Appy, Christian. It was led by a U.S.-supported government. [VHPA Databases] Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Databases. Images of firefights, bloodied U.S. soldiers and body bags were seen nightly on network television, along with scorecard-like tallies of the number of American and enemy soldiers killed in action. Vietnam War Reference Library. Vo Nguyen Giap Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. Besides looking for enemy troops, they had to watch out for tiny trip wires that caused hidden hand grenades to explode, and for signs of digging that might indicate a landmine or a dangerous pit. 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. vvmf.org Social Makeup of Forces in Vietnam The US soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War were different in many ways from those who had fought in earlier wars. Some gave candy to the children and tried to help in other ways. Some of these men were career military officers. Encyclopedia.com. And you were sort of walking that tightrope the whole time," veteran James Webb recalled in Working-Class War. "How can you defeat an enemy who knows the land intimately, who has every reason to regard it as his own backyard, and who has fought for decades, even centuries, to rid it of foreign invaders?" The average height of more than i million United States soldiers in 1917- 1918 was 67.5 inches. ." The 1990 unsuccessful movie "Air America" helped to establish the myth of a connection between Air America, the CIA, and the Laotian drug trade. Most Agent Orange contained .0002 of 1 percent of dioxin. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. "Fragging" initially referred to the practice of using a fragmentation weapon (an explosive device, such as a hand grenade) to murder an officer. "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. But somehow they knew that the enemy had been there. But some officers seemed to place their own desire for glory and promotions ahead of the safety and welfare of their units. South Vietnam Created under the Geneva Accords of 1954, the southern section of Vietnam was known as the Republic of South Vietnam. Bringing the War Home: The American Soldier in Vietnam andAfter. [McCaffrey], Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than our non-vet age group. [Nixon], The Vietnam War has been the subject of thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, hundreds of books, and scores of movies and television documentaries. An interesting detail I came across years and years ago: average height of French male was significantly shorter after WWI then before. Perhaps not But the term was later used in reference to any deliberate act of violence toward a higher-ranking person. [McCaffrey] Speech by Lt. Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, (reproduced in the Pentagram, June 4, 1993) assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Vietnam veterans and visitors gathered at "The Wall", Memorial Day 1993. "The American Soldier in Vietnam Congress while the North Vietnamese were very well supplied by China and the In the rear [non-combat support areas], back at Gator, Chip and I would go our separate ways, by color, both of us ashamed but knowing it had to be that way. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1986. one of 42 pictures of this helicopter that UPI photographer, Hubert Van Es took Helmer, John. For example, disgruntled soldiers might sabotage a helicopter or shoot an officer during combat with enemy forces. . The number of U.S. soldiers who left their units for more than 30 days without permission increased from 15 per 1,000 in 1966 to 70 per 1,000 in 1972. And two are in Africa: Tanzania (October 1995) and Guinea (June 1995). Which made up only about 10% of the total American soldiers in Vietnam. webmaster@vhpa.org The voting age in the United States changed from twenty-one to eighteen in 1971. Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: Feb. 26. 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. The dogs were so effective in helping the American soldiers avoid enemy traps that the North Vietnamese placed a high value on killing them. After a while, whenever Id see him, Id give him a little head nod and hed do the same. In some cases, racial tensions exploded into violence. The building is the Pittman Apartments, a 10 For example, the weather in Vietnam tended to be very hot and humid. [1996 Information Please Almanac], POW-MIA Issue (unaccounted-for versus missing in action), Politics & People, On Vietnam, Clinton Should Follow a Hero's Advice, But race relations deteriorated significantly in non-combat support units and base camps during the late 1960s. Id known him for 15 years, and this was the first time he ever mentioned the military. Create a password that only you will remember. A friend of his from high school told me he had fond memories of watching Richard breaking boards with his hands when he walked past the Flahertys garage. He returned to Vietnam in 1969 and stayed there until 1971 when he left the Army. By eliminating private property, this system is designed to create an equal society with no social classes. "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. In a way, he was like a mentor. Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an Many soldiers used them to escape from the boredom of their daily lives or to rebel against military authority. The average age of U.S. troops in Southeast Asia was 23, and more than 80 percent had a high school diploma, twice as many as the World War II generation. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Since the draft officially ended in 1973, many people have studied the role it played in determining the racial, ethnic, and social class makeup of the American troops in Vietnam. "Every time we slapped someone around, or trashed a village, or shouted curses from a jeep, we defined ourselves as the enemy and thereby handed more power and legitimacy to the people we had to beat.". "Looking at your watch, counting the days, marking off the days you have left in Vietnam on a little calendar drawn on your helmet," veteran Tim O'Brien remembered of his time on combat patrol. hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. Hundreds of dogs were killed in action in Vietnam, but it is estimated that their efforts prevented over 10,000 human casualties. 10 Months later, U.S. military leaders abandon the base. "Ethical confusion is the only word that I can use. Item Height: 14.5 cm. 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. March 1, 2023, 4:22 PM. Another words a US Soldier who did 3 tours actually As a result, as many as 500,000 U.S. soldiers became addicted to drugs. In 1971, for example, 5,000 American soldiers were hospitalized for combat wounds, while 20,500 were treated for drug abuse. "Almost as By contrast, there still are 78,000 unaccounted-for Americans from World War II and 8,100 from the Korean conflict. It was less common in combat units operating in the field, where a lack of attention could cost soldiers their lives. But it wasnt until 2015 that Flaherty first spoke of his time as a platoon leader and Green Beret in Vietnam. Here are some facts to clear up that poor job of reporting by the news media. At the time, Yuzuk was a police officer and Flaherty was a member of Aventuras homeless community, camping under a palm tree off one of the citys main boulevards. The dogs also served as sentries at U.S. bases and helped drag wounded American soldiers to safety in medical units. of equipment, including a ten-pound musket. 1969 While there was nothing Flaherty could do to increase his height, he doubled down on his eating, climbing past the 100-pound mark, while he sought help from his congressman to obtain a waiver to the height requirement from the Armys surgeon general. 7,484 women served in Vietnam, of whom 6,250 or 83.5% were nurses. The valleys were surrounded by steep hills and rugged mountains that were covered by a thick jungle of trees and tropical plants. (Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike, a professor at the University of California, Berkley a renowned expert on the Vietnam War) [Westmoreland] This included Tet 68, which was a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. Richard Flaherty, who was raised in Connecticut, had to obtain a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. Since 1973, when U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, Americans who have served in the U.S. military have done so voluntarily. tail number N4 7004, were Bob Caron who lives in Florida and Jack What as the average height of US SOldier in Vietnam? He indicated that while Flahertys survivors had planned on the burial taking place at Arlington National Cemetery, they honored his wish to be buried in West Virginia. The men who served in Vietnam also tended to be younger than the U.S. soldiers who had fought in previous wars. Many of the men who served in Vietnam were minorities from the nation's inner cities. [The Wall Street Journal]. Another reason for declining morale and performance was the one-year tour-of-duty rotation schedule used in Vietnam. For me, at least, Vietnam was partly love. LANGUAGE: Vietnamese bombers and were always exposed to hostile fire even in their base camps. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. veteran Tobias Wolff asked in Time. "If the war was so important, why didn't our leaders put everyone's son in there, why only us?". A government agency called the Selective Service collected the names of all American men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. 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]. (February 22, 2023). 1967: LBJ increases U.S. troops to 485,600. "Perhaps the best single image with which to synthesize [combine 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. THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam. ", in which he states that the average age of the American combat soldier in Vietnam was 19.. Marijuana use peaked at 58 percent of U.S. forces during this period, while heroin use Approximately 5'8" average height. on 29 April 1975 from UPI's offices on the top floor of the Saigon Hotel which In the last decade, 69 nations have held multi-party elections for the first time in their histories. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only 1/2 of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. The United States defeat in Vietnam led to a Self-Destruction: The Disintegration andDecay of the U.S. Army in Vietnam. 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. But many other American soldiers conducted themselves honorably throughout their time in Vietnam. bombers during World War II most often flew missions lasting many hours with ." Rather than trying to capture and hold territory as they had in New York: Charterhouse, 1974. 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. After all, these dogs had served their country as loyal soldiers, and many of them were considered heroes for saving men's lives. During most of the Vietnam War, nineteen-year-olds were not even allowed to vote. Some of them considered the military a good place to receive training. 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 In some instances, they beat up women, children, or elderly men who refused to give them information. There, he would either qualify for a deferment (an official delay of military service), or he would be inducted into the armed forces. was several blocks from the Pittman Apartments. "My father had served, everyone in our community had served. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. "Among the infantrymen, the 'grunts,' this was known as 'humping the boonies. Sometimes they would set out on foot from a U.S. base camp. WebThe most iconic helicopter of the Vietnam War, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois was originally designated the HU-1, giving rise to its popular nickname Huey.. According to newspaper files, her grandparents operated a restaurant in Milton. from their family doctors. I didnt believe him at first, Yuzuk recalled. The infantryman knows that any moment the ground he is walking on can erupt and kill him; kill him if he's lucky. American soldiers knew that the war was unpopular at home. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. ", In addition, men from poor families tended to have fewer job options in civilian [non-military] society. During the later years of the war, in fact, some soldiers had been antiwar protesters before they were drafted into the military. Putting people in that situation changes them. he said. By April 1968, Flaherty was a paratrooper and a platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division. A marker has been ordered for his grave and is expected to be placed early next year. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. 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. Soldiers who resented or distrusted their officers sometimes refused to follow orders or even resorted to violence. Web38.8% (6,332,000) of U.S. servicemen and all servicewomen were volunteers 61.2% (11,535,000) were draftees Average duration of service: 33 months Overseas service: 73% served overseas, with an average of 16 months abroad Sometimes it would take an entire day to move two miles. Which made up only about 10% of the total American soldiers in Vietnam. Only a third of Vietnam vets were draftees. No matter where in Vietnam these American units patrolled, the landscape made travel difficult. Such findings have confirmed the widespread belief that U.S. draft policies unfairly targeted the segments of American society with the least political power. My two brothers served over in Vietnam," veteran Dave Christian told Michael Maclear in The Ten Thousand DayWar. In reality, few soldiers left their units during combat patrols of South Vietnampartly because it was even more dangerous to travel through the countryside alone. ", As they traveled through the countryside looking for enemy forces, American combat patrols routinely entered and searched South Vietnamese villages for hidden weapons, extra supplies of food, young men of military age, and other possible signs of Viet Cong activity. For US Soldiers the initial tour was 365 days (one year). 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. These tiring and unpleasant patrols made up much of an average U.S. combat soldier's experience in Vietnam. As the number of American They usually started firefights by ambushing U.S. combat patrols. Some historians blame the American antiwar movement for the decline in the motivation and performance of 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. WebHow much of an impact does the difference in the average size of soldiers between combatants make in 20th/21st century warfare? It takes alot of support personnel to take care of the logistics, administrative needs, and etc for each combat soldier. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. "Vietnam was a place where the elite went as reporters, not as soldiers," reporter David Halberstam noted. [VHPA databases], Army UH-1's totaled more than 10,693,902 flight hours in Vietnam between October 1966 and the end of http://www.air-america.org. In the American Civil War, a typical Union soldier might carry a total of 60 lbs. In addition, black soldiers often received less desirable housing and duty assignments than white soldiers in the same unit. As a result, the morale of American troops was fairly highat first. Yuzuk was stunned by both the sudden loss of a friend and the realization that he would need to do his own detective work to discover what Flaherty had not gotten around to telling him about his life. While braving the intense hail of hostile fire, Lieutenant Flaherty displayed astute direction and leadership, leading to the enemy bunker being swiftly destroyed and allowing his platoon to advance and continue its devastating attack on the enemy, according to the citation for the Silver Star Flaherty was awarded for the action. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Jokes are funnier, green is greener. 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