This was long before the advent of integrated computer databases. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. But you had stories of guys in the Air Force who would die in their aircraft over Thailand after having been shot over Vietnam. Technically, they were ineligible for inclusion on the Wall. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. Access to Non-Archival Military Service Records is limited. I looked at the record to determine whether mortal wounds were sustained, Doubek said of the men whose names were listed by the Army, but not by DoD. Army Major Dale Buis' name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . 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. 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. The event begins on November 7, 2022 at 3 p.m. EST and ends at midnight on November 10, 2022. It is hard to believe it has been 36 years since the last casualties. 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). At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. The panel numbers are inscribed at the bottom of each panel. The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75 percent of Army enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. 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. However, there have been no such cases. It gives the names in alphabetical order and . 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. 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 . Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. 1970 NAID 570973, State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists sorted Alphabetically by Last Name, List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (196165) Wikipedia, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group A (Recoverable), 1941-1975, U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975, Vietnamw-Era POW/MIA Databases & Documents. Doubek contacted the National Personnel Records Center, Archives and Records Service, in St. Louis, Mo. Fill out the tour request form. Thus, there were 211,455 killed and wounded, or one in every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam. Some have tried for years before receiving approval from DoD. VVMF does not have the authority to overrule those who adjudicate these matters. the requirements were expanded (by. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Look for clues about where he or she lived and served. He accepted the tradition of military service passed on to him by the popular culture and by President John F. Kennedys ringing words, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! 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. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Only 3 returned home. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, MA; he was listed by theDepartment of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. Every day at 3:00 p.m. EST, VVMF will play a daily reading of all the individuals who died upon that day in alphabetical order. "Home of record" does not necessarily refer to the place of birth, residence of next of kin, place of longest residence, nor other common uses of the term "hometown." The officer corps casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. the reader loses composure. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. For men who registered for the draft prior to 1976, the only Selective Service System information available is that of the individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) and Classification History (SSS Form 102) records. And they all went to Vietnam. 8 Women are on the Wall. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. You must refer to a database, which gives the names in alphabetical order and includes the position of each on the Memorial. Names that become eligible for inclusion are added once each year, in May, a few weeks before Memorial Day. The Vietnam War was no different. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. Some are drawn to the Wall like pilgrims to Mecca. By and large, with the exception of the officer corps, most of the college bound and educated skipped the Vietnam War at the urging of, and with the approval of, their own government. World War II had been, for the most part, a perfect war, clear of purpose, the forces of democracy and freedom lined up against the forces of fascism and tyranny. The memorial consists of three separate parts: The Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, also known as The Wall That Heals, which is the most popular feature. Hed volunteered to join a small U.S. military advisory team attached to the South Vietnamese army, and hed been in the village of Bien Hoa for only two days. 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. An Air Force member, with his back to the camera, holds the POW/MIA flag during a full honors funeral for Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer at Arlington National Cemetery on October 27, 2000. All would be represented equally, with generals listed alongside infantrymen. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In some instances, names needed to be shuffled in order to fit on a line. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. I could tell you about how real the fear was that I felt, since from the time we crossed the Delta and made the run into Saigon, we were over enemy territory. The central idea of the poem is that the Vietnamese War took hundreds of lives away from the United States of America. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. And there is an end. Names can also be located on The Wall of Faces on VVMFs web site, www.vvmf.org/wall-of-faces, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. Millions more come to experience this Memorial each year. Most of the young American enlisted men who served in Vietnam were not college prospects at the time they entered the service. Officer casualties in Vietnam, including warrant officers, numbered 7,874, or 13.5 percent of all casualties. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. With this list in hand, he went to the various locations where individual service records were kept to review files. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 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. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. The Navy fatalities were 2,556 or 2 percent. Though blessed with talent, his life wasnt without struggles. The first Americans to die did not perish in a foxhole or beneath stars obscured by a jungle canopy. We worked very hard with volunteers from the Gold Star Mothers, recalled Doubek. Only 10 percent of enlisted men had even some college to their credit and only 1 percent were college graduates. 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 beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. The Selective Service System it said, has the responsibility to deliver manpower to the armed forces in such a manner as to reduce to a minimum any adverse effect upon the national health, safety, interest and progress. Since its controversial beginnings, feelings toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have changed drastically. Senate. Of the 8000 Coast guardsmen who served in Vietnam, 3 officers and 4 enlisted men were killed and 59 were wounded. 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. Look at the bottom of each panel on the wall for its number. Why are names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall? 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. Though 13 were rescued at sea, the rest died, either upon impact or soon after. All classes were drafted or volunteered and all served and died equally, although it must be noted that most blacks died separately. The article was written by Bill Abbott, an independent researcher and writer. 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. As she wisely predicted, this would help bring the veterans back in timeand a cathartic healing would occur for many by facing this loss again..