History of the Vietnam War 101

Chuck Gutzman [75.167.178.54]

>On Thu Sep 17, Chuck Gutzman  wrote
>-----------------------------------
>>In case you haven't been paying attention these past few decades after you returned from Vietnam, the clock has been ticking.  The following are some statistics that are at once depressing yet in a larger sense should give you a HUGE SENSE OF PRIDE.

>>"Of the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam, Less than 850,000 are estimated to be alive today, with the youngest American
>>Vietnam veteran's age approximated to be 54 years old."

>>So, if you're alive and reading this, how Does it feel to be among the last 1/3rd of all the U.S. Vets who served in VietNam?!?!? ...don't know about you guys, but kinda gives me the chills, Considering this is the kind of information I'm used to reading about WWII and Korean War vets...

>>------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

>>So the last 14 years we are dying too fast, only the few will survive by 2015...if any.. If true 390 VN vets die a day. so in 2190 days...from today, lucky to be a Vietnam veteran alive..... in only 6 years..

>>These statistics were taken from a variety of sources to include: The VFW Magazine, the Public Information Office,
>>and the HQ CP Forward Observer - 1st Recon April 12, 1997.

Hi Pat: This item was forwarded to me by a retired Air Force Colonel a couple of days ago. The part that I was struck by is that immediately above. The material above was compiled and the estimates made by the VFW during one of their membership studies in 2006.

If you do the math -- the comments make a great deal of sense. For instance - in 1964 the 1st shirt and three of my four platoon sgts were WW-II vets. Eight other NCOs had fought in Korea.

Taking 1962 as a starting point and using the casualty stat (average age at death 23.11) as a baseline, i.e. the average soldier in Vietnam was at least that old (whether it is spot on or not it will suffice), a vet would be in his/her mid-70's by 2015. Moving ahead to 1972, when all of the combat types withdrew, he/she would be in his mid-60's. Obviously some are younger and some are older. That makes the accelerating death rate make more sense.

You can find most of the other stuff in a plethora of references from "Stolen Valor" to a study done by CBS on draftee deaths. Many of the items are different depending on the baselines selected for the study. Most are within the range of these types of studies.

The stuff that references the Census -- I have no Idea where Colonel Maters got them, nor do I particularly care. It is the type of stuff that whips around the internet all the time and should be taken tongue in cheek unless you dig into the census data and confirm it somehow. Academicians thrive on this kind of thing and, who knows? Can it be researched and verified/debunked? Certainly. However, during the last census, I did answer a question as to whether I was a veteran and of which war/conflict.

Again. The top part is the important part.

Chuck