I am working on a demographic on Vietnam for a kid in high school. please help/thanks

[MORTARDUDE]

A friend's son is in high school and has asked a lot of questions about Vietnam. The further we got into it, the more confused he bacame. I thought it would be helpful if the Vietnam era vets on here would answer these questions...thanks for your participation !! .. ( if you choose not to participate, I would like to know why, and I will include that in the matrix as well... if you choose not to answer a certain question, just put "pass" by it....if it doesn't apply to you just put "N/A" by it... )...I am going to use it to create a statistical matrix ..this kid is going to major in math in college and is a statistics "wizard"...

( note ..you can cut and paste the quiz in the reply box , to make it easier )

Larry

>>>>>>>>>

1. Did you physically set foot in South Vietnam from 1959- 1975 ? in Laos ? , in Cambodia ?, in North Vietnam ?
2. Did you spend your tour in a ship in the ocean just outside any of these countries ? or in an air force base in a surrounding country ? Which countries ?
3. Branch of service.
3A. Division, Battalion. Regiment, Company, etc....or in Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, the corresponding info.
4. Number of total months spent on the ground. If multiple tours, how many months spent on the ground for each one.
5. Your primary MOS ( military occupational specialty ) the number and description. If you had multiple MOSs while on the gound, list all of them and months in each one.
6. Your R & R experience. Total numbers received, including in-country ( i.e. Vung Tau ), and where you went.
7. Total number of Purple Hearts received.
8. Did you earn a Bronze Star medal ( with or without V device ), Army Commendation medal ( with or without V device), Silver Star, or a higher level medal from 1959 - 1975 ?
9. Recipient of a CIB ( Combat Infantry Badge ) ?
10. Recipient of a CMB ( Combat Medical Badge ) ?
11. How many people from the high school you graduated from were killed in Vietnam and are their names on the Wall ?
12. Have you been diagnosed with an Agent Orange related disease as recognized by the VA ?
13. Receive compensation from the VA for PTSD ?
13A. Retired from the military ? Number of toal years served in active duty only.
14. Have a claim pending with the VA for PTSD ?
15. Approximately how many helicopter air assaults did you make during your whole number of months in country.
16. Should Jane Fonda have been tried for treason ?
17. The one duty station or firebase or base camp ( where you were ) on the ground, that you remember the most ? Why ?
18. How many of what you would consider "close friends" were KIA in Vietnam while you were on the ground there ?
19. If you could sum up your experience in Vietnam in one word and one word only ( verb, nouns, proper word, or anything else.. )...what would that be ?
20. If you were able to imagine all the "atrocities" commited by Allied forces ( US, ARVN, Australia, ROK, etc. ) from 1959 - 1975 as a percentage of "atrocities" commited by all Communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia ( not counting the 2,500,000+ murdered by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1975 -78 )....what would that number be ?

>>>>

Thank you for your participation !! It is damned hard to explain Vietnam to the younger generation these days. It will be even harder 20 years from now. There are a lot of valuable lessons to be learned. It is incumbent on all of us to teach these lessons each and every day, so that it never, ever happens again..

May God Bless,

Larry

DEO VINDICE

[MORTARDUDE]

>>>>>>>>>

1. Did you physically set foot in South Vietnam from 1959- 1975 ?
in Laos ? , in Cambodia ?, in North Vietnam ?

yes, South Vietnam and Cambodia

2. Did you spend your tour in a ship in the ocean just outside any of these countries ? or in an air force base in a surrounding country ? Which countries ?

no, no

3. Branch of service.

US Army

3A. Division, Battalion. Regiment, Company, etc....or in Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, the corresponding info.

Co. C 3/22 and Co. B 2/22(M), 25th Infantry Division

4. Number of total months spent on the ground. If multiple tours, how many months spent on the ground for each one.

11.5 months, one tour

5. Your primary MOS ( military occupational specialty ) the number and description. If you had multiple MOSs while on the gound, list all of them and months in each one.

11C20 ( 81mm mortar crewman..indirect fire crewman and FDC ( fire direction control ) )


6. Your R & R experience. Total numbers received all tours combined, including in-country ( i.e. Vung Tau ), and where you went.

no in-country, 1 total, Sydney, Australia

7. Total number of Purple Hearts received.

none

8. Did you earn a Bronze Star medal ( with or without V device ), Army Commendation medal ( with or without V device), Silver Star, or a higher level medal from 1959 - 1975 ?

one Bronze Star..no V device...one Army Commendation..no V device, no medals higher

9. Recipient of a CIB ( Combat Infantry Badge ) ?

yes

10. Recipient of a CMB ( Combat Medical Badge ) ?

no

11. How many people from the high school you graduated from were killed in Vietnam and are their names on the Wall ?

two, yes

12. Have you been diagnosed with an Agent Orange related disease as recognized by the VA ?

no

13. Receive compensation from the VA for PTSD ?

no

13A. Retired from the military ? Number of total years served in active duty only.

no

14. Have a claim pending with the VA for PTSD ?

yes

15. Approximately how many helicopter air assaults did you make during your whole number of months ( all tours combined ) in country.

none

16. Should Jane Fonda have been tried for treason ?

yes

17. The one duty station or firebase or base camp ( where you were ) on the ground, that you remember the most, to this day ? Why ?

May 5, 1970 Rach Cai Bac river on border between Vietnam and Cambodia...pucker factor to the max
18. How many of what you would consider "close friends" ( who served with you on the ground ) were KIA in Vietnam while you were on the ground there ?

two

19. If you could sum up your experience in Vietnam in one word and one word only ( verb, adverb, pronoun, noun, proper name, or anything else.. )...what would that be ?

bewildering

20. If you were able to somehow imagine all the "atrocities" commited by Allied forces ( US, ARVN, Australia, ROK, etc. ) from 1959 - 1975 as a percentage of "atrocities" commited by all Communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia ( not counting the 2,500,000+ murdered by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1974 - 78 )....what would that number be ?

10%

[SuperScout]

1. Did you physically set foot in South Vietnam from 1959- 1975 ? in Laos ? , in Cambodia ?, in North Vietnam ? Yes, RVN and Cambodia.

2. Did you spend your tour in a ship in the ocean just outside any of these countries ? or in an air force base in a surrounding country ? Which countries ? No.

3. Branch of service. US Army
3A. Division, Battalion. Regiment, Company, etc....or in Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, the corresponding info. 1st tour: Co B, and HHC, 2-47th Infantry (Mech), 9th Inf Div. 2nd tour: Co D, 5-12th, and 3-7th Infantry , 199th Inf Bde, 2nd Civil Affairs Co., attached to MACV.

4. Number of total months spent on the ground. If multiple tours, how many months spent on the ground for each one. 12 in each tour

5. Your primary MOS ( military occupational specialty ) the number and description. If you had multiple MOSs while on the gound, list all of them and months in each one. Primarily infantry commander; also functioned as battalion supply officer, and Political Warfare/Psyops Officers.

6. Your R & R experience. Total numbers received, including in-country ( i.e. Vung Tau ), and where you went. In-country R&R at Vung Tau; out-of-country in Bangkok. Tour #2, I had moved my family to Taipei, went there several times on R&R and leave.

7. Total number of Purple Hearts received. 2

8. Did you earn a Bronze Star medal ( with or without V device ), Army Commendation medal ( with or without V device), Silver Star, or a higher level medal from 1959 - 1975 ? Yes. BSM w/3OLC, Air Medal w/OLC, ACM w/2OLC, ACM/V device, and DSC.

9. Recipient of a CIB ( Combat Infantry Badge ) ? Yes.

10. Recipient of a CMB ( Combat Medical Badge ) ? No.

11. How many people from the high school you graduated from were killed in Vietnam and are their names on the Wall ? Not certain.

12. Have you been diagnosed with an Agent Orange related
disease as recognized by the VA ? Not yet, and hopefully, not ever.

13. Receive compensation from the VA for PTSD ? Not yet.

13A. Retired from the military ? Number of toal years served in active duty only. 7+

14. Have a claim pending with the VA for PTSD ? Yes.

15. Approximately how many helicopter air assaults did you make during your whole number of months in country. Too many to remember, but to few to forget.

16. Should Jane Fonda have been tried for treason ? Yes.

17. The one duty station or firebase or base camp ( where you were ) on the ground, that you remember the most ? Why ? Camp Bearcat. We staged out of there, took a few warm showers there, and processed out of VN there.

18. How many of what you would consider "close friends" were KIA in Vietnam while you were on the ground there ? 4.

19. If you could sum up your experience in Vietnam in one word and one word only ( verb, nouns, proper word, or anything else.. )...what would that be ? Epochal.

20. If you were able to imagine all the "atrocities" commited by Allied forces ( US, ARVN, Australia, ROK, etc. ) from 1959 - 1975 as a percentage of "atrocities" commited by all Communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia ( not counting the 2,500,000+ murdered by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1975 -78 )....what would that number be ? <5%.

[MORTARDUDE]

Superscout :


Thanks ! That was perfect..

Larry

[Andy]

1. Did you physically set foot in South Vietnam from 1959- 1975 ? in Laos ? , in Cambodia ?, in North Vietnam ?
South Vietnam and one day in Cambodia (we were lost - really).

2. Did you spend your tour in a ship in the ocean just outside any of these countries ? or in an air force base in a surrounding country ? Which countries ?
No

3. Branch of service.
Army

3A. Division, Battalion. Regiment, Company, etc....or in Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, the corresponding info.
Co C 4/23rd Mech Inf, 25th Division
187th Assault helicopter Co. 1st Aviation brigade
Co C 52nd Infantry - independent

4. Number of total months spent on the ground. If multiple tours, how many months spent on the ground for each one.
One 12 months - one extension for 6 months - one extension for 9 months.

5. Your primary MOS ( military occupational specialty ) the number and description. If you had multiple MOSs while on the gound, list all of them and months in each one.
11B, light weapons infantry. 26 1/2 months.

6. Your R & R experience. Total numbers received, including in-country ( i.e. Vung Tau ), and where you went.
4 count them 4 R&R's to Bangkok, no in-country.

7. Total number of Purple Hearts received.
Three Purple Hearts.

8. Did you earn a Bronze Star medal ( with or without V device ), Army Commendation medal ( with or without V device), Silver Star, or a higher level medal from 1959 - 1975 ?
Two Bronze Star w/V, one Arcom no V, Air Medal

9. Recipient of a CIB ( Combat Infantry Badge ) ?
Yes

10. Recipient of a CMB ( Combat Medical Badge ) ?
No

11. How many people from the high school you graduated from were killed in Vietnam and are their names on the Wall ?
Five

12. Have you been diagnosed with an Agent Orange related disease as recognized by the VA ?
Yes, yes I have.

13. Receive compensation from the VA for PTSD ?
Yes.

13A. Retired from the military ? Number of toal years served in active duty only.
No.

14. Have a claim pending with the VA for PTSD ?
No.

15. Approximately how many helicopter air assaults did you make during your whole number of months in country.
36.

16. Should Jane Fonda have been tried for treason ?
Not sure. It would take too long to explain.

17. The one duty station or firebase or base camp ( where you were ) on the ground, that you remember the most ? Why ?
Tay Ninh, also known as rocket city. Never knew when you'd wake up dead.

18. How many of what you would consider "close friends" were KIA in Vietnam while you were on the ground there ?
Far too many. Depends on the definition of "close friend". Probably four but to my way of thinking about 18.

19. If you could sum up your experience in Vietnam in one word and one word only ( verb, nouns, proper word, or anything else.. )...what would that be ?
Hot.

20. If you were able to imagine all the "atrocities" committed by Allied forces ( US, ARVN, Australia, ROK, etc. ) from 1959 - 1975 as a percentage of "atrocities" committed by all Communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia ( not counting the 2,500,000+ murdered by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1975 -78 )....what would that number be ?
What is an atrocity? The tactic in WWII was to bomb cities, was that an atrocity? My only war crime was not killing an NVA.
Anti-war people might argue, with some justification 25%, other, more reasonable people might say 1%. The true is near the lower end of that range.
Stay healthy,
Andy

[MORTARDUDE]

"atrocities"..tried to make it as simple as I could...An atrocity is in the mind of the beholder..so to speak...or also depending on who "wins"...

Larry

[SuperScout]

Perhaps a more accurate description of what would qualify as an atrocity is if the deed was punishable under UCMJ. For example, killing an enemy combatant is not a crime, while murdering a combatant is. I think you understand!

[sfc_darrel]

1. Did you physically set foot in South Vietnam from 1959- 1975 ? in Laos ? , in Cambodia ?, in North Vietnam ? Yes, South Vietnam

2. Did you spend your tour in a ship in the ocean just outside any of these countries ?No or in an air force base in a surrounding country ?No Which countries ?

3. Branch of service. Army

3A. Division, Battalion. Regiment, Company, etc....or in Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, the corresponding info. MACV

4. Number of total months spent on the ground. If multiple tours, how many months spent on the ground for each one. 6

5. Your primary MOS ( military occupational specialty ) the number and description. If you had multiple MOSs while on the gound, list all of them and months in each one. 71LIMA

6. Your R & R experience. Total numbers received, including in-country ( i.e. Vung Tau ), and where you went. N/A

7. Total number of Purple Hearts received. 0

8. Did you earn a Bronze Star medal ( with or without V device ), Army Commendation medal ( with or without V device), Silver Star, or a higher level medal from 1959 - 1975 ? No

9. Recipient of a CIB ( Combat Infantry Badge ) ? No

10. Recipient of a CMB ( Combat Medical Badge ) ? No

11. How many people from the high school you graduated from were killed in Vietnam and are their names on the Wall ? None that I know of.

12. Have you been diagnosed with an Agent Orange related disease as recognized by the VA ? Not yet

13. Receive compensation from the VA for PTSD ? No

13A. Retired from the military ? Number of total years served in active duty only. 20

14. Have a claim pending with the VA for PTSD ? No

15. Approximately how many helicopter air assaults did you make during your whole number of months in country. Absolutely none!

16. Should Jane Fonda have been tried for treason ? YES!

17. The one duty station or firebase or base camp ( where you were ) on the ground, that you remember the most ? I was in Saigon. Why ? I was part of the 90 day prisoner exchange at the end of the war.

18. How many of what you would consider "close friends" were KIA in Vietnam while you were on the ground there ? None

19. If you could sum up your experience in Vietnam in one word and one word only ( verb, nouns, proper word, or anything else.. )...what would that be ? Children

20. If you were able to imagine all the "atrocities" commited by Allied forces ( US, ARVN, Australia, ROK, etc. ) from 1959 - 1975 as a percentage of "atrocities" commited by all Communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia ( not counting the 2,500,000+ murdered by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1975 -78 )....what would that number be ? <1

[revwardoc]

You say you want Vietnam era vets to answer the questions but the vast majority of the questions seem to be directed towards those vets who were in country. As an "era", but not Vietnam vet, I'll answer anyway.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. No.

2. I went TDY to Clark AB in the PI for 2 months.


3. USAF

3A. C Flight, 63rd OMS, 63rdMAW

4. None in 'Nam; exactly 4 years in the AF

5. APG, Jet over II

6.Since I wasn't in 'Nam I never had to go to R&R but did go TDY to Germany, Japan, the PI, Hawaii, Alaska and several of the lower 48 states.


7. none

8. Earned an Air Medal for sticking a very heavy pin into the landing gear of a C-141 in flight when the indicator light showed an "unlocked" position. Turns out it was a bad indicator and I wound up with a few torn muscles in my shoulder.

9. No

10. No

11. None

12. No

13. No

13A. No

14. No

15. None

16. No, but only because it wasn't a declared war though she should be ostracized.

17. None in 'Nam but spent most of my tour at Norton AFB in San Bernardino, CA.

18.One
19. Since I wasn't there, you know the answer.

20. Since I haven't done any research on that, I could give a good answer.

[Gunner]

1. Did you physically set foot in South Vietnam from 1959- 1975 ? in Laos ? , in Cambodia ?, in North Vietnam ?

1. Vietnam, Cambodia

2. Did you spend your tour in a ship in the ocean just outside any of these countries ? or in an air force base in a surrounding country ? Which countries ?

2.No

3. Branch of service.

U.S. Army

3A. Division, Battalion. Regiment, Company, etc....or in Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, the corresponding info.

3a. "C" Btry 3rd Bn. 82nd Arty, 196th Light Infantry Brigade
3a.1. "B" Btry 3rd Bn. 34th Arty, 9th Infantry Division

4. Number of total months spent on the ground. If multiple tours, how many months spent on the ground for each one.

4. 12 1/2

5. Your primary MOS ( military occupational specialty ) the number and description. If you had multiple MOSs while on the gound, list all of them and months in each one.

5. 13E20 - Field Intelligence Asst.

6. Your R & R experience. Total numbers received, including in-country ( i.e. Vung Tau ), and where you went.

6. 2 - 1st : Tiapei, Tiawan
- 2nd : Tokyo, Japan

7. Total number of Purple Hearts received.

7. None

8. Did you earn a Bronze Star medal ( with or without V device ), Army Commendation medal ( with or without V device), Silver Star, or a higher level medal from 1959 - 1975 ?

8. No

9. Recipient of a CIB ( Combat Infantry Badge ) ?

9. No

10. Recipient of a CMB ( Combat Medical Badge ) ?

10. No

11. How many people from the high school you graduated from were killed in Vietnam and are their names on the Wall ?

11 Zero (Thank God)

12. Have you been diagnosed with an Agent Orange related disease as recognized by the VA ?

12. No - won't have anything to do with VA

13. Receive compensation from the VA for PTSD ?

13. No No - won't have anything to do with VA

13A. Retired from the military ? Number of toal years served in active duty only.

13A. No

14. Have a claim pending with the VA for PTSD ?

14. No - won't have anything to do with VA

15. Approximately how many helicopter air assaults did you make during your whole number of months in country.

15. At least 60 (both with artillery unit and as an RTO wth "B" company 3rd Bn. 31st Infantry.

16. Should Jane Fonda have been tried for treason ?

16. This question needs to be reworded; it's not "should have been tried" but "hung how many times".

17. The one duty station or firebase or base camp ( where you were ) on the ground, that you remember the most ? Why ?

17. Basecamp (Tay Ninh). Six days after the 196ths' arrival lost two close buddies to a mortar attach on Aug. 20th, 1966.

18. How many of what you would consider "close friends" were KIA in Vietnam while you were on the ground there ?

18. 6

19. If you could sum up your experience in Vietnam in one word and one word only ( verb, nouns, proper word, or anything else.. )...what would that be ?

19. Traumatic

20. If you were able to imagine all the "atrocities" commited by Allied forces ( US, ARVN, Australia, ROK, etc. ) from 1959 - 1975 as a percentage of "atrocities" commited by all Communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia ( not counting the 2,500,000+ murdered by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1975 -78 )....what would that number be ?

20. .01%