Vietnam Memorial Wall

A little History about the Veitnam Memorial Wall,,, I salute all of them plus all that fought and served for are Country !! Thank You ! Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

"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

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.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 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 on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.

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 - 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. TET!

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 friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

I salute all my fallen Brother's and Sister's !

Theo, there are also 1700???(close enough) warriors that are still unaccounted for. There remains have never made it State-side. MIA/ KIA/BNR for all intensive purposes. Outstanding post my friend.

To quote my ex girlfriends 7 year old daughter at the time we we were visiting it, "Mom, this is so sad".

Wise beyond her years.

Richard S. wrote:To quote my ex girlfriends 7 year old daughter at the time we we were visiting it, "Mom, this is so sad".

freetown fred wrote:Wise beyond her years.

I was actually pretty surprised when she said it, that's exactly what she said. You could see the sadness in her face, she didn't have the same reaction to any of the other memorials but then again the others are not quite as unique as the Vietnam Memorial. Seeing all those names really sends it home even for a seven year old.

You can not visit this place and not be moved.

There are still more dying from the after effects of the war along with the way we were treated upon return, for many it was just too much to cope with & perhaps that's why so many try to make it better for the ones now returning, let us never forget.

Yesterday, I attended the WWII re enactment at the Reading Airport.[Penna]. I was asked to be a deignated driver for a vet that was one of the speakers in the Battle of the Bulge presentation.These men are all in their 80's and some near 90 these days.There were 4 veterans present that had that terrible experience.They all suffer to this day from the effects of frostbite gotten in the minus 10 degree weather of that battle.One man stated that of his platoon going into battle ,he was one of two men left out of 27 after it was over.The stories they told were things that put the attendees in a silent awe for these men and the men that are laid to rest over there.If you can find a WWII vet,shake his hand and acknowledge what they did for this world.They will appreciate that. They call them the Greatest Generation for very good reasons.God Bless Every One Of Them. Mike

I was there once, very moving. I was going into the local Home Depot once here in Bridgewater, NJ. I saw two dudes with motorcycles, they had some kind of Vietnam Vets logo on their jackets. I asked them if they were vets and they just looked at me and said yes. I simply said a heartfelt thanks. Looking back on that moment I wish I had have offered to buy them lunch.

There's a couple from the church I help take care of, they just had their 60th wedding anniversary party there. George still likes to dig in the gardens at the old church. He made it through Iwo Jima!! That's the Greatest Generation. Now we have a couple generations of kids that have no concept of the cost of freedom.

Despite all this the idiots in charge are clearly spoiling for the next one.

Obummer "I will only start a war that is absolutely necessary" the original non-desquitur - idiot.

Let's not forget the other side of this:

**Broken Link(s) Removed**