And they often show a heartbreakingly wry sense of humor with the same sensibilities as their college-bound peers. The concluding episode, titled "Stories from the Wall", aired May 29, 2000, a year after Fitzgibbon's name was added to the Vietnam Memorial. The oldest GI killed in Vietnam was 62 years old. Answer (1 of 2): Dan Bullock (December 21, 1953 - June 7, 1969) was a United States Marine and the youngest U.S. serviceman killed in action during the Vietnam War, dying at the age of 15. The Army suffered the most total casualties, 38,179 or 2.7 percent of its force. None of that geopolitical theater especially mattered when the satchel charge came through the firing slot of Dan Bullocks bunker, though. This biographical article related to the United States Marine Corps is a stub. The DOD database shows that of the 2,100,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 58,152 were killed. If officers are added, then almost 70 percent of those who died were volunteers. When he exited the club, he saw Fitzgibbon across the street playing with some local children and giving out candy. The shining surface is intended to reflect the sun, the ground and those who stand before it. His body was flown to the United States early Thursday morning.. In early February, his mother and father went to their son's colleagues and handed over a large humanitarian cargo to the . Lt. Pharis E. Weekley, 21, of Bradley Junction, Florida, was killed during World War II and his remains were unaccounted for until July 12, 2022. Nguyen Van Thieu, president of South Vietnam, and President Richard M. Nixon, on Midway Island. While the teams normally operated out of three-quarter-ton trucks, essentially pickup trucks, this time they requested three bigger 2-ton cargo trucks to carry a larger security group, a response to an ambush earlier that month near Duc Hoa. 4 James T. Tom Davis, age 25, the first American to die in a ground combat action in Vietnam. 4 William Bergman, a member of the radio research unit, said in email correspondence with this articles author, The sad thing about the ambush is, that four days earlier on Dec. 18, we had obtained a fix on the enemys transmitter. These casualties came largely from the Northeast and North Central regions of the United States, many from the traditionally patriotic, Catholic working class neighborhoods. At first he struggled to make it through, but was able to do so with the help of one of his fellow recruits. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. When he enlisted in the Marines last Sept. 18, he was 14. [10] His name was added to "The Wall" in 1983, after successful efforts by his son, Lt. Col. Harry G. Cramer III USAR, then an active-duty Army officer, to get DoD to acknowledge his father's death, as well as the presence of MAAG forces in Vietnam years prior to the officially recognized date of 1961. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. The young man died in the line of military duty in December, he was 20 years old. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. As for what may have drawn Bullock to the Marines in the first place, Christian Appy, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the author of American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity, said that for many African-Americans, the military was a particular kind of prospect. Its a contradiction deepened by Dan Bullocks age, and the fact that he should have been in high school, not in a bunker in Quang Nam Province. Many others joined the reserves or National Guard, which were not mobilized in any appreciable numbers during the war. Inscription at the beginning of The Wall. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives. On January 27, 1973, about 11 hours before the cease fire marking the official end of American involvement in the Vietnam War, Colonel William Nolde, US Army, age 43, was killed by artillery fire at An Loc, South Vietnam. Navy Lieutenant Commander Leo Hester died March 10, 1967 in an aircraft crash. Manage Settings By dawn, five Marines had been killed, but the attack had been repelled. Copyright, Frank Mt. Lt. Col. Cramer asked that his father's name simply be added to the center (1E) stone, out of sequence, but it is still clearly listed in the chronological book at "The Wall" as 1957, not 1959. The slabs meet at a vertex of 125 degrees, 10 feet above ground level to form the Wall. Esmated 6.4M Vietnam Era Veterans. Ages range from 97 to 55 years old (born between 1918 and 1960). It may come as a surprise to some that 63.3 percent of all Vietnam enlisted casualties were not draftees but volunteers. 4 Tom Davis (left) of Livingston, Tenn., who was killed 12/22/61 near Duc Noa, South Vietnam, while serving as an adviser to South Vietnamese troops. How Does A Veteran Receive His Purple Heart. However, Davis, an experienced radio direction finder, kept his watch in a breast pocket so it would not interfere with the direction-finding process. The 1970 census which is being used as our Vietnam era population base did not list an Hispanic count but gave an estimate of 4.5 percent of the American population. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. When the bomb went off that blew up their bunker, no one couldve lived, said Mr. Rairden, who was a private first class at the time. The oldest to die in the Vietnam War was 62 years-old. The similar operations conducted by radio research teams in recent weeks had not gone unnoticed by communist forces in the area. The Fitzgibbons' deaths were the first of only three instances among all U.S. casualties in which both father and son were killed in the Vietnam War. Don't overpay for pet insurance. Hutchison served in Afghanistan for a year before deploying to Iraq in October, heading a 12-soldier team that trained the Iraqi military, his brother said. He apparently did not inform his family until he had his papers. Nolde thus became the last official US combat casualty of that war, and a footnote in history.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'historyandheadlines_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',140,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyandheadlines_com-medrectangle-3-0'); William Nolde was more than an historical footnote, however, a real life person and patriot, a husband, and a decorated soldier (veteran of the Korean War as well as Vietnam War), and had worked as a college professor at Central Michigan University prior to his military career. Who was the youngest soldier killed in Vietnam? In honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Adding to the problem was Project 100,000. Through the AFQT process, the men scoring in the higher categories were more likely to be channeled into further specialized training and eventually assigned to technical and administrative units. The 58,152 names of those who died in Vietnam are etched onto the two rising black marble slabs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Oldest WW2 Soldier, who died aged 92 in 1946 Simple History 4.2M subscribers Join Subscribe 46K Share Save 1.1M views 1 year ago Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. UPI - The Vietnam War Afterward he was selected for radio direction finding school, where the Army sent its most promising ASA students to learn how to locate enemy communications signals. Of 2,590 total Air Force casualties, 1,674 or 65 percent were officers. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. A 60-year-old Vietnam War veteran who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has become the oldest Army soldier to die in that conflict, the military said Thursday. The term radio research was chosen to disguise the units secret connection to the ASA. This uneven impact was caused by a number of factors: (1) While the South was home to some 53 percent of all blacks in the 1970 census, almost 60 percent of black casualties came from the South; (2) Although we cannot be as precise, we do know that a considerable majority of Hispanic-American casualties came from the West, (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado) and the South (Texas); (3) Better employment opportunities in the Northeast reduced the number of volunteers; (4) Greater college matriculation in the Northeast increased the number of status deferments for the regions 17- to 24- year olds; (5) More anti-war sentiment in the media and on college campuses in the Northeast. Operation Whitebirch was a 77-man unit established to target Viet Cong communication transmitters. As Bullocks father told a Times reporter in 1969, My son had no business in that damn war.. The death of William Nolde was treated as a national event, with President Nixon and General Alexander Haig in attendance at the burial at Arlington National Cemetery, an event aired on national television. There were people who would say older uncles and fathers who would say Listen, in our society, yeah, the military might be authoritarian and hierarchical, but its more of a meritocracy, theres more opportunity for people like us than practically any other area of American society, Prof. Appy said. Since the days of Alexander the Great and the Roman Legions, it has always been the young, inexperienced, low-ranking enlisted man who has taken the brunt of combat casualties. World War II had been, for the most part, a perfect war, clear of purpose, the forces of democracy and freedom lined up against the forces of fascism and tyranny. Theyre superstitious about a lot of things, but with Dan, they were dead on. Their sons, if not college material, made up a significant part of the volunteers and draftees. Davis was buried in his hometown at Livingstons Good Hope Cemetery on Jan. 3, 1962. As Maya Ling Lin, the architect of the Wall, has said: It was as if the black-brown earth were polished and made into an interface between the sunny world and the quiet dark world beyond that we cannot enter. Despite his youth, he was physically solid at about 5 feet 9 inches and 160 pounds and managed to get through the notoriously grueling Marine boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and then on to Vietnam without being found out. The attackers quickly fled. ARMY AND MARINE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. Frederick was 21 years old & from Somerville, Massachusetts. Operation Choppers success was directly attributed to the Americans of the 3rd Radio Research Unit and their Vietnamese counterparts, who diligently searched for and located the transmitterfor which Davis and nine ARVN soldiers paid the ultimate price. Press Esc to cancel. January 27, 1973: The Last American Combat Casualty of the Vietnam War, Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through March 1st, 2023). https://www.historynet.com/names-on-the-wall-a-closer-look-at-those-who-died-in-vietnam/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary. About two minutes later, I saw a black plume rise vertically from the roadbed, Bergman said. They were so quiet. Many of the 17- and 18-year olds were simply late in maturing. One team had to use a three-quarter-ton truckand thus fewer security personnel. Im serious. For more stories from Vietnam magazine, subscribe and visit us on Facebook. Steve Piscitelli was a lance corporal in the Marines who had enlisted at 18. Often that advice, especially for professional athletes, rock stars, sons of politicians and other celebrities, was to join the never-to-be-called-up reserves or National Guard. There was no superstition. The resulting aptitude scores were used to classify entrants into four categories and this would, for the most part, determine their subsequent assignments. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the Historical Evidence sections of articles. [6][7] Bullock graduated from boot camp on December 10, 1968. 151, First & Last Soldier Killed in Vietnam War. On the morning of Dec. 22, 1961, three trucks carrying members of the 3rd Radio Research Unit, their intelligence counterparts in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and an ARVN security detail rolled out the gate of their compound at Tan Son Nhut Air Base on the outskirts of Saigon. It was just as surreal as any Joseph Heller book, said Mr. Piscitelli, who was eventually sent home from Vietnam after being wounded three separate times. He is accused of murdering 19-year . They Say He Burned Down the Reichstag. He was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base, west of Hi An in Qung Nam Province. I shouldve known he was 15, I shouldve guessed it.. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. Davis then ran west on the gravel road, turning and firing his carbine to draw enemy fire toward himself and away from other team members. Sad to say, many of these recruitment promises were fudged in one way or another, and many of these young men found themselves shipped directly to Vietnam after basic training. The burden of combat fell on the very available non-college-bound young. Thank you! Who was the oldest soldier killed in the Vietnam War? [5][6], For 43 years, Fitzgibbon's death was regarded by the United States government as too early to be classified as a Vietnam War casualty. From there, we were to bank to the left and begin our descent to the LZ about 5 clicks [kilometers/3 miles] to the south. Pfc. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. According to the drivers account, recalled by Bergman, the Viet Cong had set off a remotely detonated mine (later determined to be a Czechoslovakian-made artillery shell) buried in the road. Keith Springle, a Navy commander, was in Iraq because it was his duty as a military clinical social worker. FAQ: How To Get Veteran License Plates In Texas? The oldest soldier to be killed in Iraq fought in Vietnam and decided to re-enlist at the age of 59 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the death of his wife, according to his brother. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J.; Spc. A San Diego judge had a defendants 13-year-old daughter handcuffed. Each team consisted of one American, several ARVN radio technicians and a small detachment of ARVN security personnel. Find Soldiers Killed In Ambush Attack stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Those who could have qualified for college probably did not have the funds or motivation. The oldest American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was 62 years old. The three Dec. 22 teams needed to complete their mission and get out as fast as possible. The highly skilled, highly trained and highly secret 92-man contigent of the 3rd Radio Research Unit arrived at Tan Son Nhut on May 13, 1961. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. John Kennedy, discussing military assignments, said that, life is unfair. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. As one walks the Wall slowly, examining the ineffably American names, one is struck by the same recurring surnames. It forces us to the conclusion that many of those names on the wall were kids who just couldnt quite get it together in high school, a little late in maturing intellectually, and didnt have the resources or the guile to get out of the way when the war came. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of Lenox, Mo. But as the Vietnam War went on, that promise faded. [5], When he was 14 years old, he altered the date on his birth certificate to show that he was born December 21, 1949. That was Davis team. Decisions were placed in the hands of teenagers. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. (Davis family via Mark Raab), https://www.historynet.com/first-us-soldier-killed-vietnam/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. They were at their peak physically. How many Vietnamese citizens died in the Vietnam War? After leaving the Navy, he joined the United States Air Force, rising through the ranks to become a Technical Sergeant. Private First Class Bullock arrived in South Vietnam on May 18, 1969, and was assigned as a rifleman in 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company F, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Andrew Peters, 28, was serving as a member of . FAQ The officer corps casualties alone would satisfy that judgment, but that is not the same as being representative. He accepted the tradition of military service passed on to him by the popular culture and by President John F. Kennedys ringing words, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. Bergman watched as Davis proceeded west on the road. [4] He said he wanted to become a pilot, a police officer, or a U.S.