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Statement by the President on Change of Condolence Letter Policy

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The writer A.Alvarez once spoke of suicide as the savage God. In polite society we may just consider it a savage subject. Yet with the staggering number of suicides on a monthly basis the topic begs to be tamed and spoken of as the “women come and go and speak of Michaelangelo.”

 

“A black stormcloud of pain shrouded Achilles/ On is bowed head he scattered dust and ash/in handfuls and befouled his beautiful face/ letting black ash sift on his fragrant khiton/ Then in the dust he stretched his giant length and tore his hair with both hands.”  Homer

While this explosive display of anguish and pain is the by product of war, you will not see it reported on the evening news.  The proverbial, “tearing ones hair out,” is a clear metaphor for the intolerable pain and psychic suffering that is part of the package called combat.  Some gentle souls, frequently those with a solid moral upbringing, simply do not have the mettle or internal tools to cope. They do indeed warrant consolation.

We just recently celebrated the author Ernest Hemingway.  A reminder is in order that this man served in five wars and also had head injuries. He committed suicide. The burden of memory overcame him.

Many military historians speak of the storied legend of the Lost Battalion of WWI. These men were surrounded for days by the Germans. Had no food or water, yet they continued to fight. Major C.W Whittlesey maintained cohesion and refused to surrender and emboldened his dwindling survivors to fight forward. For this bravery, the Major was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. This story is well known to the Army archivists. What is not reported is that Whittlesey committed suicide just after the war.

 

Us Vietnam veterans are reminded of the phrase and poem;  “Chesty Puller is Not On The Wall.”  The legendary Marine General Chesty Puller’s son committed suicide after the war.

 

Admiral Zumwalt’s son committed suicide.

 

I wonder if the parents of these noble men thought that condolences were in order?

 

 

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        
July 6, 2011

Statement by the President on Change of Condolence Letter Policy


As Commander in Chief, I am deeply grateful for the service of all our men and women in uniform, and grieve for the loss of those who suffer from the wounds of war – seen and unseen.  Since taking office, I’ve been committed to removing the stigma associated with the unseen wounds of war, which is why I’ve worked to expand our mental health budgets, and ensure that all our men and women in uniform receive the care they need.

As a next step and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the military chain of command, I have also decided to reverse a long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to a combat zone. This decision was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy, and I did not make it lightly.  This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely.  They didn’t die because they were weak.  And the fact that they didn’t get the help they needed must change.  Our men and women in uniform have borne the incredible burden of our wars, and we need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation.

Veterans Benefits

Guitars For Vets

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This is absolutely the pinnacle of compassion! Having experienced PTSD early on after Vietnam, I was simply not able to pull together the concentration needed to play music and it drove me nuts. Just now at 63 years old I am again trying to tinker with the piano.  One day someone amongst us will write a love song about Vietnam. All the others are sad, mad and bad. We do have some moments of loving actions to share from our war time experiences. A bunch of guitars across America would make for one helluva of  Veteran Band! God Bless the founders of this gratitude filled charity.
About Guitars for Vets

Copyright music and lyrics reproduced by kind permission of Special Rider — for original, exclusive performances by Bob Dylan, check-out the official channel at youtube.com/bobdylan.

Guitars for Vets, Inc. (G4V) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that enhances the lives of ailing and injured military veterans by providing them with guitars and music instruction. Through self-expression and the healing power of music, it is our intent to restore the feelings of joy and purpose that can be lost after suffering trauma.

History
In 2007 Patrick Nettesheim, a Milwaukee-area guitar instructor, was introduced to Viet Nam Era Marine, Dan Van Buskirk. Dan wanted to play guitar, but felt that the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) had left him with the inability to coordinate the hands and the mind. What Dan soon discovered was that the same strong heart and spirit that got him through Viet Nam was all that he needed to make music and learn guitar. The lessons that Patrick and Dan shared together were enlightening for them both. Patrick’s success as a teacher was not simply about his ability to play guitar, it had much more to do with the teacher-student bond– Patience, Acceptance, Gratitude and Empathy, or being on the same P.A.G.E., as Patrick describes it. It is when these human qualities are in place that quality learning begins. “The guitar is a catalyst for positive human interaction,” Patrick explains.

It was a few months into these lessons that Dan suggested the two of them bring this modality to the Veterans at the VA in Milwaukee. The idea was born, and Patrick coined the name and slogan: GUITARS FOR VETS – The healing power of music in the hands of heroes. Since 2007, Guitars for Vets has provided over 800 new guitars and 5,000 lessons to our Nation’s Veterans. Chapters have been established in over 25 cities across the country, with more being added as resources are available.

Vision
Our primary focus is using the healing power of music to help our veterans. Whether we agree or disagree with the decision to go to war, one thing is for certain: there are men and women who bravely fight for and honorably represent our country. As a consequence of war, many of our soldiers come home with physical and emotional injuries. They need our help.

Method
Guitars for Vets provides six free private lessons and a new acoustic guitar to military veterans at VA medical and community-based Vet centers. All veterans are referred to us by the VA medical team in order to integrate the Guitars for Vets program into their treatment regimen. The private lessons are taught by volunteer instructors and are then followed by group sessions that provide a forum for the veterans to talk and play music with like-minded individuals, many of whom have had the same experiences, emotions and traumas. The music sessions provide a communal atmosphere. This has proven to be a catalyst that helps the Vets continue on their road to recovery and well being.

Upon graduation, each Vet in the program is presented a guitar, gig bag, strap, tuner, method book and a certificate of completion. The testimonials throughout the website capture what it has meant to some of the Vets participating in our program.

Veterans Benefits

Texas VA Secedes From God

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Of all places in the nation to pull this off…Texas! The home of more Christians per inch than most of the 50 states.  This lady Arleen must be planning on funding from China. Does she not know that God owns oil in Texas! Sure gonna be more fun than a hog sloppin” in the mud to see how this one turns out.
VA Bans Mention of God at Funerals for Vets “The hostile and discriminatory actions by the Veterans Affairs officials in Houston are outrageous, unconstitutional and must stop,” said Jeff Mateer, Esq., general counsel of Liberty Institute. June 30, 2011


The Department of Veterans Affairs and its Director of the Houston National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, are engaging in religious viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, by adding new incidents of religious hostility.
Director of the Houston National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio Since taking the directorship of the Houston facility in April, 2010, Arleen Ocasio has used her position to bully Christians, repeatedly trampling on the religious liberties of Veterans of Foreign Wars District 4, The American Legion Post 586, and the National Memorial Ladies.
On March 15, Director Ocasio told Nobleton Jones, Honor Guard Junior Vice Commander, that he couldn’t say “May God grant you grace, mercy and peace” to grieving families.
“The hostile and discriminatory actions by the Veterans Affairs officials in Houston are outrageous, unconstitutional and must stop,” said Jeff Mateer, Esq., general counsel of Liberty Institute. “Government officials who engage in religious discrimination against citizens are breaking the law. Sadly, this seems to be a pattern of behavior at the Houston VA National Cemetery.”
Our friends at Liberty Institute have amended an earlier lawsuit against the VA that states the new violations against religious liberty include:
• VA Forbids Mention of God at Funerals for Veterans and Requires Families to Submit Prayer for Approval to the Government
• VA instructs the VFW and a Private Funeral Home that they may not present the option of prayer to families
• VA Tells Volunteers to Remove “God Bless” from Condolence Cards to Grieving Families
• VA Closes Cemetery Chapel; Uses it for Storage
You can read Liberty Institute’s detailed report of Director Ocasio’s offenses here.
TAKE ACTION
Director Ocasio has already been successfully sued this year for religious discrimination. Obviously, she is not qualified to be the director of a National Cemetery and should step down.
Send an email to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki. Ask him to 1) stop his department’s religious discrimination and 2) relieve Director Ocasio of her duties.


Take Action NowSend an email to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki now!
It is very important that you forward this alert to your friends and family members.


Sincerely,


Tim


Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association 

Veterans Benefits

National PTSD Awareness Day

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“We’ve come along way baby,” as the old Virginia Slims ad used to say. No more collective repression and denial of the residual effects of war on the human psyche.

The mask is off and the stigma abated. We can now be real and be tough at the same time. The admission, both personally and collectively, that post traumatic stress is  the proverbial  war within and must be reckoned with before and during transition to civilian life and polite company, is simply a good thing. America will be happier, healthier and stronger by not living in denial about the ravages of war and its indelible mark on the soul.

 

Moreover, in a lifeboat situation, I’ ll take all the ones with PTSD thank you!

National PTSD Awareness Day

– June 27, 2011Posted in: U.S. Army

June 27 is the nation’s official day to focus attention on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Last year, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution naming June 27 National Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day to promote dialogue about this prevalent condition and help people realize that there are resources and effective treatments available to address PTSD.

U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), authored the resolution and at the time said that the wounds of PTSD may not be visible but they are still real. He was inspired by the efforts of the North Dakota Army National Guard to bring attention to the disorder and its effect on one of its unit members, Staff Sgt. Joe Biel, who sadly, took his own life following two tours in Iraq. June 27 was Biel’s birthday.

Read the entire blog regarding PTSD on the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury‘s (DCoE) blog.

In addition, The United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs has posted extensive information about PTSD and how we ALL can work to raise awareness of the issue.

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God Bless America For Real

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As a Life Member of Knights of Columbus, there are days when I think they are akin to the checks and balances system of the United States Government….. maybe a little better!   Be assured you cannot mess with the spirit of the American people, and it looks like you cannot mess with the Holy Spirit either!

(NEW HAVEN, CONN.) – The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, thus ending a seven year battle involving two separate cases, one originating in California and the other in New Hampshire. The Knights of Columbus, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, played a key role in defending the Pledge as a “defendant intervenor” in both cases.

“The Knights of Columbus is proud to have played a major role in successfully defending the constitutionality of the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said. “We were instrumental in persuading Congress to add those words to the Pledge in 1954, and they express a fundamental belief that we have held as a nation since our founding, that we ‘are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.’ The notion that this somehow violates the First Amendment has now been soundly rejected by both the First and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court has now allowed both decisions to stand. It is a victory for common sense.”

The Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in March 2010 and the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the California case in March 2011. The First Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in November 2011 and the Supreme Court denied certiorari in that case yesterday, June 13, 2011.

God Bless
Jose M. Garcia PNC
National Deputy Service Officer
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust
Veterans Benefits

Women In Combat

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There are days when I wished I could get through the day without being so suspect of  “findings,” even the ones supported and corroborated by studies. We all know that tons of studies are sponsored and financed and therefore frequently bent from the outset.  The need to keep women in the ranks of the Armed Forces is critical to the mission. The need to pretend they are not in combat is critical to the mission, especially since so few women are awarded combat action ribbons and therefore do not qualify for the same benefits as their male counterparts who are diagnosed with PTSD. Ergo, the spin. They just declare them “resilient.”

Men have a Flight of Fight DNA that dates to pre-historic times and the distinctions between hunters and gatherers.  In a rather simplistic way one could say that women do not have the same triggers as men. However with training those neurological differences can be overcome easily and a young lady can go to berserk state as fast and furious as any special forces hombre. Remember the most sniper kills in history are not “Carlos,” the award  goes  to a woman named Lydia who was with the Russian Womans Sniper Squad in WWll at St Petersberg, Russia. They are credited with 700 kills! They were resilient women. As women have always been, from the Trojan Wars to the settling of the wild west. So, I find nothing revealing about this report other than its intent to program us for more women entering combat.

My overall take is one of concern for the effects of war on women long after their terms of service, as they do not have the same outlets for bonding as do men of war. It could be quite lonely for them.  I can somehow accept men being compromised by the ravages of war, I cannot accept having a nation of screwed up Moms.

I attempted to interview a few fathers of women in the Army and they all declined as they indicated it was to painful. So maybe the study of resilience is looking at the wrong population. I am not sure the American public is all that resilient, evidenced by the near total absence of war coverage in the media at large.  Lots of stories, but none of day to day combat. So who is the least resilient, the soldier or the common citizen?

Women Exposed to Combat Trauma as Resilient as Men: Study

Female military personnel experience PTSD, depression at similar rate as men

 

HealthDay news image

TUESDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) — Male and female military personnel exposed to combat zone trauma tend to experience similar mental health problems and recover at the same rate, a new study reveals.
The finding — the first to examine the role of gender on combat-linked stress after deployment — was based on a survey completed by American men and women deployed between October 2007 and July 2008 in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The study had two major findings, according to lead author Dawne S. Vogt, an associate professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. “One is that more women than ever before are experiencing combat. So although men continue to experience it at slightly higher rates, the difference in exposure is relatively small.”
“The other one is that this suggests that women may be just as resilient as men in the year following return from deployment,” Vogt said. “Which is a novel finding, because the broader trauma literature has historically found that women are more vulnerable to trauma exposure. But in this study you’re not seeing that.”
Vogt and her colleagues present their findings in a recent online issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
The authors noted that the Pentagon’s current official policy bars women from direct participation in ground combat, although they are nonetheless deployed in numerous risky combat situations.
That official ban has been the subject of much recent debate, despite the fact that according to the Department of Defense, more than 750 women have been killed or wounded in action in either the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as of 2009.
Against that backdrop, the study authors polled a random sample of 595 veterans of those wars through the Defense Manpower Data Center. The group was comprised of 340 women and 252 men, all of whom had returned from their respective war zone within the year leading up to the survey.
The male soldiers were more likely to be married and have children, while the women were three years younger on average, and more likely to be from a minority group. Half of the survey participants were “active duty,” a quarter were part of the National Guard, and another quarter were part of the Reserve Forces.
Each soldier was asked whether or not he or she had fired a weapon, been shot at, and/or been witness to combat death or injuries. Post-battle experiences were also tallied, in terms of the handling or observing of human remains and contact with prisoners.
In addition, the survey explored the degree to which each soldier feared for his or her safety and well-being, along with the pressures and difficulties of day-to-day living in a combat zone. Participants were also asked to discuss their pre-deployment exposure to trauma and their exposure to sexual harassment on duty.
All the responses were then compared to each soldier’s post-deployment history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, and overall mental health functioning.
Vogt and her team first noted that while the male soldiers were exposed to slightly more combat and post-battle trauma, the traumatic nature of the group’s combat experience was fairly similar across gender lines. Women were found to have experienced a greater degree of pre-deployment stress, as well as a greater incidence of sexual harassment while deployed.
In terms of post-deployment experience, male and female soldiers appeared to experience about the same degree of PTSD and depression in the year post-deployment. Mental health functioning was also comparable among male and female veterans, although substance abuse was more common among the men.
The authors concluded that male and female soldiers appear to be equally resilient to the stress and trauma of combat, in least in the immediate months following battle.
“One implication is I think people need to realize that women are experiencing combat too, even though at slightly lower levels,” noted Vogt, who is also a researcher at the National Center for PTSD at the VA Boston Healthcare System. “And therefore that needs to be taken into consideration when they come home, in the context of caring for them in the health care setting.”
“And the other implication,” she said, “is that these findings are particularly relevant given the recent call for the military to reverse its long-standing policy barring women from ground combat.”
For his part, Keith A. Young, vice chair for research in the department of psychiatry at Texas A&M Health Science Center in College Station, Texas, said the current insights are what he would expect.
“I’m not so surprised that military women experience similar mental health problems as men,” said Young, who is also the Neuroimaging and Genetics core leader for the VA Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans in Waco, Texas.
“There is certainly the idea that has been out there that women are more susceptible to PTSD,” Young said. “But I think a lot of the research wasn’t very well controlled, and, in fact, in most of the animal work that has been done, it’s the male animal that has been most susceptible to stress and PTSD. The female animals have actually proven to be more resilient.”
Young cautioned, however, that the principle factor driving the current female combat ban may have less to do with concerns over vulnerability to combat trauma and more to do with the risk of abuse that women prisoners of war might face. In that light, he suggested that the current findings would not necessarily alter the current ban debate.
“Nevertheless, I think this finding will generally help women who are interested in a military career,” he added. “It will help justify their ability to pursue that type of career and life.”
Vogt’s study was partially funded by a Department of Veterans Affairs Health Sciences Research and Development Service grant and the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
SOURCES: Dawne S. Vogt, PhD, associate professor, Boston University School of Medicine, and Veterans Administration National Center for PTSD; Keith A. Young, Ph.D. vice chair for research, department of psychiatry, Texas A&M Health Science Center, and Neuroimaging and Genetics Core Leader for the VA Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, Texas; May 30, 2011, Journal of Abnormal Psychology online.
Veterans Benefits

Military Reunions

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Reunions come in all shapes and brands, High School and family being pre-eminent. Sports teams, corporate, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, professional associations et al. But, somehow the reunion of combat veterans transcends all mortal gatherings of kindred souls; even those of old boyfriends and girlfriends.

The gossamer thread that unites veterans of war seems to fly over other collections of pals. There is a bond that exceeds, politics, religion and race–the type of bond that is impossible to replicate, at least until we are all gathered together. One wonders why it cannot be replicated, moreover, why War is its sole source. Hollywood makes millions on war and  the alchemy of romances rooted in war. It may well be the reason that many skip to the war memorial page of high school web sites to view the war dead, prior to the more sunny views of our classmates. The sadness of war has a magnetic attraction-sadly, after the fact. Should there one day be a reunion of veterans of peace, we could proclaim that we have evolved.
My recent reunion of Bravo Company/ 7th Marines, in Reno, Nevada, all men who served in the Vietnam War, was simply the most elevating of the past five I have attended. Age is certainly a factor. Many of our Officers and Senior NCO’s are now in their late 70’s and 80’s. I thought that was just WWll dudes!
One retired Lt. General said, “it is amazing how we are still filling in the blanks of a war we fought 45 years ago.”  Another, Sgt. Major of  the Marine Corps, with 2 Silver Stars, spoke of the pain of leading us into war. He and us NCO’s hugged and cried, wishing and praying that no one would have to endure the kind of war we carried in our hearts for four decades.

Ramble more, I will not, yet if any of my classmates who served in combat are hesitating about the value of unit reunions–shake it! The collective narratives and confessional anecdotes are more healing than all of your solitary reservations. Go share them and be one of the Band of Brothers. It is for posterity.
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The Order That Inaugurated Memorial Day

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Better late than sorry. Just found this in my archives.

Headquarters, Grand Army of the Republic

General Orders No.11, Washington, D.C., May 5, 1868

The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, “of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion.” What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance.

All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation’s gratitude, the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.

It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing [it] to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.

By order of

JOHN A. LOGAN,

Commander-in-Chief

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Veterans Disability Review Board

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Never in the history of the Veterans Administration have I seen them work so hard to get the proper benefits to all, even the ones that may have been missed on the first round. This is compliments of Catholic War Veterans.

 

Physical Disability Board of Review — Please give wide distribution.

Physical Disability Board of Review

The “Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act of 2008,” signed by President Bush on Jan. 28, 2008, provides veterans who served on acti9ve duty from Sept. 11, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2009, with an opportunity for review of disability ratings they were given which led to their discharged from the Armed Forces.
To be eligible for a Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) review, a veteran must have been medically separated during the above mentioned time frame, with a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less, and not have been found eligible for retirement. Over half of the cases that have been completed have been changed and have made those discharged improperly, now eligible for health care, and the ability to sign up for the Survivor Benefit Plan for their families without penalty.
For more information and how to apply contact the PDBR intake unit at the following address:
SAF/MRBR
550 C Street West, Suite 41
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4743
(News Briefs, NAUS Magazine, May/June 2011)

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Memorial Day 101

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I can’t speak to the accuracy of these numbers, but close enough for me…..



Subject: Vietnam Stats: have not seen these before
Date: Tue, 24  May 2011 13:31:27 -0500




Some stats I had not seen before.   Staggering.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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.


The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old


3,103  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  Vietnan.


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.


The most casualty deaths for a  single month was May 1968 –  2,415 casualties
were  incurred.


That’s 2,415 dead in a single month.