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. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. It would also enable veterans to find groups of friends who died during the same incident. the person they know. Army Major Dale Buis' name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. For information regarding official military unit histories, contact: Air ForceU.S. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. What the MIT study almost certainly showed was that members of the so-called working class consisting of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, firemen, policemen, technicians, skilled factory operatives, farmers, etc., were living in middle class communities and were, therefore, part of our burgeoning middle class. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. Her name? The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. | Once additions are approved by DoD, VVMF receives the list of approved names, coordinates the inscribing and absorbs the costs. A.. B.. C.. D.. E.. F.. G.. H.. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Click to learn about the In Memory program . A more precise equation would be that the college bound stayed home while the non-college bound served and died. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. 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 Wall. It called for the registration of all 18 to 26-year old males, with induction to take place at 18 1/2 if so ordered by the local draft board. Their names, however, have been removed from the printed Directory of Names. 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. It is instructive to read the literature of the war, the letters written home from those who died, the novels and narrative accounts of those who served in combat and then returned. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. Charles Holley; chief editor, Robert J. Martin, 4th Infantry Division. effort, but is a very effective means to express the enormity of the war and They drew on every segment of American society. Vietnam War Casualties- Main Alphabetical Index www.VirtualWall.org Find A Name Information Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. Each name is listed with great honor and respect. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Only 3 returned home. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. The Navy had a similar profile: 55 percent of its 622 officer casualties were 30 years of age or older, and 45 percent were ranked at lieutenant commander or above when they died. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. There was no need to embellish. I went through the whole list of names eight times, because I was concerned about the correct formatting, remembered Doubek. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. name within a given date. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. The list of names begins at the vertex of the walls below the date of the first casualty, 1959, and continues to the end of the east wall. Folded American flags were presented to his parents and an Air Force helicopter flew over the ceremony. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. 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. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. The Marine Corps losses were skewed even more to the lower ranks, 91 percent were privates or corporals. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. No other moniker for Sammy Davis Jr. was more accurate. Library of Congress, National Archives Reference Information Page 90 A Finding Aid to Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Missing Vietnam Military Resulting from Hostile Forces, Missing Vietnam Military NOT Resulting from Hostile Forces, Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. Perhaps more important, many of them probably did not yet fully understand their own mortality and were therefore less likely to be hesitant in combat. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense and the individual service branches maintained separate casualty lists with slightly differing criteria. I looked at the record to determine whether mortal wounds were sustained, Doubek said of the men whose names were listed by the Army, but not by DoD. If you We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries, 1941-1980 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). The Selective Service System it said, has the responsibility to deliver manpower to the armed forces in such a manner as to reduce to a minimum any adverse effect upon the national health, safety, interest and progress. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975. Though the memorial continues to grow and evolve, the last name on the wall still belongs to Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer, a pilot who died after his helicopter crashed on May 15, 1975, during the wars final combat action. The Wall USA is a non-profit endeavor maintained by veterans . The Army lost the greatest number of officers 4,635 or 59 percent of all officer casualties. compiled by Military Records and Research Library, Department of Military Affairs; edited by Julia D. Rather and Jeffrey Michael Duff, Research Our Records. The men and women who valiantly fought in the Vietnam War certainly deserve the title of hero. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Korean War and Vietnam War casualties listed at the National Archives, Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. An aunt came and loaded the three boys into the car. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. The vast majority of Americans who were eligible by age but did not serve in the armed forces were exempted by reason of physical, mental, psychiatric, or moral failure; or they were given status deferments because they were college students, fathers, clergy, teachers, engineers or conscientious objectors. On the stencil printouts, each line contained five names per row. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 The names of the 2,504 Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War are on the Tablets of the Missing at the ABMC Honolulu Memorial. Since the days of Alexander the Great and the Roman Legions, it has always been the young, inexperienced, low-ranking enlisted man who has taken the brunt of combat casualties. This is the most accurate database online. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist. Most of these casualties are documented in the Military Index, a FamilySearch file. https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, 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. Please take a moment to let our troops know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. It is located north of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. along Constitution Avenue NW between 21st and 23rd streets. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. AGE 17 TO 21 PREFERRED ARMY AND MARINE COMBAT MATERIAL. 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. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. Full casualty records may be retrieved online through the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases resource. No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. The USO relies on your support to help service members and their families. If a name was particularly long, it would be swapped with a shorter name. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. While their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger. The first Americans to die did not perish in a foxhole or beneath stars obscured by a jungle canopy. With this list in hand, he went to the various locations where individual service records were kept to review files. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Honor Vietnam Veterans you know with a gift from our VVA store, or a custom military embroidered shirt, jacket, or polo so they can proudly demonstrate their service to their grateful nation. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. Additionally, many of the names on the wall were other teenagers from the suburban white collar communities with siblings who were in, or would go on to college, but who, as individuals themselves, were slow to mature, struggled through high school and were therefore very available for the Vietnam War. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. The names would become the memorial. It stands near Panel 1W, which holds the name of the last to die in combat. Records of individuals who left service more than 62 years ago are considered Archival Records and become records of the National Archives open to the general public. 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. The Marines of Morenciled some of thebest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. Little about it is concrete. Naval History & Heritage CommandWashington Navy Yard, Bldg 57 (3rd Floor)Washington, DC 20374Telephone: (202) 433-3224, Marine CorpsU.S. A diamond symbol signifies that the service members death was confirmed. Army Major Dale Buis name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. This takes about 72 hours. "Walking through this park-like area, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. As Vandegeer piloted his CH-53 helicopter toward the island, a wall of anti-aircraft fire knocked it from the sky, and it crashed toward the water with 26 men aboard. Some went to Canada or Sweden, but few of those who evaded the draft were actually prosecuted and most were eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. This is the genius of Mayas design, said Scruggs. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old. The ceremony is held on Mothers Day and the additions might be as simple as rectifying a clerical error or as heartbreaking as a veteran dying, all these years later, from a wound suffered during the war. The Buddies of Midvale LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. 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 . NAVY AND AIR FORCE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. 5th Marines were killed in . As a result, the black casualty rate was reduced to 11.5 percent by 1969. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The National Archives has an online searchable database, entitled "Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War," documenting the period 6/8/1956 - 1/21/1998. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of President John F. Kennedys assassination. 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. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released in 1992, found that our Vietnam casualties were only marginally greater from the economically lowest 50 percent of our communities (31 deaths per 100,000 of population), when compared with the economically highest 50 percent (26 deaths per 100,000 population). Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. . In addition to WWII Draft Records, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO maintains Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, for all men born before 1960. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. As Vietnam War Veterans Day nears March 29, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation's Wall of Faces is nearly complete but needs help from the public to track down the last few dozen photos. Our combat arms were thought to be completely classless. And they are so respectful when they do the engraving. In 2004, the total is 58,241 names. ".for those who have died." Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. 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. For men who registered for the draft prior to 1976, the only Selective Service System information available is that of the individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) and Classification History (SSS Form 102) records. Who were they? 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 The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft. 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. You must refer to a database, which gives the names in alphabetical order and includes the position of each on the Memorial. The first group, added in 1983, included 53 Marines who were killed when their R&R (rest and relaxation) flight crashed in Hong Kong. "Home of record" does not necessarily refer to the place of birth, residence of next of kin, place of longest residence, nor other common uses of the term "hometown." The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. The feeling is that the poor, the undereducated and the minorities made up the vast majority of the combat arms during that war. November 11, 1982. Richard Sandza received the message on the morning of May 15, 1975, the day his friend became the last American to die in combat during the Vietnam War. The Army as a branch had 134,982 killed or wounded (9.5 percent), but the Marines suffered 66,227 killed or wounded (22.5 percent) or almost one of every four Marines who served. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. Although it is a truism that the young die in war, one is still unprepared for the fact that 40 percent of Marine enlisted casualties in Vietnam were teenagers; that more than 16 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also teenagers; and that nearly a quarter of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam were between the ages of 17- and 19-years old. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. When the sound of exploding hand grenades rang out in the hall, Buis and others ran toward the sound. The job of cross-referencing the information of individual branches with the DoD fell to Doubek. 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. Doubek was tasked with identifying all of the names to be included on the Wall. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. 1970 - ca. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. These directories help locate names on the wall. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name. It specified the geographic areas of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and surrounding coastal areas as combat zones. Lower end category IVs consisting of those who scored below 20 on the AFQT were usually rejected for service. Beginning Research in United States Military Records, National Vietnam War Veterans Day - Wikepedia, National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Why are names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall? Although valuable, this study was almost certainly misinterpreted by its authors when they said that their data showed that most privileged and influential segments of American society were not insulated from the perils of Vietnam conflict. In the military it can be somewhat more deadly. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. Look for discharge papers, pictures, medals,etc. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed The popularity of the GI Bill after Vietnam emphasized this yearning. Many of them, as experienced pilots, were older (two thirds were thirty or older) and many were high ranking. Bennett on March 25, 1968 and Dennis on August 02, 1970 Brothers Gabriel and Paul Trujillo were both killed in Vietnam. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angles open side and contained within the earth itself. Unfortunately, he mistakenly added a small number of names of men who were still alive. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. Ninety-one percent of these Army officers were warrant officers, second lieutenants, first lieutenants or captains. Some have tried for years before receiving approval from DoD. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. 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. 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.