[Indy-Guy]

"It doesn't matter where you go in life.......it's who you have beside you."

A little history most people will never know.
Interesting facts about the Vietnam Memorial.

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 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 patriot 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.

[GordyM]

This brings tears to my eyes.... I was one of the fortunate ones who made it back.

[skyguy79]

Went to see the traveling wall many years ago when it was on display at SUNY Adirondack (then Adirondack Community College) in Queensbury NY. Quite a moving and emotional experience especially when you see the name(s) of someone you've known on it. God bless their souls all!

[John_W]

I had orders for Nam when I finished school at Ft. Rucker, Alabama Oct. 5, 1970 and was sent for 3 day Vietnam orientation. On Friday when I went to the orderly room pick up my orders they were cancelled and I was sent to Korea instead. They said we were the first class in two years that didn't go to Nam.

When I returned from Korea January 1972 I reported to Hunter AAF in Savannah, Georgia. Our base primary mission was training Vietnamese helicopter pilots but by July they began phasing out the school and standing down the base, this meant there was no more replacements. Even though I was an E-5 air traffic controller and would normally never be assigned outside duties, with being shorthanded I was assigned to the honor detail. I rode the little green bus the 120 miles to Jacksonville six times in the latter part of 1972 and was part of the 21 gun salute detail at military funerals. It was a very surreal experience and something I still remember.

[renrod]

Originally Posted by GordyM

This brings tears to my eyes.... I was one of the fortunate ones who made it back.

Thanks for the info, I'll forward it to some friends also.

[rp001]

Welcome home brothers......65-66

[gerryann]

Very interesting and heartfelt. I've passed it on.

[BarryRX]

69-70. Always in my thoughts.

[getdul981]

Originally Posted by GordyM

This brings tears to my eyes.... I was one of the fortunate ones who made it back.

Me too, and on February 28, 1969, I thought I wasn't going to.

My wife and I went to see The Wall in Washington once. That has got to be the most moving experience I have ever had. It is such a eerie and weird place and most everyone I know of has had the same feelings when they go. While we were there, a gentleman asked me if I would take a picture of him as he pointed to a name on the wall. I told him that I would. He said he was pointing to his son's name. Every time I tell this story, I get tears in my eyes.

[chuckinca]

Of the 58,267 Vietnam deaths 33,103 were 18 year olds!

That's amazing.

.

[asianthree]

thank god my husband got to come home

[66vetter]

Thank you for posting this. A very somber reminder of those days.
America's children giving their all for us. As they continue to do today.
Thank you.

Frank
USAF 1966-1970

[tommy steam]

Welcome home.....................66-67

[eremite06]

Went to the Wall again during Rolling Thunder. Very moving experience.

USN 68-72

[asianthree]

and now these vets are finding health problems with AO, so for some its never over