Viet Nam Wall Info!

 

"Carved on these walls is the story of America , of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."
~ President George Bush

The Wall

Berry-Cell 571 733 7478

Give him the times so he can set up a tour and notify the Park Service of the ceremony

Also, contact the chaplain for place and time.

Viet Nam Wall Statistics

SOMETHING to think about - Most of the surviving Parents are now Deceased.
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.
Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E - May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W - continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975.  Thus the war's beginning and end meet.  The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle's open side and contained within the earth itself.
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.
The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old 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. 
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, Az. - 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 patriotic 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 Brothers in Arms, friends, fathers, husbands, wife's, sons and daughters.

There are no noble wars, just Noble Warriors.
Additional Viet Nam Wall Information!
Click on the link and find the city you went to high school and look at the names
Click on the name and it will give details of the death.
First click on a state.  When it opens, scroll down to the city and the names will appear.
Then click on their names.
It should show you a picture of the person, or at least their bio and medals.
This really is an amazing web site.
Someone spent a lot of time and effort to create it.
I hope that everyone who receives this appreciates what those who served in Vietnam sacrificed for our country.
The link below is a virtual wall of all those lost during the Vietnam war with the names, bio's and other information on our lost heroes.
Those who remember that time frame, or perhaps lost friends or family can look them up on this site.
Pass the link on to others, as many knew wonderful people whose names are here.

Per VVMF:

"On Monday March 26th, CBS Nightly news will feature a story about the Education Center at The Wall.  Most people are not aware that this facility will have a number of purposes - including paying tribute to the fallen from Afghanistan and Iraq with a stunning display of Photos of the Fallen.   At the Center millions of visitors will be enlisted to do volunteer work in their local communities as a way to pay tribute to America's heroes who have sacrificed to preserve our nation and to keep our freedoms beginning in 1775 to the present.  This emotional piece will sure to be unforgettable. Be sure to tune in to CBS NEWS Monday night.  The correspondent is Barry Peterson.  CBS used some very talented people to produce this segment.

Finally the story of the Center is being told.  Learn more at www.buildthecenter.org

If you are in Washington D.C. on Monday, join us at 10 AM at the Wall, where VVMF will be hosting the 30th anniversary of the Groundbreaking.

The keynote speaker will be Brigade General George Price USA, (Ret.).

The following is a recent video of General Price honoring African Americans in Vietnam for for Black History Month."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5cbObLYk58&list=UUITZrATxpAtsmi0xLeRLsLg&index=2&feature=plcp