10 1/2 months in the bush. 67-67 11B 4th Id. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. 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. Was it left behind on some forgotten battlefield? Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. The Bn & Company I was assigned to, was on the last row of Bldgs. The U.S. Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual contains gems such as infantry "patrol tips," maneuver techniques, and fighting methods for various environments. Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. An interesting comment I had. My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. I lost my cherry very early. Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. I told by RTO that i could carry my own radio, When he agreed he was humping ammo. My heart was pounding out of my chest. (Getty Images) Most war stories are about soldiers and battles. A former expert with the M60 machine gun shares his experiences wielding the fearsome weapon in Vietnam. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. Umm..maybe its because we also learn from experience. In our spare time we did medevacs and medcaps for the local communities and when required inserted SEALs . means: 1 gets killed the 1st second, another one after 9 seconds avg. 4 Paul Domke, who carried extra belts of ammo and fed them into the gun. I was sitting on the ground one day trying to dry out my gear and better configure my ruck when my squad leader came walking over to me and said, Gow, youve got the radio. As he turned and walked away! You of course had the radio plus xtra batteries & handsets plus your rucksack with 7 to 8 canteens , 20 mags ( I used to carry 17 rounds in the mags instead of 20 ) because the springs would force the round into the chamber causing jams . This is excellent! S/F, There were no door gunners on dustoffs. Welcome home. Then he said youre on a FB, the enemy always knows your location, can pretty much attack at will, and you really dont have the capability to retreat. Prayers for all. Still shaken, I grabbed the gun and crawled to the left inside the streambed. Nervous, I set up my gun on the hill and loaded a new hundred-round belt. An infantry platoon commander in combat had an average of 6 weeks life expectancy. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. That same day, I along with 3/4 others was transported to Long Bhin Post. To cut the Ho Chi Minh Traila week after the mission endedthe trail was booming with business from the north.. 79% had a high school education or better. I assisted Vessey and Capt Cartwright by helping prepare the Bee Hive Rounds (first time they were ever used), firing 4 rounds at proximity 0 range into a human wave attack on or weak side after 5 hours of relentless attacks on the opposite side of the perimeter Those 4 rounds killed @ 400 enemy soldiers, of the 881 total enemy losss John Vessey later became a 4 Star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs appointed by Reagan 1983, and at retirement became Chair of the POW MIA Commission for 14 years, Passing away in August 2016 just 6 months before our 50th Reunion. (LogOut/ Really? I wasnt aware that they kept life expectancy statistics. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. I am convinced the same NVA soldier who shot at me moments before had killed my good friend, a budding doo-wop singer from Long Island, New York. Different jobs have different life expectancy. NFS. The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. 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. 1 Gun. Staying alive was kinda of important. The machine gun was also mounted in the UH-1 Huey helicopter and other Army aircraft. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. If it was your day to get hit or die, it happened. Of the . We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. No creo que Susana _____ (seguir) sobre los consejos de su mdico. Every single . to the empployees was very informative. Ever since that fateful day in 1967, I have often wondered what became of my beloved M60. Welcome home!! I flew Dustoff and our unit did not have M60s for protection, nor did any other Dustoff unit that Im aware of. I remember hearing a Lieutenant (Kennedy) say to one of his two platoon RTOs My RTO is Foxtrot Uniform. It began just as, it was getting dark. At that time, an infantry company consisted of about 150 men. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine. 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. As mentioned, who kept track of that in the first place? Back in 1965, I was a door gunner on Medevac recovery operations. May was eventually able to hand off 2nd Platoons No. Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. If youre a foreigner, I respect what you think, but make sure you read ALL your facts, and dont come to rash conclusion until you know everything from BOTH sides. A "Sapper" is a combat engineer soldier who is with the front line infantry troops. One was holding a carbine. Grab some friends and go outside. Was No. 1st Cav, 101st, etc. Total fantasy. hbbd```b`` ,&Iw sA '#o THANKS! Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. If you would like to get a copy, and cant find it, let me know, and I will make sure you get one. 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? An interesting essay, even more interesting are the comments. Every mission, I had the same thought. If it had been up to me, I would have awarded my gun the CIB too. First thing we did was, Set up a complete circular perimeter. Date: March 8, 2020 Author: pdoggbiker 97 Comments Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. both tours. As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. 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. He then said that they were generally on patrol moving through their area, both attacking and being attacked depending if the VC knew their location. African Americans played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. A documentary about our company and our 1st Sgt was made. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. As I made my way to the river, I saw a VC guerrilla jump into the water on the other side. I was a grunt with c co. 4/31 196th it inf bade. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. Does this mean addressing to a crowd? Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. Mech. Bob Sanzone. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. I was a 2LT on Hamburger Hill and had 4 RTOs over a 7 day period (excluding the times I ended up carrying my own radio). Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. 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. Well, according to current mortality and morbidity statistics for the USright around 77.5 Years! My second tour was as the S3 for LTC Anthony Herbertone of Americas greatest leaders and WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. Rarely do we examine war through the unique bond between a man and his weaponin this case the . Knowing I had a 100-round belt in my M60, I opened up on that hillside, my gun getting so hot that the barrel smoked. happened. 1 Gun became my very best friend. Fighters and planes dont make up the Army, thats the Air Force. Before I became a team leader on ambush and recon I was in command of the scout jeep for the 25th ID resupply convoy from January 1968 to June 15, 1968 and I found the resupply convoys a lot more dangerous because the enemy always knew where it would be and when. DeLong was later killed attempting to escape from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Cambodia. Why is my internet redirecting to gslbeacon.ligit.com and how do I STOP THIS. Great story!!! If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. I was told my life expectancy was about 45 secs during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. That was a hell of a responsibility to take on. Never knew they had life expectancy stats. BUT WE MUST ALSO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR REQUIREMENT TO BE COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEINGS. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. 23,24 This study found that the death rate for Vietnam veterans was 1.3 times that for non-Vietnam veterans; however, the excess deaths were limited to Engineer Corps members (RR, 2.5). Soldier,this is a wardont forget that, and anytime we are in a fight we will be toughest SOBs in the fight!! Company B arrived in-country with four rifle platoons, and each platoon was armed with two M60s. My good friend who was a RTO was killed. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. We went out typically in two boat patrols one lead one cover . The average life expectancy of a Soviet soldier during the height of the battle was just 24 hours. Lived too tell about it. I was a medic on one for two yrs and the only weapon I was issue was a six-shot .38. Bruce Grandstaff and my best friend, Sgt. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. The machine guns were numbered within each platoon. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. waving then I realized they Werent shooting at him only at the Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. Cluster F, SNAFU and FUBAR fer sur. I won a few times, and even when I did not I benefited from handling the gun under stress. In Vietnam, 1 in 400 of the wounded died of their . Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine.? Around 3 p.m., when Grandstaff realized we were about to be overrun, he called in artillery right on top of our location. I, in turn, would take an M16 rifle, which felt like a feather in comparison. V. Victor Renza was sent home after he was wounded on May 18, 1967. Eventually I found a spot where the bed leveled off and began firing on the NVA. Their personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. Though I flew only about 1/2 dozen missions as a Huey door gunner, I was initially told to sit on my flak jacket I always did so (personal protection first). That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story. The average age of the 58,148 US Servicemembers killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (CACF) Going backwards (Apr. We took fire all the time and responded. wmy:LsN{/^yzJ] 6.7>n-:FqOa#CW>ia?wt?Xa@ghCd bF)`Schl4*f. Some of my men didnt. three, he believes he is doing what his country wants him to dojust like you So you better damn well treat him with the compassion you want for you!! 4 Bill May and Spc. Originally I went to the 543d TC. I prayed I would not have to fire over the heads of the 4th Platoon troops entering the draw to retrieve our dead. The Bronze Star was awarded to ALL that were awarded the CIB in WWII because the Infantry accounted for over 70% of the casualties in WWLL BUT NOT 70% )F ALL THE INFANTRY !!! As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. I think convoy truck drivers had one of the most dangerous job. approaching a village and a firefight starts). Not to mention that right now its safer than some cities in the us. meaning what is the chance of me getting killed in combat. Videos, Film, Music, and Movies about VN War, Author interview War & Life: Discussions with a Veteran, A Chat Between Three Veterans [live video with author], Lest We Forget Meet the Authors & Book Signing April 4th: Cherries and Donut Dolly, Interview with author John Podlaski in Examiner Magazine, American Heroes Radio interviews author of Cherries A Vietnam War Novel, Cherries Author Interviewed on British Website, U.K. Blogspot posts interviews author, John Podlaski, More Book Reviews and author interviews about Cherries, Les Scates, U.S. Army (Ret.) .. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. This is not Vietnam where a machine gunner's life expectancy was short because you had an entire army shooting at them. 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class backgrounds. The other group of aeromedical evacuation were divisional, i.e. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. 4329 0 obj <>stream DeLong had only fired the weapon once in training, so I let him fire off a few rounds to practice. Stop staring at your computer already, get up. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division. I had scary thoughts about myself humping the bush as a RTO, I was a real puny guy back then. (LogOut/ Done ranting. In total, the 7th Infantry spent four years in Vietnam. Es ridculo que t ______ (tener) un resfriado en verano. Then I dropped back down in the streambed to organize our ammo. I spent my year in Vietnam with the 1/22nd infantry part of the 4th division. The Davis Station in Saigon was named for him. I personally carried 300 rounds of ammo at all times, one belt in the gun and two across my chest. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study). Now, the wisdom of this soldier tough but humanly compassionate warrior ethos can be assessed through the 2d Bn recordNO complaints about mistreatment of prisonerswhile achieving the most combat SUCCESSES IN THE BRIGADE. Nobody attacked, where we were. Just published my book The Last Goodbye by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews.
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