Once additions are approved by DoD, VVMF receives the list of approved names, coordinates the inscribing and absorbs the costs. Congress. National Mall and Memorial Parks , Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. The major service academies and other military colleges provided close to 900 of the Vietnam officer casualties: the U.S. Military Academy, 278; the U.S. Air Force Academy, 205; the U.S. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Database of the 58,195 Names on The Wall in Wash,D.C. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, Look up the name in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. On the last day of his life, in the moments before our nations history changed forever, Dale Buis was sitting around a rec center watching a movie called The Tattered Dress, starring Jeff Chandler. During and after the Vietnam War, the Department of Defense (DoD) compiled a list of combat zone casualties according to criteria in a 1965 Presidential Executive Order. Only 3 returned home. 1972 NAID 305367, Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award Case Files, 19711971 NAID 5721359. The very young were considered by many to be preferred combat material. Early on President Johnson, his advisers and especially the Congress, realized that if the draft was to be truly equitable and had included combat assignments in Vietnam for the sons of the educationally advantaged and influential Americans from the professional and managerial classes, then the resulting uproar would have shut down the war. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. The result: no comprehensive master list of Vietnam War casualties existed. It was fitting that Vandegeer finally returned home to American soil, because he spent his last weeks at war evacuating Americans as Saigon fell. No other American war has presented such a young profile in combat. Nursing the wounded. The training for American officers is thought by most foreign military authorities to be the best in the world. Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. peruse. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. the person they know. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. In an effort to further preserve the legacy of those who sacrificed all in Vietnam, VVMF is committed to finding a photo to go with each of the more than 58,000 names on The Wall. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. If the demographic is expanded to 17- to 21- years, then we find there were 83 percent of Marine enlisted casualties, and 65 percent of Army enlisted casualties. This uneven impact was caused by a number of factors: (1) While the South was home to some 53 percent of all blacks in the 1970 census, almost 60 percent of black casualties came from the South; (2) Although we cannot be as precise, we do know that a considerable majority of Hispanic-American casualties came from the West, (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado) and the South (Texas); (3) Better employment opportunities in the Northeast reduced the number of volunteers; (4) Greater college matriculation in the Northeast increased the number of status deferments for the regions 17- to 24- year olds; (5) More anti-war sentiment in the media and on college campuses in the Northeast. The widely held notion that the poor served and died in Vietnam while the rich stayed home is way off the mark. Its unlikely that anyone who visits the memorial on a given day would have the time, the heart or the stomach to read and consider each one. As of 2017, there are 58,318 names inscribed on The Wall. Frequently relatives or buddies of casualties The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Military Reunions, Screensavers, Rubbings, Personal Guestbook for all Names. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. 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. The Order of Precedence For Military Ribbon Wear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubH-5CulqI, Military Funeral Guide for Families & Funeral Homes, The Ultimate Military Gift Guide for Unique Military Gifts, Black Military History and Black Medal of Honor Recipients. It called for the registration of all 18 to 26-year old males, with induction to take place at 18 1/2 if so ordered by the local draft board. Much more detailed He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers. The 58,152 names of those who died in Vietnam are etched onto the two rising black marble slabs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. While their names are not on The Wall, they are never forgotten. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense and the individual service branches maintained separate casualty lists with slightly differing criteria. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. Often that advice, especially for professional athletes, rock stars, sons of politicians and other celebrities, was to join the never-to-be-called-up reserves or National Guard. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a symbol of American honor and appreciation for the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. It is located north of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. along Constitution Avenue NW between 21st and 23rd streets. The virtual Wall of Faces features a page dedicated to honoring and remembering every person whose name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. to open, search, edit, or print the name files. The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. Through the AFQT process, the men scoring in the higher categories were more likely to be channeled into further specialized training and eventually assigned to technical and administrative units. If each Certainly, some who died did come from poor and broken homes in the urban ghettos and barrios, or were from dirt-poor farm homes in the South and Midwest. The casualty date is the date the person was killed or wounded in combat or injured during an accident; for the missing, the date is when the person was reported missing. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. NAID 5709942, U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, National Archives Command Chronologies:Vietnam War, National Archives Command Chronologies: Vietnam War: Index to Reports, National Archves. Gather facts from sources at home,and talk to relatives. He tried to make the best call he could when adding names to the list. Vietnam War Casualties, MIA and POWs. They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. The men and women who valiantly fought in the Vietnam War certainly deserve the title of hero. It specified the geographic areas of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and surrounding coastal areas as combat zones. It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Since then, 379 names have been added, for a total of 58,318 (as of Memorial Day 2017). This, they felt, would offer these men the opportunity to get remedial training in the service and then be able to compete successfully when they returned to civilian life. In civilian life, poor aptitude testing can have a tremendous negative impact, whether for college placement or for simple job advancement. . The Army as a branch had 134,982 killed or wounded (9.5 percent), but the Marines suffered 66,227 killed or wounded (22.5 percent) or almost one of every four Marines who served. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. The Navy had a similar profile: 55 percent of its 622 officer casualties were 30 years of age or older, and 45 percent were ranked at lieutenant commander or above when they died. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. It gives the names in alphabetical order and . The last 18 names listed on the bottom of Panel 1, West, also at the apex, are from May 15, 1975. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. compiled by Military Records and Research Library, Department of Military Affairs; edited by Julia D. Rather and Jeffrey Michael Duff, Research Our Records. The vision of VVMF is to ensure a society in which all who have served and sacrificed in our nation's Armed Forces are properly honored and receive the recognition they justly deserve. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. It ripped men from their loved ones, family, friends, and it left a wave of death in its path. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. The individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) may contain information such as: name, Selective Service registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, place of residence at time of registration and basic physical description. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. Others, later in the war, were simply ineligible because of high lottery number. The chronological order allows veterans who were in a battle to see their friends forever united on the Wall, he explained. Buis can be found at the top middle of a slab designated Panel 1E. The virtual Wall of Faces features a page dedicated to honoring and remembering every person whose name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. U.S. Army Personnel and Dependent Casualties, 1961-1981 85% of the records in this database are related to the Vietnam Conflict. The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. Dates of enlsitment or selective service registration will be helpful along with the name military units they served with. I mean, it was bad.. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Order it can be difficult but there are a few ways to find a name at either end of the memorial are stands with books inside these list the names in alphabetical. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. On average, 43 percent of white enlisted entrants placed in categories I and II (scoring 65 to 100) and 57 percent in categories III and IV (scoring 10 to 64). The trigger came when the recruiters pointed out that the volunteer could enlist as early as 17 (with parental consent); that he was allowed to select his branch of service; that he would receive specialized training if he qualified; that he could request a specific overseas assignment; and that his three year enlistment followed by three years in the inactive reserves satisfied his military obligation immediately. I.. J.. K.. L.. M. N.. O.. P.. Q.. R.. S.. T.. U.. V.. W.. X.. Y.. Z The National Archives has an online searchable database, entitled "Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War," documenting the period 6/8/1956 - 1/21/1998. These names are followed by the inscription: Our nation honors the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of its Vietnam veterans. ARMY AND MARINE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. A correspondingly greater tradition of military service in the other regions had its effect on U.S. regional casualties. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. Twenty-five years later, in an interview with People magazine, he described playing with his two younger brothers as the news reached their home in Imperial Beach, California. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. You must refer to a database, which gives the names in alphabetical order and includes the position of each on the Memorial. Its now one of the most popular memorials in Washington. The job of cross-referencing the information of individual branches with the DoD fell to Doubek. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, "'The Vietnam War' Sponsor Bank of America Teams With The Lumineers to Support the USO ", Programs for Service Members and Their Families. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. For a photograph of an inscription of a close friend or relative, write: This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. What happens to items left at the memorial? Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. They seem honored to be putting the names on the Wall.. Colleen Pontes, whose father Kevin Joyce was added in 2003, remembered the rush of emotions she felt as she and her brother watched their dads name being inscribed in the granite.