The Davis Station in Saigon was named for him. We then took all Trucks and equipment to the Port Of Saigon. A "Sapper" is a combat engineer soldier who is with the front line infantry troops. Amen I was a machine gunner for 7 months 503rd infantry 173rd airborne and you hit the nail right on the head. Spanish Help Soon I could take the gun apart and put it back together in the dark. 1 Gun kept a lot of enemy heads down. I think what is missing is the fact that the life expectancy of those firing at us was much shorter than those that they were firing at. 4322 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E412331B845E54EBDFDC79FA0627A18>]/Index[4314 16]/Info 4313 0 R/Length 65/Prev 560501/Root 4315 0 R/Size 4330/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream The average man who fought in World War II was 26 years of age. Startled, I quickly pointed my M60 at them. In total, the United States military lost in Vietnam almost 10,000 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (3,744 planes, 5,607 helicopters and 578 UAVs). Jimmy aaja, jimmy aaja. Please do not send samples. The incredibly important role in the U.S. Army is responsible for defending the country through real-life combat. Because if only 1 RTO fought for say only 10 or 15 minutes before being killed, that would up the AVG for the total war! My friend May, I later learned, was doing the same thing in 2nd Platoon. 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!! Joe DeLong joined the company, and Sholly informed me that he would be the M60 gunner. Not to mention that right now its safer than some cities in the us. Naturally I was excited at the opportunity to join Sanzone, but at the same time I hated leaving 2nd Platoons No. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of Americas commitment in Vietnam. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. It was one of my most memorable tours in the Navy I later went to a carrier and was bored silly because I had about 1% of the responsibilities I had as an O-2. Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. Well he didnt make it. Thats why I never understand people talking about survivors guilt it should have been me, why him? etc. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. rice farmer who was still working with is ox like nothing ever Needless too say I depended on Sgt. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I applaud your courage as I know an RTOs job is essential, difficult (carrying the weight of his radio transmitter, his rifle, his ammo, and his rucksack), and dangerous as the enemy surely wanted to knock out any communications for support. Hey Robert I was with the 38th Scout Dog Plt. I was an O5C-20 in Vietnam. Really? Cruz quite a lot. I was already lugging around a 24-pound weapon, 300 rounds of ammo and a pack that weighed a good 45 pounds. 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Company A searched in vain for the platoon in the dark and finally found the shattered unit on the morning of May 19. 4 Joey Piambino were to my right in the streambed. Ernest, Im glad that your first tour with the VN airborne was rewarding. The NVA had wedged a blocking force between our company and Company A, preventing us from advancing any farther. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. One of them gazed in our direction, lowered his AK 47 assault rifle and fired six shots. Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365). He served as a sergeant with the Big Red One in Lai Khe, Vietnam. According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) there are now officially 58, 318 names on the wall. 1 Gun. I had an assistant gunner, Spc. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans Originally I went to the 543d TC. Back in 1965, I was a door gunner on Medevac recovery operations. Eventually I found a spot where the bed leveled off and began firing on the NVA. If you look at all of the things the radio operators were tasked with, it becomes abundantly clear why commo guys weren't expected to last long. maybe your question i vauge. If you have other information let me know. 1 Gun, I jumped into a small dry streambed with Domke, my assistant gunner. a RTO got killed, it happened within 5 seconds but not that always ALL RTOs got killed. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures). Thanks for the reply. By mid-April 1967 I was pleading with the captain to get a replacement gunner for my M60 in 4th Platoon. hmK#1+yNvA Love you Wortman!!!! This is excellent! Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day. Appx: 6 months in, all of the 543d TC joined forces with the 572d TC. I agree with all of the comments, however I would add Tunnel Rats to the group I was one and saw many of my friends die in those tunnels I was very fortunate or very lucky and was never a lead but was at the tail end. Lowering my gun, I turned around and noticed two VC sitting in the doorway of the hut, staring at me. "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. endstream endobj 4315 0 obj <>/Metadata 89 0 R/Pages 4312 0 R/StructTreeRoot 120 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 4316 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 4312 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 4317 0 obj <>stream Background [ edit] One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. They used the callsign MEDIVAC and were armed. My bud, Price took over as RTO. How old are Vietnam vets now? There were also wounded. We looked for cover and returned fire the best we could. Not much different than his unit. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). While traveling through the boonies the first few men were usually always shot first. They were well-armed, well-trained and knew how to fight. I DISAGREETHE ENEMY WOULD SHOOT THE GUY NEXT TO THE RTO-KNOWING HE WAS THE COMMANDER. In that time 4 us kia and 4 wounded. 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. It weighed 24 pounds, was 43.5 inches long and had bipod legs that folded down to stabilize the weapon when firing from a prone position. Staying alive was kinda of important. Around 3 p.m., when Grandstaff realized we were about to be overrun, he called in artillery right on top of our location. My first tour was as an advisor to the VN Abn. Welcome Home Roger. Bloody May 1968 Mini TET. 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! It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. Had multiple Ks and Ws. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1974. After about 30 minutes, the four enemy soldiers got up and left the area. Done ranting. A much better approach would be/have been: of all the combat-casualties, what was their I was on a radar crew and we were told that, during war time, we would most likely be killed within minutes. We were discussing the different units and dangers of each. 1 Gun was firing. Nervous, I set up my gun on the hill and loaded a new hundred-round belt. Interesting, I carried a Prick 25, for 2 months. Rules may have changed, I was in the Delta region. We were expecting, an attack. The two platoons were to advance no more than 200 yards from the main body of the company. .. Both served in A 2/18 1st Infantry Division For some reason, the written word of this article was somehow deleted and lost. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States. Bravo, 3/187th Inf, 101st Airborne Div, 2nd Plt, 2nd Sq, Hamburger Hill, May 69. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. The other group of aeromedical evacuation were divisional, i.e. Fortunately, it was recorded on Spotify and can be listened to here: Thank you for both articles: (1)Going up river to port and (2) the flight from Italy back to Nam. Love this analysis. It didnt matter who you were or where you were. Were talking averages, obviously so, an RTO, with an expectancy of 5 seconds (!) They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam. To an, open area. Bob Sanzone. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. I may not have hit anyone that day, but I am certain that No. Assigned to HHC 1/77 Armor, 1st, BDE 5th Inf. A battery of big 155 mm howitzers blasted the tiny platoon perimeter, tearing trees out of the ground and hurling chunks of red-hot shell splinters through the air. Great story!!! On average US troops served 1-2 years in Vietnam, and the percentage of troops killed was actually fairly low for a war this size, 2.14% of all who served were killed, the life expectancy was roughly around 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks (taking into account the 1-2 year difference in some troops's serving times) Sponsored by Primal Labs The rolling fire burned everything to the ground and undoubtedly killed scores of NVA. Non-divisional aeromedical evacuation units went by the callsign DUSTOFF. 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. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. Im laying behind a rice paddie dike.I put my whole body as far down in the muck while the bullets were over my head. What was the life expectancy of a point man in Vietnam? Hurrying forward with No. I felt the same way jumping off the chopper with my m-60, 300. rounds of ammo,grenades,sandbags and six canteens of water. He retired in 2012 and lives in Delray Beach, Florida. I traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, and trained there for 10 months before deploying to Vietnam as specialist 4. Diaphragm _____ 3. Calculate the pH of a solution of 0.157 M pyridine. We (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF, according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. Shea's gallantry in action at the cost of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon . en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of Fighters and planes dont make up the Army, thats the Air Force. Some gave all. Forget the statistics, we all had a job to do, we went where we were told. Lived too tell about it. We were in2dBn 503d . I was stationed on 2 FSBs (8 & 175mm guns) west of Tay Ninh on the Cambodian boarder in the Ho Chi Minh trail and was wounded but nothing as bad as he was. I picked up my M60 and walked to the center of the perimeter, where I found the company commander, Capt. Supported by a shoulder strap, No. Was it left behind on some forgotten battlefield? They were Kims cousins not her brothers. He said when they were ambushed they took defensive positions, returned fire, called for assistance when needed, and retreated when necessary. Good article. It was very nearly my last. Grab some friends and go outside. They were glad to see me as it had been a while for replacements with the unit. It means, IF (!) I was a medic on one for two yrs and the only weapon I was issue was a six-shot .38. Tumbling end over end, the canisters exploded in a white-hot fireball. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. 2 Gun team, Ranallo and May, without any support. Our battalion operated at a base camp near Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province along the South China Sea from October 1966 to January 1967. An NVA soldier had evidently spotted the gun and waited patiently for me to stick my head up.