pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

No. Not Pink Floyd. :lol:

The Wall

A little history most people will never know.

Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

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.



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.



8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 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 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 an d 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, wives, 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.

PrairieSeasons Loc: Red River of the North

I understand what is meant by this statement, but it's wrong. Most of these soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

That's a point to ponder. Everyone who died there was there on THEIR last day. The difference being someone who died after being injured "in country" but died after being evacuated. I wonder what type of memorial will be erected for the lives wasted in the Middle East cesspool. And I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. There's plenty of blame to go around. I say get out of the Middle East and let them take care of their own problems. Oil will still flow no matter what happens. Whoever wins will still want the profits to be made from the rest of the world. :thumbup:

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Afghanistan - The place empires go to die.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

A high school friend of mine enlisted after graduation, he and three others died without ever touching Viet Nam soil. An enemy mortar round exploded near their transport aircraft while they were exiting via the cargo ramp.

A cousin died there in battle.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Sorry to hear that. What a waste. My Dad flew with the USAF on a helicopter crew assigned to air rescue to extract downed pilots and other personnel. He made it back safely. :thumbup:

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Glad to hear that he made it back. I've several friends who did, as well. The entire experience is still with them, though. Now, I've friends who've served in the Middle East, some on two campaigns.

I may not always support my country's decisions, but I'll always support the folks who serve and protect us.
--Bob

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Amen bro! :thumbup:

SmittyOne Loc: California

Thank you, from a fellow 'Nam vet.

Bruce with a Canon Loc: Islip

What is meant here is DEROS, headed home, never made it vertically

1stJedi Loc: Southern Orange County

Pounder, there are a great many of us who remember, . . . and who care. Personally, I was just a wee bit too young to be there myself, yet my Dad was there twice -- his job the second tour was to identify the remains of ALL US Service Personnel in country.

JPL

What was the purpose of this war in Vietnam?

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Amen to that.

sr71 Loc: In Col. Juan Seguin Land

Supposedly to keep communism at bay....

phcaan Loc: Willow Springs, MO

There wasn't one and all of us over there knew it.