Author Topic: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall  (Read 20420 times)

Offline GhostWarrior

  • I'm very humble, you can ask me.
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3039
  • Benefactor & Life Member NRA
Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« on: September 14, 2011, 05:32:30 PM »
Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

"Carved on these walls is the story of America , of a continuing quest to preserve both Democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream." ~ President George Bush
 
SOMETHING to think about - Most of the surviving Parents are now Deceased.
 
There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.
 
The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.
 
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. Thus the war's beginning and end meet. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle's open side and contained within the earth itself.
 
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.
There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
 
39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
 
The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old 33,103 were 18 years old.
 
12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
 
5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
 
One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
 
997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .
 
1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam .
 
31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
 
Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 soldiers on attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.
 
8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.
 
244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.
 
Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.
 
West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
 
The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.
 
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. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
 
The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.
 
The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.
 
For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wife's, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.
 
Please pass this on to those who served during this time, and those who DO Care.
 
I have no idea who complied this but I thank them for doing so. This country has similar ones about WWI, WWII, and Korea, but until now this is the first one I have seen regarding Viet Nam
If at first you don't succeed, then Skydiving is not your sport.

Welcome Home every Veteran and active Service personnel and Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice

par72

  • Guest
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2011, 04:48:52 PM »
Thanks for the article.  Hard to read but great to read.  Will be passed on to other that spent 1967 and 1968 with me in country.


Bob Lovejoy
Captain USMC

Offline jdr3366

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 126
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2011, 07:27:44 PM »
I appreciate your service and that of your brothers and sisters.

JoeInCT

  • Guest
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2012, 07:37:15 AM »
GW, heartbreaking statics, but notable nonetheless.
 
In a nation of approximately 280 million citizens during that time period, there had to be both unusual and typical statistics. Why did so many KIA GIs come from one high school? I can only speak about the unusual characteristics of my oldest child's high school class. She attended the regional Catholic high school in our area of CT, graduating Salutatorian. What was unusual was the fact that virtually the entire top 10% of her high school graduating class became science majors in college; in the case of she and the Valedictorian, both entered college as declared biology majors. I know what led she and her classmates to go into science; they had a science teacher in that high school who had a reputation for "turning kids on" to science. Let me take the notariety of this teacher out one more step: two years later my son chose to be a bio major in college as well. How important one inspiring teacher can be in a kid's life, and in an entire generation of kids! Doubtless the high school in question, or the town it served, had a reputation for being high on government service in general, and military service in particular. Perhaps the school was located in an area hard hit by business abandonment, and military service was a sure-fire way of making a career and clawing one's way out of poverty, much like blacks have found sports as one way to escape poverty.
 
Unfortunately, as author Stephen Ambrose noted about the same issue re: WW2, we will never know, and can only speculate, about the particular significant contributions one or more of those 58,000 men and women might have made had the conflict which ended their young lives not occurred. The lesson to be learned is that, in Iraq as in Vietnam, the blood and treasure we invested in these two countries will only come to fruition if the citizens of that country WANT a better world for themselves and their posterity. In Vietnam, the people in South Vietnam clearly did not want freedom enough for it to succeed; only time will tell in the case of Iraq. Indeed, the survival of our own country is at risk; we have a POTUS who clearly is being backed by a person or persons who are drunk with the power that money brings, and clearly have a different future vision for our country than the Founders and most of us do. We must all rise and reclaim our country as a group, or surely we will lose it individually.

BlameCharles

  • Guest
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2012, 08:58:46 AM »
This OP makes me sad and mad at the same time. Sad because i have seen my grandfathers medals from Vietnam, Korea and WWII, and never had the chance to speak with him(he died of throat cancer when i was 18ms) and mad because i know what happened when these men returned. I want to thank each and every one of you who served and didn't get the respect you deserved upon returning. I am a young veteran myself and didn't see action but i have lost friends in Iraq(IED) and i am sure i have lost some in Afghanistan. I may not agree with the reason they are there but i have nothing but the utmost respect for the guys doing the job. Thank you no matter where or when you served.

bre346

  • Guest
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2012, 11:04:05 AM »
I visited that wall one time. I couldn't stand it. So many names, so many dead. I tear up every time I think about it.

Offline GhostWarrior

  • I'm very humble, you can ask me.
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3039
  • Benefactor & Life Member NRA
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2012, 04:47:15 PM »
                         I never made it past the Bronze statues of the soldiers with a man down. Simply could not walk to that wall and read the names.
So to put is simply "Welcome Home Soldier" we're glad you made it back.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2013, 02:08:31 PM by GhostWarrior »
If at first you don't succeed, then Skydiving is not your sport.

Welcome Home every Veteran and active Service personnel and Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice

river rat

  • Guest
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2012, 05:31:29 PM »
Lots of pals on the wall , I can still see the young faces. Ill go see it someday, I know ill be on my knees crying like a 5 YO but its a good cry.    Click my sig.  V  I would not trade that time for anything... Jim

Offline chfields

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1620
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2012, 06:28:18 PM »
I went to DC a couple years ago for the Restoring Honor Event at the Lincoln Memorial, the day before we got the chance to see the wall.....it was very sobering. Also got to see Arlington cemetary, it was awe inspiring.......
CZ 75B SA
Hogue Wraparound Rubber Grips with Finger Grooves
CZ Compact (Steel, No Rail)
CZ Rami BD 9MM
CZ 712 G3 W/extended mag tube
Member USPSA
Member IDPA
Life Member NRA
Captain of the CZForum.com shooting team
Proud Army Dad

ace73

  • Guest
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2012, 06:26:48 AM »
Thanks for posting this!

Offline isleepem

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Nurse Anesthetist, Ex-Navy corpsman, married
Re: Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2015, 09:19:26 AM »
Thank you for this information. One of the charities that I donate to through work is
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Very good information to know. Thanks for
posting.