Received this information from an old Air Force buddy. Although it is not an actual story, it shares a powerful story we should all read and remember - for it contains a history lesson and unbelievable interesting statistics regarding the Vietnam Memorial Wall most people don’t even know.
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 each service member was taken from us by date. Within each date, the names are all alphabetized.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. He is 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 September 7, 1965.
It is interesting to note that there are three sets of fathers and sons on the 'Wall'.
What is amazing is that 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 years old or younger and 8,283 were just 19 years old. The largest age group of 33,103 were 18 years old.
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 each service member was taken from us by date. Within each date, the names are all alphabetized.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. He is 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 September 7, 1965.
It is interesting to note that there are three sets of fathers and sons on the 'Wall'.
What is amazing is that 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 years old or younger and 8,283 were just 19 years old. The largest age group of 33,103 were 18 years old.
12 names on the Wall were 17 years old and though it is hard to believe five were just 16 years old. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock, was only 15 years old.
997 names on the wall were killed on their first day in Vietnam and 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.
There are 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
There are also 31 sets of parents lost two of their sons.
54 men attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. (I wonder why so many were from one school?)
8 women are on the Wall, all nurses, who were tending to the wounded.
244 military personnel names were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are listed 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.
And don't forget about "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. After the games they enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail and stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. In the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted together as a group in the US Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966 however only three 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 and 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 were killed. Leroy was died on Wednesday, November 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 December 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The most casualty deaths for a single day in Viet Nam was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.
The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.
Most Americans who read this, will only see the numbers the Vietnam War created. For those of us who survived the war and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces and feel the pain these numbers created. We are, until we pass away, haunted with these numbers. These were our friends, our fathers, our husbands, our wives, our sons and our daughters.
Never forget - there are no noble wars, just noble warriors.
Please pass this on to your family and friends, especially all those who served or grew up during this time.
997 names on the wall were killed on their first day in Vietnam and 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.
There are 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
There are also 31 sets of parents lost two of their sons.
54 men attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. (I wonder why so many were from one school?)
8 women are on the Wall, all nurses, who were tending to the wounded.
244 military personnel names were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are listed 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.
And don't forget about "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. After the games they enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail and stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. In the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted together as a group in the US Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966 however only three 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 and 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 were killed. Leroy was died on Wednesday, November 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 December 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The most casualty deaths for a single day in Viet Nam was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.
The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.
Most Americans who read this, will only see the numbers the Vietnam War created. For those of us who survived the war and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces and feel the pain these numbers created. We are, until we pass away, haunted with these numbers. These were our friends, our fathers, our husbands, our wives, our sons and our daughters.
Never forget - there are no noble wars, just noble warriors.
Please pass this on to your family and friends, especially all those who served or grew up during this time.
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