life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam

Welcome home. (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. E)V_5lu[vC3+"vg2L& I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation. No creo que Susana _____ (seguir) sobre los consejos de su mdico. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life. El subjuntivo I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. What Was It Like To Hump The Boonies in Vietnam? 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. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. Also: for years I have read those life-expectancy numbers never really understanding them, but also noting that they wildly vary. If the enemy was near, we never saw any. Or is it on display in a Hanoi museum so curious citizens of that city can inspect a weapon captured from American imperialists? He then said that they were generally on patrol moving through their area, both attacking and being attacked depending if the VC knew their location. What is the life expectancy of an army infantry soldier? (LogOut/ They were great patriots fighting for their families and their homeland. Explore the Life of a U.S. Infantryman in Vietnam. Then we learned, appx: 1 mile to our North was, an American AMMO storage area. No. Sorry,I was one of your Brothers in Arms that helped talk you out of enlisting for another year in Vietnam. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the . I was constantly untangling the barrel and bipod of the gun from grasping vines and branches. . He was wounded and suffered permanent disability shortly before his tour was up. I saw aircraft loaded with troops explode in mid-air. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. Me, a vehicle mechanic with Btry E, 41st Arty Quads 1970. Prayers for all. I've never heard about the life expectancy of 6 weeks (even with a short google search). 1 Gun had registered its first kill. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. 2: role (MOS?). That means you lose five RTOs in 5 seconds. Cause-specific . 1 Gun. I was a cmbt engr demolition specialist carried a 45 auto and an M70 grenade launcher in addition to the C-4 and Det Cord. Sept 69 to Sept 70. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, in their recently published book All That We Can Be, said they analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder during Vietnam and can report definitely that this charge is untrue. So I guess i lasted longer than I was supposed to. 4322 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E412331B845E54EBDFDC79FA0627A18>]/Index[4314 16]/Info 4313 0 R/Length 65/Prev 560501/Root 4315 0 R/Size 4330/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Completa las oraciones con la forma correcta del presente de subjuntivo de los verbos entre parntesis.? This article appeared in the October 2021 issue of Vietnam magazine. 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. I handled Top Secret Commo on a daily basis. The man with the carbine immediately dropped it, and the two VC surrendered. Here is an 18 He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. I am convinced the same NVA soldier who shot at me moments before had killed my good friend, a budding doo-wop singer from Long Island, New York. As I made my way to the river, I saw a VC guerrilla jump into the water on the other side. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. Thats 390 per day. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). We fought to an agreed stalemate. Commanders like him were few and far between many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their ticket punched. Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. What was the average life expectancy for soldiers during World War 2 17 photos showing the life of an elite US Army Ranger 1st Cav, 101st, etc. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years, after the fall of Saigon in 1975, than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. In the few firefights and skirmishes we had with local VC, the gun always performed well. Soldiers also act in the mobilization of vehicles, weaponry, troops, and more. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975. Lived too tell about it. Knowing I had a 100-round belt in my M60, I opened up on that hillside, my gun getting so hot that the barrel smoked. I personally carried 300 rounds of ammo at all times, one belt in the gun and two across my chest. There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study). General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike (a professor at the University of California, Berkeley), a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. 1 Gun over my shoulder, grabbed a corner of a poncho and stumbled off with three other soldiers. Overrun and utterly destroyed, the 30-man 4th Platoon had suffered 21 killed and one missing. life expectancy of an infantry soldier in vietnam - lbgf.org I spent my year in Vietnam with the 1/22nd infantry part of the 4th division. They were also in a circular formation. Can I use this word like this: The addressal by the C.E.O. (LogOut/ This is not Vietnam where a machine gunners life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. Cruz quite a lot. This makes our site more accessible to the blind, visually impaired, motor disabled, people with cognitive disabilities and more. Information presented by SFC (Ret) David Hack. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". What unit lost the most soldiers in Vietnam? 4 Charlie Ranallo, were on No. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. First thing we did was, Set up a complete circular perimeter. I was drafted on Nov. 10, 1965, and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. Flipping the safety off, I scanned the jungle in front of me. On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. I didnt want any medals. Love this analysis. I worried about that kind of leadership style in the highlands. Both halves quickly swept toward the river to clear the village. 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. Statistics about the Vietnam War - VHPA A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their It may not have worked for some other wars, but they were pretty helpful. If you look at all of the things the radio operators were tasked with, it becomes abundantly clear why commo guys weren't expected to last long. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. I had yet to fire a shot with No. Often as not he was right beside you with a stolen chicken and a bag of rice. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Our battalion operated at a base camp near Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province along the South China Sea from October 1966 to January 1967. If youre a foreigner, I respect what you think, but make sure you read ALL your facts, and dont come to rash conclusion until you know everything from BOTH sides. 1 gun! Everyone laughed. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. The Regiment traces its lineage back to World War II. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. https://open.spotify.com/show/5Th7BCpIKDE1hVTqNL3u0Q. 15 May he was killed by friendly fire, and a host of us were WIA, myself included. Ordered to reinforce the unit, the Company B commander put our four platoons abreast of each other, and we marched west. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. Not long after the artillery barrage ended, the North Vietnamese swept through 4th Platoon and executed some of the survivors. No trees or anything on the ground. I couldnt disagree. 1 Gun, as always, thumped out a throaty roar as I fought desperately to push the enemy back. It had a crew of 4 (forward gunner, the coxswain (steering and driving) and the two aft gunners. My dog and I walked point my whole tour in Vietnam. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Suddenly I realized that my platoon sergeant was screaming at me to stop firing. It means, IF (!) 2 Gun.. You can find the polarity of a compound by finding electronegativities (an atoms desire for an electron) of the atoms; Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.5, compared to Fluorines A) Enter the the Ksp expression for the solid AB2 in terms of the molar solubility x. See also: Population John Doever Such as in the song Jimmy by M.I.A look at aaja in the dictionary My indian boyfriend told me is meaning come to me, 6 Answers I have never had or heard of that particular brand, but have had several here in Canada, plus a number in the Caribbean and Asia, and there all the same, small cut hot dogs in a can, no need q now please.. Name the major nerves that serve the following body areas:? I was also told that the Radio did put a target on my back. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. It didnt matter who you were or where you were. Hack received the Purple Heart for major combat injuries, and spent the rest of his military career as a recruiter for the US Army in Akron, Ohio. Now, the wisdom of this soldier tough but humanly compassionate warrior ethos can be assessed through the 2d Bn recordNO complaints about mistreatment of prisonerswhile achieving the most combat SUCCESSES IN THE BRIGADE. Postservice Mortality in Vietnam Veterans : 30-Year Follow-up - JAMA He was not the type to hump a radio. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever We were about 700 yards east of Company A when it was ambushed by an NVA battalion. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent . We flew north, then made a stop, in Cam Rahn Bay. Ron. I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. 11 c mos , meaning I was also cross trained for mortars . Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. We took fire all the time and responded. Some were constantly exposed to combat, some not so often. The TOTAL number of CIB and CMB awarded would give you the answer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was wasting ammo and didnt even have a target! Was a door gunner and crew chief for just shy of 18 months (I extended to get out early). My dad died of cancer at 52. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. "And in seizing the firm land at the . Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. I also was 2/327 B company. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. The gas-operated, belt-fed gun had a maximum rate of fire of 550-650 rounds per minute. I was trained as a RTO in 1970 at Fort Ord then went to Fort Gordon for teletype school, my MOS was 05C20 when I finished. 2 tour Nam Vet, The Navys First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet CongGuerrilla, The Navy's First Vietnamese Admiral Saw His Family Killed by an Infamous Viet Cong Guerrilla, A Day in the Life of an Infantry Point Man in Vietnam, The Story behind the famous Saigon Execution Photo. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. See my calculation below in the comments bogus indeed. I sure feel for all you guys that went outside the wire. Some of my men didnt. 10-4. No. We all gotta die sometime, Red. SSgt Barnes, Platoon, its nothing to really concern yourself with, on a long enough time line everyones survival rate is 0%. I won a few times, and even when I did not I benefited from handling the gun under stress. We were told in training that the life expectancy of a machine gunner was about seven seconds from the moment the first round was fired. 67-67 11B 4th Id. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. Thats what I figured but didnt know for sure. Robert Sholly, standing with Platoon Sgt. I think the number of Army and Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corp was very high, with the ratio of the number of them over there. The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. Fortunately, it was recorded on Spotify and can be listened to here: Thank you for both articles: (1)Going up river to port and (2) the flight from Italy back to Nam. US Wings is a verified SAM Contractor and DLA Supplier and is officially listed as a manufacturer/retailer in the US Department of Commerce's Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) Made in the USA database. Hi, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one I served in A Company 3/22 of the 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry 12/66, then Hq Co 2/12 of the 3rd Brigade 25th Inf until the night of the TET offensive end of January 1968 and returned home July 18 1968. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . A Marine on patrol crosses a rice paddy in Vietnam holding an M60 machine gun in 1966. He pulled the company into a perimeter and dispatched 4th Platoon to recon the trail to the west, while 1st Platoon performed a similar mission to the east-southeast.

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