It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldnt quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didnt have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Proving a direct correlation to the injuries is a challenge, Pontes explained. If the veteran is still alive, ask his or her help finding records. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. Eight women were killed in Vietnam, five Army lieutenants, one Army captain, one Army lieutenant colonel and one Air Force captain. If the demographic is expanded to 17- to 21- years, then we find there were 83 percent of Marine enlisted casualties, and 65 percent of Army enlisted casualties. Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. VVMF receives numerous requests each year from individuals who wish to have particular names added to the Memorial. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and Concerning, How do I find a name on the Vietnam War Memorial wall? Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. Photo credit DOD photo by Army Sgt. The DOD database provides no civilian or military educational levels for the Vietnam casualties specifically, but it does give us general levels for all enlisted men across all the services during the Vietnam era. "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. Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. All were nurses, all were single and all but one were in their 20s. For families who have worked to have their loved ones name added, the journey can be long and exhausting. 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. All heroes are listed alphabetically by their last name. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. 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. No other American war has presented such a young profile in combat. The Vietnam Wall. Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. and have two columns per page, rather than only one column. Note the panel and line number for the name listed. 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. This can be in the form of a book, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, or one of the various databases. 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 page has been viewed 167,336 times (0 via redirect). At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. Others, later in the war, were simply ineligible because of high lottery number. 1970 NAID 570973, State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists sorted Alphabetically by Last Name, List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (196165) Wikipedia, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group A (Recoverable), 1941-1975, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975, Vietnamw-Era POW/MIA Databases & Documents. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. They lived only a few yards apart. offer to read the block of names that includes their special names. Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. However, there have been no such cases. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. The Air Force lost the highest percentage of officers. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. Derek Turner is a freelance writer and a former senior editor of On Patrol. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! Army Major Dale Buis name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. 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. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. 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. COL LEWIS HERBERT ABRAMS SSG SAMUEL ABRAMS Jr PFC TIMOTHY C ABRAMS Jr WO ANDREW JOHN ABRAMSON CPL MIGUEL A ABREU-BATISTA Jr SP4 ANTHONY JOSEPH ABRUZESE PFC ROBERT ALEXANDER ABRUZESE PFC MICHAEL JOHN ABRUZZESA Jr SGT WILLIAM WALLACE ABSHEAR SGT RICHARD FRANKLIN ABSHIRE PFC JAMES ESTUS ABSTON Jr SSG ROBERT JOSEPH ACALOTTO SP5 PEPITO RIVERA ACERET Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Congress. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. 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. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. While VVMF finances the name additions to the Wall, it is the Department of Defense that makes these difficult and often technical decisions. What will be the evolving historical judgment for those names on the Wall? Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950 - 1976 NAID 745, RG, 472, Meritorious Unit Commendations, 1967 - 1971 NAID 4726287, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. They refer to older or younger siblings who are either in or on their way to college. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. Of 2,590 total Air Force casualties, 1,674 or 65 percent were officers. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. We honor and remember their sacrifice.". 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. This year, 14 names were etched into the wall. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. 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. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. The Army lost the greatest number of officers 4,635 or 59 percent of all officer casualties. Millions more come to experience this Memorial each year. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. 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. 1970 - ca. It stands near Panel 1W, which holds the name of the last to die in combat. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. In this study we will refer to casualties as the 58,152 who died in Vietnam, but it should be emphasized that there were 153,303 who were wounded seriously enough to be hospitalized. The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. to open, search, edit, or print the name files. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. 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. Search the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s database of names on the wall. Through the AFQT process, the men scoring in the higher categories were more likely to be channeled into further specialized training and eventually assigned to technical and administrative units. Their names, however, have been removed from the printed Directory of Names. 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. Text STOP to opt out, HELP for help. With the glitch discovered, Doubek and his team located and hand-corrected each error. 8 Women are on the Wall. 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. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/vietna.. 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. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. 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. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. This change prompted the addition of 110 names in 1986. On November 7, 2021 VVMF began a daily virtual Reading of the Names. As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. The Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. 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. 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. Its still fought in the bodies and minds of the men who waged it all those decades ago. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. Many of the 17- and 18-year olds were simply late in maturing. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. The affected record collections are described below. They went for a ride and she gently told them that their father would not be coming home. Another browser may inform you that it does not know how to display the file As the Vietnam War dragged on, Kurt tried twice to enlist. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. The Army refused him, for medical reasons, both times. Its been more than 20 years since Forrest Gump debuted on the silver screen and nearly a generation later, its characters still resonate with todays service members. 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. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. 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. . Thus we can see that the channeling philosophy continued within the armed forces. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two True enough, but many of the surviving Vietnam casualty families would reply that the ultimate unfairness is death at an early age, in a land far from home, for reasons not clearly defined. 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. Instead its nearly in the center. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. 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 - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The Names When the Wall was dedicated in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed. Chiseled on the wall are the names of the 58,196 men and women who either died or are still listed as missing in Southeast Asia between 1959 and 1975. . Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. Ziomek's name was finally inscribed on the Washington memorial on Sept. 15, 2020; he was one of just three veterans added in 2020. For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. 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. They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. The appearance of DoD visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. In honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. 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. compiled by Military Records and Research Library, Department of Military Affairs; edited by Julia D. Rather and Jeffrey Michael Duff, Research Our Records. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. Chronological order by date of casualty allows friends and family members to pick out their loved one from all of the others with the same name. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. But given the draft policies, the hard-sell recruitment, the severe escalation from month to month and the refusal by President Lyndon Johnson to call up the older reserves and National Guard, it could not have been otherwise. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, Look up the name in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. 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. 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 . The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. the person they know. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? 26 Similar Questions The panel numbers are inscribed at the bottom of each panel. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. Look for discharge papers, pictures, medals,etc. It should be emphasized that 55 percent of all Navy and Air Force officer casualties came as a result of reconnaissance and bombing sorties into North Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. A(1780 names - 239023 bytes) B(5502 names - 737972 bytes) C(4363 names - 586584 bytes) D(2790 names - 374290 bytes) E(1082 names - 144866 bytes) F(1979 names - 265759 bytes) G(3036 names - 407075 bytes) H(4463 names - 598834 bytes) I(218 names - 29278 bytes) J(1845 names - 247563 bytes) K(2039 names - 273818 bytes) L(2594 names - 347007 bytes) The young enlisted volunteer or draftee had not had much time to form any complicated theories about our Vietnam commitment. Access to Non-Archival Military Service Records is limited. The civilian and military men who formed the policy did not see it necessarily as a disadvantage.