I kept the radio because I understood the power of having the first communication with the support mechanisms of the military. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. I packed my own radio and got a Thank you from his Mom. Sure but so was everyone else who went 12 months without getting killed or wounded. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, RTO, John Scheur. Moving west down the trail, 4th Platoon exchanged fire with a single NVA soldier, then a handful and finally a group of about 10-15 around noon. There must have been a real mathematician to come up with those calculations. Love you Wortman!!!! Database. In January 1967, the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, was airlifted to Pleiku province in the Central Highlands. A "Sapper" is a combat engineer soldier who is with the front line infantry troops. Contents 1 Unclear objectives 2 North Vietnamese strategy by Zita Ballinger Fletcher 1/18/2022. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Army Infantrymen (11B) are the main land combat force, and known as "Eleven Bravo.". Do the math. Nervous, I set up my gun on the hill and loaded a new hundred-round belt. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when its your time, not much you can do. If you have other information let me know. Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. The Bn & Company I was assigned to, was on the last row of Bldgs. African Americans played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. RIP KOOKIE forever young, Thank god you are still alive, I am age 77. See also: Population One was holding a carbine. In the 1st Cav medics were right behind the rto making them a very easy find also. Thanks for the reply. I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. The early days of May 1970, I arrived at the Airport, next to Saigon. Seattle, Washington(WA), 98106. Sept 69 to Sept 70. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. 1 Gun onto a small hill and provide security while others retrieved them. Company A searched in vain for the platoon in the dark and finally found the shattered unit on the morning of May 19. The Regiment traces its lineage back to World War II. That was a hell of a responsibility to take on. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. I applaud the courage and difficult and all so dangerous job of Roger Herforth when he served as an RTO for the Hawk Recon Platoon of the 101st airborne division in Vietnam.. Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phucs brothers were killed in this incident. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. I was to have that experience two more times before it was over. 3 Answers C5H5N in water > C5H5NH+ & OH- Kb = [C5H5NH+] [OH-] / [C5H5N] 1.5e-9 = [x] 1. However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. 1st Cav, 101st, etc. well i have been army infantry for 12 years with 2 deployments, and still going strong. I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. So I guess I defied the odds. Roger Loves you too, Im sure. 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. 2. 2 Gun team, Ranallo and May, without any support. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. My shit got weak and a sniper popped three rounds in my young ass. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. !We dont abuse prisoners Now, if he reaches for his weapon to continue the fight BLOW HIS ASS AWAY THIS AINT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!! What was the average life expectancy of a soldier in Vietnam? The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. Two points: 1) at least in Army units, Medevacs (dust offs) flew unarmed aircraft. Because if only 1 RTO fought for say only 10 or 15 minutes before being killed, that would up the AVG for the total war! Some were constantly exposed to combat, some not so often. Our 5th night there, the AMMO area started burning / blowing up. both tours. Four platoons in a rifle company. On the morning of March 22, 1967, companies A and B of my battalion began a search-and-destroy operation along the Cambodian border. 1 Gun, as always, thumped out a throaty roar as I fought desperately to push the enemy back. 99% of infantry men will currently live to die of natural causes. https://www.historynet.com/no-1-gun-an-m60-machine-gunner-in-vietnam-tells-his-story/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. 5 Answers There is no word like addressal. I know the scouts in my company had a slightly longer rate but not much. If it was 1941 and you were an average Soviet soldier, your life expectancy on the front line was days, not weeks, thanks to the ongoing german offence. Correct. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. The one that should be there is the combat medic. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. I want to know what the life expectancy of a us infantry army soldier is. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. Sholly injured an ankle, and 1st Lt. Cary Allen took command of Company B. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! 1 Gun used to kill Americans? In Company A, 22 men had been killedadded to the seven killed in Company B. They were held in special regard after the Normandy landings, when 225 Rangers scaled cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on June 6, 1944 under intense enemy fire. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. Lived too tell about it. I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. LUCK pure LUCK. Vietnam War the helicopters that came in to transport soldiers were the hardest hit with mass casualties . It was on the Job Training ! 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. Needless too say I depended on Sgt. I never even got a shot off. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. EACH OF US CARRIES OUR OWN MEMORIES AND THEY RUN THE GAMUT. 15 May he was killed by friendly fire, and a host of us were WIA, myself included. wias. 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. We were like sitting Ducks. And I know what youre going to say, Because the American cs! Bullcrap!!!! David H. McNerney, who assumed command of the company when all of its officers were killed or wounded, was presented with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony in September 1968. 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. I never understood why they didnt put M60s on Medevacs (once the VC shot them down) but then, we now know they never intended to win that war in the first place. I was never formally trained as an RTO. We used to provide cover for these guys. Fact: The domino theory was accurate. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. I was an FO back in the day. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. Enemy fire greeted as us as soon as we landed near the village. Artillery, and ground forces. I would carry when on ambush. Different jobs have different life expectancy. I always felt that Infantry units were in more danger because of ambush issues and no permanent defensive structures. I didnt want any medals. They were lazy, cowardly and of questionable loyalty, especially the RUFF/PUFFS, and they would steal your under ware if given half a chance. my left and saw this rice paddie farmer and his ox and I was trying to motion him to get down he just looks at me and starts This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. Fighters and planes dont make up the Army, thats the Air Force. We were all in our Bunkers, and at the ready with our weapons. After every officer in our company was either killed or had serious wounds, our 1st Sgt , David McNerney took over the company and without his leadership, and knowledge of war, and unbelievable courage, our company would probably have been wiped out. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. Your email address will not be published. I was a helicopter pilot As a point of reference, Patterson explained that combat troops in World War II, on average, spent 36 days in a combat environment; the average infantryman in Vietnam spent 245 days in constant. Our chase after the enemy unwittingly led us into a large ambush. February 5 th, 1967, Galiano was headed to Saigon, Vietnam with 90 fellow Americans on an Air Force c-131, but orders were quickly altered . 67-67 11B 4th Id. But, once the enemy lays down his weapon, I want YOU TO REMEMBER THREE THINGS: 1, HE IS A SOLDIER, JUST LIKE YOU.2, HE IS AWAY FROM HOME And family, just like you. said to me. 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. I was with HHC and 1st Platoon C Company in 70-71. It weighed 24 pounds, was 43.5 inches long and had bipod legs that folded down to stabilize the weapon when firing from a prone position. US Wings provides aviation apparel to the U.S. Government and commercial customers along with the general public. 4 Bill May and Spc. 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. Different strokes for different folks in war fer sure. What Was It Like To Hump The Boonies in Vietnam? The battalion was sending us to a village with a small river running through it. An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. It doesnt make any sense statistically/mathematically it is impossible. Both my tours were in the Delta (IV Corps) where the only ground troops were regular ARVNs and RUFF/PUFFS. The Vietnam War gave us trouble because we didnt know how to counteract against guerrilla warfare in a jungle (dont forget that the US Army was switching to M16s, which often jammed). My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. When we reached Company A, we placed our dead in the center of the two-company perimeter. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. What is the life expectancy of Vietnam veterans? In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . My good friend who was a RTO was killed. Mi hermana se sorprende N-F C-F Cl-F F-F 2 Answers C-F is the most polar. Nicknamed "the pig" due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. Life expectancy at birth. I wasnt sure if the VC had moved to right or left, so I sprayed the elephant grass in both directions. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. 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%. The Vietnam War was the first American war in which Black and White troops were not formally segregated, and even saw significant growth in the number of African Americans engaged in battlefield combat, [1] though some de facto segregation still occurred. The jungle seemed to want No. well I wonder how long your going to last lieutenant? DeLong had only fired the weapon once in training, so I let him fire off a few rounds to practice. The Statistics in the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF 11/93) show an average age of death much higher than that of news reports. We do have infantry (why do you think we have that MOS? A typical Patrol Boat River (PBR) was about 31 feet long and had twin 50s forward an M 60 midships and a 50 aft. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained there for 10 months before deploying to Vietnam as specialist 4. 1: physical position (in the field / column) 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. We ambushed and got ambushed, firebase got attacked who carried what or did what had no bearing. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. After a couple of hours, the Viet Cong stopped shooting and melted back into the jungle. In my humble opiniona maneven leaders should often recalculate their adversaries capabilities and limitations and his own limitations as wellwhen 10,000 miles from home against a determined worthy foein a strange landThe objective of Lam Son 719? This makes our site more accessible to the blind, visually impaired, motor disabled, people with cognitive disabilities and more. 1 Gun was firing. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. The man listed as missing was machine gunner Joe DeLong, captured along with No.
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