These studies have concluded that the average U.S. soldier was a 19-year-old man from a poor or working-class family who had not attended college. Specifically, as it relates to western America in Vietnam. Many pieces. The infantryman knows that any moment the ground he is walking on can erupt and kill him; kill him if he's lucky. By eliminating private property, this system is designed to create an equal society with no social classes. He worked for a while as a confidential informant for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the 80s but he was homeless in Aventura, just north of Miami, by 1990. [McCaffrey], Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. The atmosphere back in the United States caused many American soldiers to question their involvement in Vietnam, and to resist the orders of U.S. military leaders. New York: Avon Books, 1981. In the Special Forces height is never a factor. Like the old saying, its not the size of the dog in a fight but the size of the fight in the dog Statements in the storage unit showed that he had several thousand dollars in bank accounts, while a passport and receipts from a travel agent indicated that during the time he was homeless, he had made trips to such countries as Jordan, Venezuela, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia. In some instances, they beat up women, children, or elderly men who refused to give them information. [Westmoreland] Approximately 70% of those killed were volunteers. But many other American soldiers conducted themselves honorably throughout their time in Vietnam. 79% had a high school education or better. WebAn average of around 20-25, leaning to the lower end, is a reasonable estimate assuming that casualty distributions roughly mirrored the number of men of each age sent to war. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture was Vietnamese. Yuzuk said it was not long after he moved to Florida in 1999 and joined the Aventura Police Department that he noticed Flaherty. Yuzuk also found papers showing that Flaherty had paid a deposit for a burial plot in Miltons Forest Memorial Park, with a request to be buried near Lisa Davis Anness, whom the Vietnam vet described as the love of his life. An automobile accident or other traumatic event also can cause it. Many of the ways in which draft-age men received deferments favored those who were wealthy and well-educated. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1986. Polner, Murray. 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served [Westmoreland], 74% said they would serve again even knowing the outcome [Westmoreland], There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non veterans of the same age group (from a Veterans Administration study) [Westmoreland]. . He's dead. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Approximately 5'8" average height. "Perhaps the best single image with which to synthesize [combine Enrolling in college. [Westmoreland], 97% were discharged under honorable conditions; the same percentage of honorable discharges as ten years prior to Vietnam [Westmoreland], 85% of Vietnam Veterans made a successful transition to civilian life. Not sure what average Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/american-soldier-vietnam. trails, waiting for those things to explode, we had begun to feel more like victims than soldiers. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Richard Flaherty, who was raised in Connecticut, had to obtain a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. Altogether, 27 million American men came of draft age during the Vietnam War years. The Vietnam War helped medical progress in this area. Part of the problem was that most American soldiers did not understand the South Vietnamese people and culture. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Many American veterans, as well as citizens who had donated their pets, were angry and disgusted at the treatment the military dogs received. "My time in Vietnam is the memory of ignorance," O'Brien wrote. Meanwhile, Flahertys burial spot, just behind Lisa Davis Annesss grave, remains unmarked as another Veterans Day approaches. Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an Capt. How many US soldiers were in Vietnam at one time? As part of 1967's Operation Cook in Quang Ngai Province, PFC Michael Mendoza fires his M16 Rifle to conduct reconnaissance. When they got back on dry land, they had to check their skin for blood-sucking leeches. They also had to deal with swarms of mosquitoes. Copyright 1995 - 2018 Gary B. Roush, 242 ASHC Muleskinners, May 1968 - May Rather than trying to convince a draft board that they were physically unable to serve in the military, these men could get a note . In the early 1970s, the American public was shocked by a series of news reports about atrocities (acts of extreme cruelty or brutality) committed by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. He carries the M16A1 Armalite rifle, which the small-statured Vietnamese found ideally suited to their needs. only 10 to 20 minutes of that time exposed to hostile fire. The Ten Thousand Day War: Vietnam, 19451975. Many of the men who served in Vietnam were minorities from the nation's inner cities. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994. This famous picture is the property of UPI Corbus-Bettman Photo Agency. "Among the infantrymen, the 'grunts,' this was known as 'humping the boonies. In some cases, African American soldiers intentionally segregated themselves from the rest of their unit. Isolated atrocities committed by American soldiers produced torrents of outrage from antiwar critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any attention at all. For example, the weather in Vietnam tended to be very hot and humid. Two high ranking As of 1967, eighty percent of the American troops had a high school education or less, and only six percent had completed four years of college. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. Vietnam War Reference Library. "The problem is that those who think the Vietnamese haven't cooperated sufficiently think there is some central repository with answers to all the lingering questions," notes Gen. John Vessey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Reagan and Bush administration's designated representative in MIA negotiations. The 1990 unsuccessful movie "Air America" helped to establish the myth of a connection between Air America, the CIA, and the Laotian drug trade. They usually started firefights by ambushing U.S. combat patrols. I didnt believe him at first, Yuzuk recalled. It is Soldiers who resented or distrusted their officers sometimes refused to follow orders or even resorted to violence. In some cases, men who entered the service by enlisting rather than being drafted received better duty assignments. Some experts claim that U.S. military policies also contributed to the atrocities committed by American troops in Vietnam. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. Another problem associated with the decline in morale of U.S. soldiers was increased drug use. They believed it was important to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. When he graduated from high school, Flaherty was 4 feet, 9 inches tall three inches too short to meet the Armys height requirement at the time. Others resorted to drugs when they could not cope with the violence they witnessed. [McCaffrey], The oldest man killed was 62 years old (TAYLOR, KENNA CLYDE). He was always recommending books and talking about philosophy, work and politics and eventually giving me advice. WebBelow are two tables which report the average adult human height by country or geographical region. To some American combat soldiers in Vietnam, mines and booby traps turned the land into an enemy more frightening and deadly than the Viet Cong. They also hid in villages or dense jungles and fired upon U.S. troops as they passed by on patrol. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. Rather than following orders and trying to achieve military goals, some soldiers focused only on staying alive for those 365 days. Some of these men were career military officers. No Victory Parades: The Return of the Vietnam Veteran. Richard J. Flaherty may never be known. A free weekly newsletter with expert sports betting insight and analysis. In previous wars, U.S. troops were required to serve for the duration of the conflict. In 1968, for example, American patrols encountered the enemy on only one out of every hundred missions. [All That We Can Be]. evidence of enemy activities. "Here's a woman of twenty-two or twenty-three. Why didn't they care that we were dying for them?" In a way, he was like a mentor. Viet Cong guerillas liked to launch surprise attacks at night or during bad weather in order to gain an advantage over the Americans and their powerful weapons. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. During the time they spent on patrol, they rarely had an opportunity to bathe or enjoy a hot meal. As the war dragged on, opposition to it became more widespread and vocal. As a result, the morale of American troops was fairly highat first. Packaging: Original (Unopened) Theme: TV, Movie & Video Games. (as Cincinnatus). Drug use was especially common on military bases and in support units. In comparison, forty-five percent of the generation that reached draft age during the Vietnam War attended college. who is now retired in Arizona. Yuzuk said none of the relatives or companions of Flaherty or Anness he has spoken with was aware of a relationship between the two. Son Tay, Vietnam After all, these dogs had served their country as loyal soldiers, and many of them were considered heroes for saving men's lives. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism. The tense atmosphere and frustrating nature of the war eventually caused a significant decline in the motivation and performance of American forces in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the poor treatment the South Vietnamese people received from some American soldiers led to greater support for the Viet Cong and NVA. Other times, they burned down huts and destroyed food supplies. As a result, less than one percent of all Americans wounded who survived the first 24 hours died. 17. That month, his platoon came under heavy automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fire from a North Vietnamese Army force. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. "In all the years we've been working on this we have found that's not the case." He gave me a friendly nip on the hand and looked at me. Flaherty took Yuzuk to a storage locker he rented to pull out photos and documents that might be useful in the documentary, and they returned several times in the following weeks until May 9, 2015 the date Flaherty was struck and killed by a hit and run driver near his palm-shaded campsite. ." She knows the booby trap is there, but she doesn't warn them. The average age of American troops in Vietnam was nineteen, compared to an average age of twenty-six for U.S. soldiers in World War II (193945). Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Upon enlisting, soldiers were given a one-time bounty of $31.00 and 160 acres of land, a total later increased by Congress to $124.00 and 320 acres. The Washington Post on how to fix freight rail. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. On average there were only about 35,000 combat soldiers in Vietnam, on the average. Although he is the subject of a new documentary available on Amazon Prime and iTunes and a soon-to-be-released book, the full story of Capt. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans' group." At the same time, some white soldiers in base camps made racist comments or displayed racially insensitive symbols, like the Confederate flag (the symbol of the slaveholding South during the American Civil War). By WWII, an American soldier could Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Richard Flaherty is laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Milton near Lisa Anness, a woman he described as the love of his life. [CACF]. WebDuring the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million. On average there were only about 35,000 combat soldiers in Vietnam, on the average. The South Vietnamese ran out Some veterans have described their experiences in Vietnam as long periods of boredom interrupted by moments of sudden and unexpected terror. A large proportion of the U.S. troops consisted of African American men from the inner cities, the sons of immigrants from factory towns, and boys from rural farming communities. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. ", In addition, men from poor families tended to have fewer job options in civilian [non-military] society. It changed Richard, he said, adding that he had found letters in his locker explaining why he needed help to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder. U.S. Army general and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; commander of the American troops in Vietn, Nguyen Cao Ky An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. They believed that the military offered opportunities for training and career advancement that were not available to them in civilian society. killed or wounded by a booby trap. Battle of New Orleans. The movie and a book the movie was based on contend that the CIA condoned a drug trade conducted by a Laotian client; both agree that Air America provided the essential transportation for the trade; and both view the pilots with sympathetic understanding. American combat soldiers had to remain alert at all times, even when they were exhausted from many hours of patrolling. South Vietnam Created under the Geneva Accords of 1954, the southern section of Vietnam was known as the Republic of South Vietnam. We fought to an agreed stalemate. designed as a helipad. This unfamiliar environment made their jobs more difficult and unpleasant. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. For example, enemy forces buried land mines and set booby traps throughout the countryside of South Vietnam. Since then, the contribution of American military dogs has been recognized in several books and documentary films. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. I looked straight ahead and not more than two feet away was a tripwire [a trigger for a hidden explosive device]. The great majority of these efforts have erroneously portrayed many myths about the Vietnam War as being facts. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Chance of rain 100%.. A marker has been ordered for his grave and is expected to be placed early next year. Dude. This guy, Sergeant James Conner, was 53. The other Marines called him The Leprechaun (never to his face), because he was Irish and because For me, at least, Vietnam was partly love. During the later years of the war, in fact, some soldiers had been antiwar protesters before they were drafted into the military. U.S. troops in Vietnam (see Chapter 8, "The American Antiwar Movement"). Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. I knew nothing about the aims of the peoplewhether they were for the war or against the war . Girls basketball region final: Woodrow knocks out South Charleston, Girls basketball region final: Sissonville bounces back to State, Girls basketball region final: Princeton pulls it off at GW, WVU womens basketball: Smith, Mountaineers take down Cowgirls, Girls basketball region final: Pioneers make way past Winfield, back to state, Girls basketball region final: Cabell Midland escapes St. Albans with 61-58 victory, Gazette-Mail editorial: And then there were four, DHHR says Kanawha Valley ethylene oxide workplace study won't happen, citing too few participants, Ask an expert: 7 most common questions about automatic home generators, One A Day: Small Daily Acts of Self-Care Go a Long Way to Health. increased from 2 percent of American soldiers to 22 percent. leader; premier of South Vietnam, 196567 He was a tough, determined guy, said David Yuzuk, who befriended Flaherty more than two decades after the war ended, when both were living in Aventura, Florida, a planned community in the suburbs north of Miami. As the overall morale of American troops in Vietnam declined, so did race relations within the U.S. military. Many men volunteered for the draft so even some of the draftees were actually You love your friends in Alpha Companya kid named Chip, my buddy. [Westmoreland], Democracy Catching On - In the wake of the Cold War, democracies are flourishing, with 179 of the world's 192 sovereign states (93%) now electing their legislators, according to the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union. Which made up only about 10% of the total American soldiers in Vietnam. Long Time Passing: Vietnam and the Haunted Generation. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Over the ten years of the war, Operation Ranch Hand sprayed about eleven million gallons of Agent Orange on the South Vietnamese landscape. Myth: The fighting in Vietnam was not as intense as in World War II. So they trained the villagers to recognize subtle signs of a mine or booby trap. Flaherty returned to the U.S. later that year, and graduated from the Armys Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, becoming a member of the elite Green Berets. Dan Bullock was born on December 21, 1953, in Goldsboro, North Carolina. [Nixon] No More Vietnams by Richard Nixon. WebAssuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE But such attitudes began to change as black soldiers faced discrimination in Vietnam. [VHPA Databases] Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Databases. [McCaffrey]. It begins in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1966, the year Flaherty graduated from high school, and also the year in which the American military presence in Vietnam had more than doubled from the previous year, while U.S. casualties had nearly quadrupled. [Houk] Testimony by Dr. Houk, Oversight on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 14 July 1988 page 17, Hearing before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs United States Senate one hundredth Congress second session. The fertile river valleys tended to be flat and fairly open, but also extremely wet. The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. Many people criticized the government policies that selected mainly young, uneducated men from the nation's less-affluent families to serve in Vietnam. and money. As a result, many American soldiers became increasingly frustrated with the war and the U.S. strategy. There, he would either qualify for a deferment (an official delay of military service), or he would be inducted into the armed forces. Free shipping for many products! Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic." https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/american-soldier-vietnam, "The American Soldier in Vietnam On average there were only about 35,000 combat soldiers in Vietnam, on the average. They stuck together and often refused to associate with whites. Combat troops spent much of their time patrolling the countryside in small groups, searching for Viet Cong guerilla fighters or North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces. ", in which he states that the average age of the American combat soldier in Vietnam was 19.. Harnage, was several blocks from the Pittman Apartments. ed. For more information see "The military mission became to inflict casualties and the primary reason for existence became to minimize your own casualties. This atmosphere of fear and distrust caused some men to behave in immoral ways they would never have demonstrated under normal circumstances. The average age of those men that died in Vietnam of all causes was 23.1; the most common age at death was 20, [VHPA databases]. "Where were the sons of all the big shots who supported the war? Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Since 1973, when U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, Americans who have served in the U.S. military have done so voluntarily. He also weighed less than 100 pounds, further disqualifying him from serving in the Army. The enemy, the hummingbird that we were after, was just buzzing around. Another third were drafted into the military. Click here to stay informed and subscribe to the Mountain States Trusted News Source. [Nixon]. Sadly, only 200 of the American military dogs returned to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War. In fact, antiwar organizations often held meetings on college campuses to inform potential draftees about their options. 22 Feb. 2023 . Another words a US Soldier who did 3 tours actually The intentional use of violence toward unpopular officers was common enough in Vietnam that a new word was invented to describe it. By April 1968, Flaherty was a paratrooper and a platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division. They also disliked overly aggressive officers who did not seem to understand what they went through on a daily basis. DID after the U.S. Congress cut off funding. Ng, PRONUNCIATION: vee-et-nuh-MEEZ Richard was involved in martial arts long before anyone else knew much about them, Yuzuk said. And after the war is over you don't remember the monotony and the boredom and the mosquitoes and the heat. "I didn't know the language. The economic and human costs of the Vietnam War were devastating. Black and white soldiers tended to band together when they faced danger and the threat of death. "Black and White," we were called. On February 21, 2000, a memorial was dedicated in Riverside, California, to honor the American military dogs who served in Vietnam and other wars. bombers during World War II most often flew missions lasting many hours with Some soldiers reacted to their fear, anger, and frustration by treating the villagers very harshly. When the two sides did meet, they rarely fought large-scale battles that allowed the United States to use its superior firepower. 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) [Westmoreland], Approximately 12,000 helicopters saw action in Vietnam (all services). Despite this, a wounded US soldier in Vietnam could expect to be evacuated within an hour of sustaining their injuries. When a man's name was drawn, he was required to report to his local draft board for evaluation. According to South Vietnamese military and political leader; president of the Republic of Vietnam, 196775 Not in my platoon," veteran Steve Harper noted in No Victory Parades. One-third were volunteers who had chosen to join the military. Antiwar groups claimed that the increasing numbers of desertions proved that the American combat troops opposed the war. contained this quote about Vietnam, there has been "the most extensive accounting in the history of human warfare" of those missing in action. But I went home, got on the computer and looked him up, and it checked out.. Marijuana use peaked at 58 percent of U.S. forces during this period, while heroin use "If the war was so important, why didn't our leaders put everyone's son in there, why only us?". There was a problem saving your notification. During most of the Vietnam War, nineteen-year-olds were not even allowed to vote. NVA troops controlled the time and place of most of their battles with American forces. The hard drugs American soldiers used in Vietnam were much more powerful and addictive than the versions available in the United States. Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: Feb. 26. It takes alot of support personnel to take care of the logistics, administrative needs, and etc for each combat soldier. March 1, 2023, 4:22 PM. Invalid password or account does not exist. The combat patrols rarely found any strong evidence linking the villages to the Viet Cong. Communism A political system in which the government controls all resources and means of producing wealth. The decline in morale among U.S. troops contributed to a number of significant problems, including atrocities, desertions (when a soldier leaves the military illegally before his term of service has ended), violence toward officers, drug use, and strained race relations. Some American soldiers reacted to their situation by lashing out violently against the Vietnamese, while others took out their anger on U.S. military leaders. [Parade Magazine]. One of the main U.S. strategies for winning the war was to kill as many Viet Cong and NVA forces as possible.