This makeup, they say, was the very antithesis of what we stand for as a democracy — a shameful corruption of our values and our historical sense of fairness and social justice. Why Names Are Added To The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Heartbreak Hope In To Add 74 Names Vietnam Frequently Asked Ions Vietnam Veterans Memorial U S Vietnam War Veterans Kids Say Agent Orange Impact A Our combat arms were thought to be completely classless. Printed registries available at the memorial are organized alphabetically by last name. The officer corps has always drawn heavily on English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries from middle-class white collar homes, with other large percentages from ambitious working class blue collar and, of course, career military families. 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 Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. The draftee, if found physically and mentally fit, would be inducted for a period of two years, to be followed by another two year period in the active reserves and a subsequent two years in the inactive reserves. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines. Although valuable, this study was almost certainly misinterpreted by its authors when they said that their data showed that most privileged and influential segments of American society were not insulated from the perils of Vietnam conflict. The figures show that on average 65 percent of white enlisted men and 60 percent of black enlisted men were high school graduates. Mayor of Berlin and Chancellor of West Germany. Fort Irwin isn’t looking for a full-scale replica: This one should not be larger than 250 feet in length, or half the size of the (national) Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on the National Mall. In many of these families it was considered unpatriotic and indeed reprehensible to avoid active duty by requesting a status deferment or seeking out a draft counselor for advice on how to avoid the draft. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. Just as the Vietnam War had divided the country, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial garnered many outspoken opinions of both praise and antipathy. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a black granite wall inscribed with the names of 58,286 American’s killed or missing in the Vietnam conflict. Having the names begin and end at the center is meant to form a circle – a completion to the war. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built to serve as a memorial to all those servicemen who served in the Vietnam War, both living and dead. Many others joined the reserves or National Guard, which were not mobilized in any appreciable numbers during the war. On November 13 th, 1982 thousands of Vietnam Veterans participated in a march that ended at the memorial. If the two branches are combined, then 80 percent of the Army and Marine enlisted casualties were privates or corporals, grades E-1 to E-4. They drew on every segment of American society. They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. There is some truth to this, but it is instructive to look at what the DOD database reveals in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, religious preference and casualties by U.S. geographic areas. Only 5 to 10 percent of enlisted men in the combat units were estimated to have had some college, and less than 1 percent of these enlisted men were college graduates. 900 Ohio Drive SW Each row contains five names (six where a name has been added since the wall was originally installed). No other American war has presented such a young profile in combat. If officers are added, then almost 70 percent of those who died were volunteers. There was no need to embellish. 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. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. For blacks, however, only 7 percent placed in categories I and II and 93 percent placed in categories III and IV. It is forgotten now, but in the beginning Congress and most of the American people were behind our containment effort in Vietnam. As a region, the South experienced the greatest numbers of dead, nearly 34 percent of the total, or 31.0 deaths per 100,000 of population. Those two men have the distinction of being the first two names on The Wall, officially the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Quite a different profile emerges among the Navy and Air force officer corps. Since then, 379 names have been added, for a total of 58,318 (as of Memorial Day 2017). Electronic registries available online or accessible by park staff in the information kiosk at the memorial allow users to search by several data including first name, last name, branch of service, rank, date of birth, date of casualty, state and/or city where they enlisted. Washington , DC Willy Brandt, German political leader. Since the days of Alexander the Great and the Roman Legions, it has always been the young, inexperienced, low-ranking enlisted man who has taken the brunt of combat casualties. Protestants were 64.4 percent (37,483), Catholics were 28.9 percent (16,806). Despite their inexperience, they were thought to accept discipline readily. This was a reflection of the role of warrant officers as helicopter pilots (of the 1,277 warrant officer casualties, 95 percent were Army helicopter pilots), and of the young lieutenants and captains as combat platoon leaders or company commanders. Vietnam War casualties from Massachusetts Click or Tap on name to find a personal memorial page of a casualty from this state. At the 1982 dedication of that monument, their names … But given the draft policies, the hard-sell recruitment, the severe escalation from month to month and the refusal by President Lyndon Johnson to call up the older reserves and National Guard, it could not have been otherwise. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. These alphabetical indexes are for your convenience but do not represent the order of names on the Wall. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. A new Department of Defense (DOD) database computer tape released through the National Archives allows researchers to take a much closer look at our 58,152 Vietnam casualties. These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. The officer corps’ casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. Maya Lin: Vietnam Veterans Memorial These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. These officer casualties came more from the South and West regions, 4.1 deaths per 100,000, in contrast to 3.5 from the Northeast and Midwest regions. Non-perishable items are archived in a storage facility. 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. Ty (Tyrus Raymond) Cobb, American baseball player, first man to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. In terms of national origin/ancestries, an extensive sampling of the data-base reveals that Americans of French Canadian, Polish, Italian and other Southern and Eastern European surnames made up about 10 percent of the Vietnam casualties. When The Wall was completed in 1982, it contained 57,939 names. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. Memorial pages honoring Vietnam War casualties, listed by their last names. Of the 7,877 officer casualties, 7,595, or 96.4 percent, were white; 147, or 1.8 percent, were black; 24, or 0.3 percent, were Asian; 7, or .08 percent, were Native American; 104, or 1.3 percent, were unidentified by race. They often reveal a typically warm American family atmosphere. In civilian life, poor aptitude testing can have a tremendous negative impact, whether for college placement or for simple job advancement. The names would become the memorial. The vast majority of Americans who were eligible by age but did not serve in the armed forces were exempted by reason of physical, mental, psychiatric, or moral failure; or they were given status deferments because they were college students, fathers, clergy, teachers, engineers or conscientious objectors. An estimated 11,000 women served in Vietnam. The names are listed in chronological order by date of their casualty and begin and end at the origin point, or center, of the memorial where the two walls meet. I contains a 300-foot long replica of the Moving Wall™, a 1/2 scale version of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. There are over 58,000 names of men and women who died in action in Vietnam etched deeply into the dark, polished, mirror-like surface of that monument that is simply known as “The Wall” to Vietnam veterans. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. The third garden on the Museum site is the Vietnam Memorial Garden. Registry entries include a panel number and row number that correspond to its location in the memorial (see graphic above). The same profile holds true for the Marine Corps, where 87 percent of all officer casualties (821 of 938) were warrant officers, lieutenants or captains. 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. The Air Force lost the highest percentage of officers. If you require assistance, contact a park ranger or volunteer at the memorial. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. 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. The burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 10, 1982, with 57,939 names. ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. The Army lost the greatest number of officers – 4,635 or 59 percent of all officer casualties. Steven Spielberg, film director (E.T., Jurassic Park, and Schindler's List). They came largely from California and Texas, with lesser numbers from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, New York and a few from many other states across the country. Who were they? As we have pointed out earlier, more than 80 percent of our casualties were Army and Marine enlisted men with an average age of 19- to 20-years. We were one giant Hollywood B-17 bomber crew, one perfect socioeconomic platoon storming Omaha Beach or Okinawa. Their sacrifices were honored July 8, 2009, in Washington during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of their deaths. These names represented those military personnel who... See … It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. Blacks were 85 percent Protestant. See the following photos and learn about the Vietnam Memorial. The DOD database provides no civilian or military educational levels for the Vietnam casualties specifically, but it does give us general levels for all enlisted men across all the services during the Vietnam era. The names as representations of individuals tend to evoke very specific memories about that individual. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was given to all entering enlisted men. How many Smiths can there possibly be who died in Vietnam? The names are arranged chronologically by date of casualty. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names … Some went to Canada or Sweden, but few of those who evaded the draft were actually prosecuted and most were eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Of 2,590 total Air Force casualties, 1,674 or 65 percent were officers. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. What happens to items left at the memorial? These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. With the addition of six names added in 2010 the total is now 58,272 names listed on the Memorial. The Pentagon will add 96 names to the 58,022 on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here after deciding to engrave combat-related deaths on the black stone. Of the 7,262 blacks who died, 6,955, or 96 percent, were Army and Marine enlisted men. Coast Guard casualties are included in the Navy totals. 20024. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released in 1992, found that our Vietnam casualties were only marginally greater from the economically lowest 50 percent of our communities (31 deaths per 100,000 of population), when compared with the economically highest 50 percent (26 deaths per 100,000 population). Officers of all services, by tradition largely Protestant, remained so during the Vietnam war, sustaining casualties in comparison with Catholics by a 5 to 2 ratio. The essence of the Wall is the names and the reaction of the visitor to … The memorial, located near the western end of the Mall, is a black granite V-shaped wall inscribed with the names of the approximately 58,000 men and women who were killed or missing in action. Interesting Vietnam Veterans Statistics. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. As one stands before the Wall one feels that no other judgment is acceptable to their living memory. It was designed by American architect Maya Lin. The DOD database listed precise religious preferences for the 58,152 Vietnam casualties. While the collection is not open to the public, Items Left at The Wall is a virtual collection of nearly 500 items left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that can be seen at www.vvmf.org/items. And they often show a heartbreakingly wry sense of humor with the same sensibilities as their college-bound peers. Brad Pitt, actor (12 Monkeys, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. It is instructive to read the literature of the war, the letters written home from those who died, the novels and narrative accounts of those who served in combat and then returned. From 1964 to 1973, 2,100,000 men and women served in Vietnam, but this was only 8 percent of the 26,000,000 Americans who were eligible for military service. The ten names added this year met the DoD's criteria. To learn about us and how you can help maintain this site. 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. One additional factor, often overlooked, that influenced volunteer enlistment was military tradition — the influence of fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles and others who had served in previous 20th century wars. The combination of the selective service policies with the skills and aptitude testing of both volunteers and draftees (in which blacks scored noticeably lower) conspired to assign blacks in greater numbers to the combat units of the Army and Marine Corps. Dedicated in 1993, the Vietnam Women's Memorial pays tribute to the more than 265,000 women who served during the Vietnam era. Eight women were killed in Vietnam, five Army lieutenants, one Army captain, one Army lieutenant colonel and one Air Force captain. The draft policy at the time of the Vietnam War was called the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Congress and the Johnson administration, therefore, sought to protect our college-bound and educated young men. While many may not think of a name as a representational memorial, a name directly represents an individual. 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. Fully 50 percent were in the 17- to 24-year age group, and astonishingly, there were 764 Army officer casualties who were 21 or younger. When the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated, it originally had 57,939 names inscribed on it. In 2004, the total is 58,241 names. A more precise equation would be that the college bound stayed home while the non-college bound served and died. There were 667; How many Andersons?, 178; Garcias?, 102; Murphys?, 82; Jenkins?, 66; One wants to know more about these Americans. The first names appear at the center of the wall at the top of panel 1E. Almost 50 percent were majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels and three were generals. The Vietnam War was no different. Nathan King, NPS The two 200-feet-long walls contain more than 58,000 names. The memorial, commonly called "The Wall," lists the names of more than 58,270 servicemen who died or were declared missing or … However, if officer casualties are added to the total, then this overrepresentation is reduced to 12.5 percent of all casualties. It is a word that stands for a being. The idea that American enlisted dead were made up largely of society’s poverty stricken misfits is a terrible slander to their memory and to the solid working-class and middle-class families of this country who provided the vast majority of our casualties. The memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives around 3 million visitors each year. This came at a time when blacks made up 11 percent of the male population nationwide. It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldn’t quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didn’t have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. You can scroll down to see the names of casualties listed under their official city. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by Historynet LLC, the world's largest publisher of history magazines. The young enlisted volunteer or draftee had not had much time to form any complicated theories about our Vietnam commitment. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a 2-acre (8,000 m ) U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C. Multiple casualties occurring on the same day appear in alphabetical order. There is no question that all segments of American society were represented. During the Vietnam War, the Navy and Air Force became substantially white enclaves – enlisted and officer casualties were 96 percent white. OR To shorten the name list, enter 2 or more letters of any part of a name in the box below. It honors service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the war. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. Upon reaching the farthest east end of the memorial at panel 70E, the pattern continues from the far west end of the memorial at panel 70W, continuing back to the center at panel 1W. Thus we can see that the channeling philosophy continued within the armed forces. He was a Navy enlisted man during World War II and has a degree in Political Science from Duke University. Only 10 percent of enlisted men had even some college to their credit and only 1 percent were college graduates. 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