Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. Surrounded by an enemy battalion, our hopelessly outnumbered platoon waged a desperate battle for survival. Sometimes on Family Guy when there about to take someones heart out they say, calimar or maybe its spelled different. I had yet to fire a shot with No. 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 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. located on the South End of, the Post. We used to provide cover for these guys. Es ridculo que t ______ (tener) un resfriado en verano. No. I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. In 1973, Renza opened his own salon in Peekskill. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). Welcome home brothers and sisters. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. KICK ASS AS NEEDED!!! Veteran Owned Since 1986. As I carried a PRC25 radio for over seven-months in the > Nam, I was curious to find out what I did RIGHT to surv >, One MOS I figured was a sure short timer was POL{Fuel} Truck Driver. The three of us had trained together at Fort Lewis and were good friends. Well he didnt make it. I know the scouts in my company had a slightly longer rate but not much. It was the silent power of the pig, I suppose. And yes, please God, bless America. The answer that we have always been given is that 1 year in the Infantry is equivalent to 3 years of hard labor. My dad died of cancer at 52. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. Shea's gallantry in action at the cost of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon . I picked up my M60 and walked to the center of the perimeter, where I found the company commander, Capt. Screaming Eagles! 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. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. We did interdictions, blocks and other fun things on the river. Everyone in the company hit the dirt. Was it left behind on some forgotten battlefield? Ron. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. I remember we were always short of replacements throughout 1968 because of the high Kia & wounded rate we suffered at that time ! 10 1/2 months in the bush. Ive always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. The other group of aeromedical evacuation were divisional, i.e. I didnt want any medals. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, RTO, John Scheur. The 4th Platoon survivors stayed put for the night. I credit my longetivity to great training at Ft Benning. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. I carried the PRC-25 for most of a year. You seen the enemy you shots him and vice versa. How old are Vietnam vets now? 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. I was lucky too but VN never left me. Ever since that fateful day in 1967, I have often wondered what became of my beloved M60. We do have infantry (why do you think we have that MOS? The Statistics in the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF 11/93) show an average age of death much higher than that of news reports. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. 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. I had to rely on my gun more than before. The Bn & Company I was assigned to, was on the last row of Bldgs. of what was usually 5 or 6 going in and many times the leads would find traps, punji pits or the VC waiting. Sure but so was everyone else who went 12 months without getting killed or wounded. The key may be the word initial since we became more savvy with successive combats and had improved survivability. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. One was holding a carbine. Together we had passed the test. Never knew they had life expectancy stats. Joe DeLong joined the company, and Sholly informed me that he would be the M60 gunner. African Americans played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. This is excellent! The rolling fire burned everything to the ground and undoubtedly killed scores of NVA. Really? I applaud your courage as I know an RTOs job is essential, difficult (carrying the weight of his radio transmitter, his rifle, his ammo, and his rucksack), and dangerous as the enemy surely wanted to knock out any communications for support. "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. Some of my men didnt. never happened,we lost two sweep team members and some 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. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. ), special forces, combat support, engineering, medics, and vehicle assault weapons. A Co, 1/5 Cav, 1 Cav Division. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunner's life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. Was a door gunner and crew chief for just shy of 18 months (I extended to get out early). Database. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? However, Shermans were very outmatched by the German tanks on the field of battle. We all have opinions, this is mine. DeLong had only fired the weapon once in training, so I let him fire off a few rounds to practice. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. The 4th Platoons single machine gun crewthe platoon had entered the fight short a gunhad been killed in the fighting, and I was to be moved there. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. I agree with all of the comments, however I would add Tunnel Rats to the group I was one and saw many of my friends die in those tunnels I was very fortunate or very lucky and was never a lead but was at the tail end. endstream endobj 4315 0 obj <>/Metadata 89 0 R/Pages 4312 0 R/StructTreeRoot 120 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 4316 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 4312 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 4317 0 obj <>stream Suddenly I realized that my platoon sergeant was screaming at me to stop firing. 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. What the hell did you hit him with? one of our men shouted. 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. Address: 561 E Hines Hill Road Hudson, Ohio 44236 Phone: 1-800-650-0659 / 330-655-5050 Fax: 330-653-3750 Email: [emailprotected], Retail Store Hours: Monday-Friday: 9am - 5pm EST Saturdays: 10am -3pm (Oct-Jan) Sundays: Closed. Point was the safest place to be,they knew to wait for key elements, RTO, Medica, M60 Gunners. That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story. Different type units, different locations, different opinions on dangers. If my memory is correct, only the 1st Cab flew wiith doorgunners. The machine guns were numbered within each platoon. In all that time, the Tet 1968 fighting in Saigon was the only time the unit fought a pitched urban battlevery unusual during the war. Half of the company hopped off the Huey on one side of the river, and the rest exited on the other side. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. Mi hermana se sorprende N-F C-F Cl-F F-F 2 Answers C-F is the most polar. As the entire platoon hit the ground, I saw guys crawling back toward me. year old Marine thinking this is my last day on earth. Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! I was told my life expectancy was about 45 secs during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. well i have been army infantry for 12 years with 2 deployments, and still going strong. An Rtos job was essential, tough,(Carrying the extra weight of the radio transmitter along with his rucksack), and dangerous. Not long after the artillery barrage ended, the North Vietnamese swept through 4th Platoon and executed some of the survivors. No combat assignments for another year of service in Vietnam or get out in about a month. His comparison to a FB was that if we were fired on we returned fire and requested assistance when needed. I want to know what the life expectancy of a us infantry army soldier is. . What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the VietnamWar? (You can unsubscribe anytime), The US Wings website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant and adheres to their standards for accessibility of the internet so people with disabilities can surf the web more easily & efficiently. I was an M-60 machine gunner for a battalion recon platoon in 1967, for the First Infantry Division, Known as The Black Scarf Battalion. Before he was drafted Renza had worked as a hairdresser for women in his hometown of Peekskill, New York. I was one of the lucky ones I came home without a physical scratch. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. 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. At this time- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops because of the My Lai debachle. Ambulances are not supposed to be armed (either) though in training, medics are told they and their vehicles will be a prime target. If there was anything to this life expectancy of a few minutes then myself and many of my friends that are still alive today would be a long time dead. . Thats my experience. Point, slack and compass. An NVA soldier had evidently spotted the gun and waited patiently for me to stick my head up. I was shot down on my very first mission in July 1968. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of . I was an FO back in the day. sweep team,then I heard the choppers and they were blowing the hell out in the tree line then it just got so quiet like nothing I was in 2nd Platoon and carried the platoons No. What is the life expectancy of Vietnam veterans? If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. Most of us have memories of these kind of experiences. Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. After a quick lesson, DeLong became the new owner of 4th Platoons No.1 Gun. We wanted a break. I was an O5C-20 in Vietnam. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. I quit trying to make sense of all the numbers that have been generated about Vietnam. Unable to reach Company A, my company pulled back, formed a perimeter and called in air and artillery support. An interesting comment I had. He said fighting was especially deadly in the war-torn city of Bakhmut, dubbed "the meat . We fought to an agreed stalemate. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . The fact that PDoggbiker cant find any decent calculation/explanation, tells us a lot. 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. Without the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure the border). Different jobs have different life expectancy. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. There were usually 3 man (At least 2) point teams. Then I dropped back down in the streambed to organize our ammo. The casualty rate in the current war today is a fraction. No. 4. Was No. meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. It was an honor indeed to serve with some of the finest soldiers I have ever met. As a Huey door gunner, when we left the ground on a mission, I always thought that this mission would be my last! I was a point man, M60 Gunner and squad leader. After about 30 minutes, the four enemy soldiers got up and left the area. Hi, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is four hours, a Marine said. Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. They were well-armed, well-trained and knew how to fight. 2. The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. 101st Airborne Division. A dense mass of elephant grass hung over the riverbank, and he ducked under it. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 87th Infantry Regiment, walk on patrol north of the Long . Papitto Opportunity Connections Mission: The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Islands BIPOC communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training, and entrepreneurial ventures. After a couple of hours, the Viet Cong stopped shooting and melted back into the jungle. Hats off to them. They were all up there scanning the terrain and looking for signs. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. No. As of April 14, 2017, there are 1,611 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War across Vietnam (1,258), Laos(297), Cambodia(49), and China(7). Cause-specific . An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. Here is an 18 The machine gun was also mounted in the UH-1 Huey helicopter and other Army aircraft. I worried about that kind of leadership style in the highlands. It was more or less next man up . Was I lucky ? Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class backgrounds. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account.