bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

Going the e-mail rounds.
We hold a deep debt of gratitude to all our veterans, deceased and living and to those men and women still serving our country.


A little history most people will never know.


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 57 years since the first casualty.

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 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, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

Robert Graybeal Loc: Myrtle Beach

I've read that 100 times.....

I just read every word again.
and will every time it is posted.

DAVE FISHING Loc: Phoenix,Arizona

Lost some high school friends, and some that came back were never the same. I was to go but my brother was there. They sent me to Fort Lenard Missouri .

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

I have a friend's name on that wall so it strikes home for me. Thanks for viewing and commenting Robert. :-D

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

Thank you and your brother for your service to our country Dave. :thumbup: :thumbup: :-D

Robert Graybeal Loc: Myrtle Beach

I guess I'm one of the lucky one's.
In the Army from 67-70.
All my H.S. friends, 2 years of college and 3 years of Army.
I don't know anyone who's name is on The Wall.

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

Thank you for your service to our country Robert. :thumbup: :thumbup: :-D

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That was a horrible time. I lost a friend, and another friend lost a leg. My brother served there, and when I was printing negatives from pictures he sent home, we didn't know if he was dead or alive.

I've been to The Wall, and I've also seen The Traveling Wall.

lone ranger Loc: Port Saint Lucie, Florida

Thank you for posting this, as I"m A Vietnam Special Forces Vet Myself, and all thesecbrave young people should not be forgotten...for giving their Ultimate sacrifice..

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

I visited the wall in February of last year. Two of my childhood friends are on it. When I found their names it sent a chill down my spine.

lone ranger Loc: Port Saint Lucie, Florida

Me Too.....Too many times..!!

kschwegl Loc: Orangeburg, NY

Thanks for posting. The names of 4 men from my ship are on that wall. There but for the grace of God is my name.

ddetloff Loc: Fair Haven, MI

Thanks for posting. Several on the Wall I went to school with and several on the Wall I served with. I think of them often and they will never be forgotten.

- Don

neds Loc: southbury ct.

volunteered for the draft in '67and by the luck of the draw they sent me to Germany for 18 months to drive a tank, thankyou to those guys and women who were sent to Vietnam !

travelwp Loc: New Jersey

For those who have not visited the wall, there is a website to look up vets by state and city. Scroll down the site below for an area titled: AN AMAZING ALL-STATES LOOKUP SITE


http://travelwp.com/2013-0407-vietnam-vet-memorial-page.htm