FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.
~ As of the current Census taken
during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard to believe, losing
nearly 711,000 between '95 and '00. That's 390 per day. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming
to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.
The
truth alway seems to come out. Even though it's 40 years ago better late then never! Feel free to pass this around
to any of your friends who might not know the real truth about those who served during the Vietnam War. Particularly those
families who lost someone killed or wounded in action. They have had to endure the many myths and falsehoods for years.Maybe
this will make up for just some of the crap they have has to listen too..
dk USMC 965-1969
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH VIETNAM 1966-1967
December 13, 2005
Nick Bacon
USA 1SGT (RET.)
Medal of Honor Recipient
After my retirement in 1984 from the U.S. Army, I worked for the VA Regional Office in Phoenix, AZ as a contact representative
and as an adjudicator of claims. After a short period with VARO, I resigned and helped John McCain in his race for the U.S.
Senate. Of course, John won and I went on to become a City Manager in Surprise, AZ for 3 years.
When I moved to Arkansas in 1990, I returned to assisting veterans with their claims. In 1993 I was appointed to
the position of State Director of Veterans Affairs where I spent the next 12 years helping veterans and their families.
I was always surprised at the number of people claiming to have been Military Veterans, especially Vietnam Veterans.
After opening the Arkansas State Veteran Cemetery several years ago, I was shocked to see so many of my VN brothers being
buried. Then I received the following fact sheet from my good friend Major General (Ret.) David R. Bockel, Director
of Army Affairs, Reserve Officers Association.
After the shock wears off, please send this information to all your address banks and local media. After so many years
of misleading reports and unpleasant media comments; lets disseminate to this country the real truth, as painful as it may
be.
My son, my younger brother, my nephews are still serving in harms way in the war on terrorism. Let's not let them be
treated like we were so many years ago - Fight Now, Fight Strong and Fight as long as we have to.
God Bless America
&
God Bless Our Veterans
Nick Bacon
* * * * * *
Subject: Vietnam Facts vs Fiction
For over 30 years I....like many Vietnam veterans....seldom spoke of Vietnam, except with other veterans, when training
soldiers, and in public speeches. These past five years I have joined the hundreds of thousands who believe it is high time
the truth be told about the Vietnam War and the people who served there. It's time the American people learn that the United
States military did not lose the War, and that a surprisingly high number of people who claim to have served there, in fact,
DID NOT.
As Americans, support the men and women involved in the War on Terrorism, the mainstream media are once again working
tirelessly to undermine their efforts and force a psychological loss or stalemate for the United States. We cannot stand by
and let the media do to today's warriors what they did to us 35 years a go.
Below are some assembled some facts most readers will find interesting. It isn't a long read, but it will....I guarantee....teach
you some things you did not know about the Vietnam War and those who served, fought, or died there. Please share it with those
with whom you communicate.
Vietnam War Facts:
Facts, Statistics, Fake Warrior Numbers, and Myths Dispelled
9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964
to May 7, 1975.
2,709,918 Americans served in uniform
in Vietnam
Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their
generation.
240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor
during the Vietnam War
The first man to die in Vietnam
was James Davis, in 1958. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named for him.
58,148 were killed in Vietnam
75,000 were severely disabled
23,214 were 100% disabled
5,283 lost limbs
1,081 sustained multiple amputations
Of those killed,
61% were younger than 21
11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years
old
Of those killed, 17,539 were married
Average age of men killed: 23.1 years
Five men
killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.
The oldest
man killed was 62 years old.
As of January 15, 2 004,
there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War
97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged
91%
of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served
74%
say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome
Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups.
Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.
87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem.
There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source:
Veterans Administration Study)
Vietnam Veterans are
less likely to be in prison - only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.
85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.
Interesting Census Stats and "Been There" Wanabees:
1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures).
~ During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958.
~ As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511.
This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between '95 and '00. That's 390 per day. During this Census count, the
number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO
CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.
The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index
officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served
in-country. Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel
confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense. (All names are currently on file
and accessible 24/7/365).
Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers
produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they
received hardly any media mention at all. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while
North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received
prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated
36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who
improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. - Nixon Presidential Papers
Common Myths Dispelled:
Myth: Common Belief is that most Vietnam veterans
were drafted.
Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam
were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were
volunteers.
Myth: The media have reported that suicides among
Vietnam veterans range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran population.
Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. "The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed
that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than
non-Vietnam veterans. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than
non-Vietnam veterans. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans'
group.
Myth: Common belief is that a disproportionate number
of blacks were killed in the Vietnam War.
Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians,
12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, in their recently published
book "All That We Can Be," said they analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder during Vietnam "and can report
definitely that this charge is untrue. Black fatalities amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in Southeast
Asia – a figure proportional to the number of blacks in the U.S. population at the time and slightly lower than the
proportion of blacks in the Army at the close of the war."
Myth: Common belief is that the war was fought largely
by the poor and uneducated.
Fact: Servicemen who went
to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry
officers. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school
education or better.
Here are statistics from the Combat
Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall): Average
age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both
event date and birth date. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing
in action)
Deaths Average Age
Total: 58,148
23.11 years
Enlisted:
50,274 22.37 years
Officers: 6,598
28.43 years
Warrants: 1,276
24.73 years
E1
525 20.34 years
11B MOS: 18,465 22.55 years
Myth: The common belief is the average age of an infantryman
fighting in Vietnam was 19.
Fact:: Assuming KIAs accurately
represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old
is a myth, it is actually 22. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. The average man
who fought in World War II was 26 years of age.
Myth: The Common belief is that the domino theory
was proved false.
Fact: The domino theory was accurate.
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed
free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's
commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south
of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the
war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism.
Myth: The common belief is that the fighting in
Vietnam was not as intense as in World War II.
Fact:
The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman
in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. One out of every 10 Americans
who served in Vietnam was a casualty. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Although the percent
that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II ....75,000
Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted
(nearly half were American). The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. As a result,
less than one percent of all Americans wounded, who survived the first 24 hours, died. The helicopter provided
unprecedented mobility. Without the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border
with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure
the border).
Myth: Kim Phuc, the little nine year old Vietnamese
girl running naked from the napalm strike near Trang Bang on 8 June 1972.....shown a million times on American television....was
burned by Americans bombing Trang Bang.
Fact: No American
had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. The planes doing the bombing near the village
were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground.
The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. Even the AP photographer, Nick
Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. The incident in the photo took place on the second day of a three day battle between
the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who occupied the village of Trang Bang and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) who
were trying to force the NVA out of the village. Recent reports in the news media that an American commander ordered the air
strike that burned Kim Phuc are incorrect. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. "We (Americans) had nothing
to do with controlling VNAF," according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC
at that time. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. They were
Kim's cousins not her brothers.
Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam.
Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence.
>From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike,
a professor at the University of California, Berkley a major military defeat for the VC and NVA.
THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE DID. Read on........
The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years
AFTER the American military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973.
How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting?
We fought to an agreed stalemate. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. It called for release
of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides' forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to
peaceful reunification. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians
and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast
Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 then there were during the ten years the U.S.
was involved in Vietnam. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese,
Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War
movement in the United States.
As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported
and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided
defeat for the U.S. forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the
Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered
by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was
a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete,
if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South
never recovered. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena.
This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. However, inaccurately reported,
the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous.
Please give all credit and research to:
Capt. Marshal Hanson, U.S.N.R (Ret.)
Capt. Scott Beaton, Statistical Source
