilized in any appreciable numbers during the war. 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.. Only 3 returned home. 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. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. This uneven impact was caused by a number of factors: (1) While the South was home to some 53 percent of all blacks in the 1970 census, almost 60 percent of black casualties came from the South; (2) Although we cannot be as precise, we do know that a considerable majority of Hispanic-American casualties came from the West, (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado) and the South (Texas); (3) Better employment opportunities in the Northeast reduced the number of volunteers; (4) Greater college matriculation in the Northeast increased the number of status deferments for the regions 17- to 24- year olds; (5) More anti-war sentiment in the media and on college campuses in the Northeast. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. 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. They refer to older or younger siblings who are either in or on their way to college. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. The Vietnam War is no different. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their 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 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. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. In the military it can be somewhat more deadly. 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. Thus, the wars beginning and end meet. Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War 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. This approach would allow veterans, friends and family members to find a loved one by his or her date of casualty. This page has been viewed 167,336 times (0 via redirect). 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. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 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. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. And there are the Vietnam veterans, who come to recognize the sacrifice of their fellow warriors, wondering why their own names are not there, too. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. columns per page. The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. 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. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). 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. Along with its wave of death, it scarred many people, especially those closest to the men that died fighting the . The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 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. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. "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. 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. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. The men and women who valiantly fought in the Vietnam War certainly deserve the title of hero. 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. The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. is complete, or you've done a "save as", you can use any word processor 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.. Photo credit DOD photo. that each name was a real person.
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