Gen Zinni's presentation on Nam Veterans

[Boz330]

http://player.vimeo.com/video/38356372?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Bob

[Rick Hodges]

Thank You

[Ramar]

Thanks for posting.
The ole boy nailed it!
Ramar

[Recluse]

"We're every bit the greatest generation as the one that preceded us."

SO TRUE.

Some time back, I wrote on here that I thought the Vietnam veteran generation was THE greatest generation of vets this nation has ever produced. The war had only been over--on paper--for a few short years before I enlisted and it was the Vietnam veterans who trained me and my generation.

I have yet to find a better soldier, sailor or airman. Those we have serving at present and up until now are as good as good can get, but primarily because of the legacy the Vietnam generation veterans imparted to us with the urging of paying it forward, never forgetting, never apologizing and ALWAYS putting your buddy first no matter what.

Thank you for posting this. I'm forwarding it to a large number of fellow vets.

:coffee:

[Bullet Caster]

Yeah. Like Recluse said. Thanks for posting for us Vietnam, Republic of, vets. BC

[captaint]

Boz - Thanks, man... Glad somebody's paying attention. Mike

[Boz330]

Recluse, I was a DI for a short period of time and maintained contact with a number of the guys that I had worked with after separation. They got to train the all volunteer Army that followed the Nam era vets. They said that they missed the draft era Army because the standards really went down for a number of years before they started coming up.
In my BCT platoon the average level of education was 14 years and it was 75% draftees. And trust me there were some guys dragging it down. Most, like me just wanted to serve our time honorably and get out. I did the jobs given me to the best of my ability, mainly because that was the way I was raised, but it didn't take a mental giant to figure out you weren't going to win any head butting contest.
I wasn't a combat vet (luck of the draw) but the difference in combat time between the WWII vets and the Viet Nam vets is remarkable. In my dad's diary from Guadalcanal it is amazing the amount of time they spent waiting to go into combat. But he spent 3 years in the South Pacific.

Bob

[montana_charlie]

Viet Nam Vet statistics

In case you haven't been paying attention these past few decades
after you returned from Vietnam , the clock has been ticking. The
following are some statistics that are at once depressing yet in a
larger sense should give you a HUGE SENSE OF PRIDE.

"Of the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam , Less than 850,000
are estimated to be alive today, with the youngest American Vietnam
veteran's age approximated to be 54 years old."

So, if you're alive and reading this, how Does it feel to be among
the last 1/3rd of all the U.S. Vets who served in Vietnam ?!?!? ...
don't know about you guys, but kinda gives me the chills, considering
this is the kind of information I'm used to reading about WWII and
Korean War vets...

So the last 14 years we are dying too fast, only the few will survive
by 2015...if any.. If true, 390 VN vets die a day. So in 2190 days...
from today, lucky to be a Vietnam veteran alive..... in only 6 years..

These statistics were taken from a variety of sources to include: The
VFW Magazine, the Public Information Office, and the HQ CP Forward
Observer - 1st Recon April 12, 1997.

STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY VIETNAM VETERANS:

* 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the
Vietnam Era (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975).

* 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964-March
28,1973).

* 2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam , this number represents 9.7%
of their generation.

* 3,403,100 (Including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the
broader Southeast Asia Theater ( Vietnam , Laos , Cambodia , flight
crews based in Thailand , and sailors in adjacent South China Sea
waters).


* 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam
(Jan. 1,1965 - March 28, 1973). Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam
between 1960 and 1964.

* Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in
combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly
exposed to enemy attack.

* 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam .

* Peak troop strength in Vietnam : 543,482 (April 30, 1968).

* The average WWII soldier saw 40 days of combat in four years.
The average Vietnam soldier saw 204 of combat days in one year.

CASUALTIES:

The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He was with
the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named
for him.

Hostile deaths: 47,378

Non-hostile deaths: 10,800

Total: 58,202 (Includes men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez
casualties).. Men who have subsequently died of wounds account for
the changing total.

8 nurses died -- 1 was KIA.

61% of the men killed were 21 or younger.

11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old.

Of those killed, 17,539 were married.

Average age of men killed: 23.1 years

Total Deaths: 23.11 years

Enlisted: 50,274 22.37 years

Officers: 6,598 28.43 years

Warrants: 1,276 24.73 years

E1: 525 20.34 years

11B MOS: 18,465 22.55 years

Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.

The oldest man killed was 62 years old.

Highest state death rate: West Virginia - 84.1% (national average
58.9% for every 100,000 males in 1970).

Wounded: 303,704 -- 153,329 hospitalized + 150,375 injured requiring
no hospital care.

Severely disabled: 75,000, -- 23,214: 100% disabled; 5,283 lost
limbs; 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.

Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300%
higher than in WWII and 70% higher than Korea .

Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7%
in WWII.

Missing in Action: 2,338

POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity)

As of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted
for from the Vietnam War.

DRAFTEES VS. VOLUNTEERS:

25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66% of U.S.
armed forces members were drafted during WWII).

Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam .

Reservists killed: 5,977

National Guard: 6,140 served: 101 died.

Total draftees (1965 - 73): 1,728,344.

Actually served in Vietnam : 38% Marine Corps Draft: 42,633.

Last man drafted: June 30, 1973.

RACE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND:

88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian; 10.6%
(275,000) were black; 1% belonged to other races.

86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (includes
Hispanics);

12.5% (7,241) were black; 1.2% belonged to other races.

170,000 Hispanics served in Vietnam ; 3,070 (5.2% of total) died there..

70% of enlisted men killed were of North-west European descent.

86.8% of the men who were killed as a result of hostile action were
Caucasian; 12.1% (5,711) were black; 1.1% belonged to other races.

14.6% (1,530) of non-combat deaths were among blacks.

34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.

Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam at a time
when the percentage of blacks of military age was 13.5% of the total
population.

Religion of Dead: Protestant -- 64.4%; Catholic -- 28.9%; other/none
-- 6.7% SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS:

Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet
age groups.

Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age
group by more than 18 percent.

76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class
backgrounds.

Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were
from middle income backgrounds.

Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial or
technical occupations.

79% of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or
better when they entered the military service. 63% of Korean War vets
and only 45% of WWII vets had completed high school upon separation.

Deaths by region per 100,000 of population: South -- 31%, West
--29.9%; Midwest -- 28.4%; Northeast -- 23.5%.

DRUG USAGE &CRIME:

There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-
Vietnam Veterans of the same age group. (Source: Veterans
Administration Study)

Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of
one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.

85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.

WINNING &LOSING:

82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was
lost because of lack of political will.

Nearly 75% of the public agrees it was a failure of political will,
not of arms.

HONORABLE SERVICE:

97% of Vietnam-era veterans were honorably discharged.

91% of actual Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy
combat are proud to have served their country.

74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome.

87% of the public now holds Vietnam veterans in high esteem.

INTERESTING CENSUS STATISTICS & THOSE TO CLAIM TO HAVE "Been There":

1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of
August,1995 (census figures).

During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely
claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958.

As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving
U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard
to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between '95 and '00. That's 390 per
day.

During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to
have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF
FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.

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.
Corrections and confirmations to this erred 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).

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. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on
civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece
of its strategy. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received
prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations.

From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725
Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on
leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of
the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school
teachers. - Nixon Presidential Papers.


29 September 2010

[1Shirt]

Thanks Montana Charlie for the stats that I did not know.
Semper Fi!
1Shirt!