1st Recon, lead by then Staff Sgt. Jimmie Howard. They were inserted by helicopter to the top of Hill 488, some 20 miles west of Chu Lai. They didn’t know it then, but this patrol would become the most highly decorated single unit in the Vietnam War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJjYJURHNY
Contents
What unit lost the most soldiers in Vietnam?
The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. The Marine Corps lost 14,836, or 5 percent of its own men. The Navy fatalities were 2,556 or 2 percent. The Air Force lost 2,580 or l percent.
What was the bloodiest battle in Vietnam?
The 1968 Battle of Khe Sanh was the longest, deadliest and most controversial of the Vietnam War, pitting the U.S. Marines and their allies against the North Vietnamese Army.
Did soldiers really collect ears in Vietnam?
the routine practice of intentionally killing unarmed Vietnamese villagers including men, women, children, and elderly people. the routine practice of cutting off and collecting the ears of victims.incidents where soldiers planted weapons on murdered Vietnamese villagers.
Who was the most decorated helicopter pilot in Vietnam?
Patrick Henry Brady (born October 1, 1936), is a retired United States Army major general. While serving as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, he received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration for valor.
| Patrick Henry Brady | |
|---|---|
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat?
Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam.
What were the odds of dying in Vietnam?
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.
How many Huey helicopters were lost in Vietnam?
Helicopter Losses During the Vietnam War
There are specific tail numbers for 11,827 total helicopters that served in the Vietnam War from all branches of the service. 1,925 Hueys were lost in combat, while 1,380 were lost in operational accidents.
Where was the worst fighting in Vietnam?
The Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January – 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Quảng Trị Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War.
Where did Marines fight in Vietnam?
The Marines’ mission was split, with fighting against the North Vietnamese Army along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) toward the north, and a counterinsurgency operation waged against the Viet Cong in the villages in the south.
What was the best unit in Vietnam?
Top 10 Units in the Vietnam War
- # 8: The 18th Military Police Brigade.
- # 7: The 11th Calvary Regiment.
- # 6: The 1st Infantry Division.
- # 5: The 1st Brigade-5th Infantry Division.
- # 4: The 173rd Airborne Brigade.
- # 3: The 101st Airborne Division.
- # 2: The 25th Infantry Division.
- # 1: The 23rd Infantry Division.
What was so scary about the Vietnam War?
The fighting was intense and the results, the former soldiers say, were especially brutal. Villages were bombed, burned and destroyed. As the ground troops swept through, in many cases they gunned down men, women and children, sometimes mutilating bodies — cutting off ears to wear on necklaces.
What were the horrors of Vietnam War?
The brutality has been well documented: American soldiers raped, mutilated, and tortured the villagers before killing them; families were dragged from their homes, thrown into ditches and executed.
How many American soldiers died in the Battle of Ia Drang?
In the 43-day Ia Drang campaign, 545 Americans were killed. Enemy deaths have been estimated at 3,561. It was the greatest loss of American life in the Vietnam War at that point, and a premonition of how determined the enemy was.
How many helicopter pilots were killed in Vietnam?
Total helicopter pilots killed in the Vietnam War was 2,202. Total non-pilot crew members was 2704.
Who was too tall in We Were Soldiers?
We Were Soldiers (2002) – Mark McCracken as Capt. Ed ‘Too Tall’ Freeman – IMDb.
How many black soldiers served in Vietnam?
300,000 African-Americans
By lowering the education standards of the draft, an estimated 40% of the 246,000 draftees of Project 100,000 were Black. A total of 300,000 African-Americans served in Vietnam.
How old is the average Vietnam veteran?
EsƟmated 6.4M Vietnam Era Veterans. Ages range from 97 to 55 years old (born between 1918 and 1960). Median age is 68 years. An overwhelming majority of Vietnam Veterans are male (6.2M) while in the civilian populaƟon females (47.7M) outnumber males by 20.5M.
How many Desert Storm veterans are still alive?
1.68 million Veterans
More than 2.2 million U.S. service members served during the era and an estimated 694,550 deployed to the Gulf. An estimated 1.68 million Veterans from that era are still alive.
Did any American soldiers stay in Vietnam after the war?
It’s estimated that tens of thousands of veterans have returned to Vietnam since the 1990s, mostly for short visits to the places where they once served. Decades after the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) many former soldiers still wonder why they were fighting.
What was the life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam?
between 13 and 30 days
Vlach served with the 54th General Command as a door gunner on an UH1 “Huey” helicopter. “They were short of gunners on helicopters, because the life expectancy was somewhere between 13 and 30 days,” he said.
