Posted on 06/30/2007 4:44:13 AM PDT by Valin
Since the 1990s, the U.S. Census has occasionally asked people about their military experience, including whether they had served in Vietnam. There were some interesting results. In 1995, the census data showed 11.2 million people said they served during the Vietnam war period. But only nine million American actually served in the armed forces during the official Vietnam war period (1964-1975, most U.S. troops were out of Vietnam by 1972, and the big build up didn't begin until 1965). And only 30 percent of those were actually in Vietnam. That's 2.7 million troops. The census estimated that, by 1995, only 63 percent of Vietnam veterans were still alive. That meant that 30 years later, Vietnam era veterans who actually served in Vietnam were now only 15 percent of the Vietnam era veterans. Someone is apparently lying to the census. Note that, as a group, Vietnam veterans are healthier, wealthier and better educated than the population as a whole.
Another survey, in 2000, showed the number of people claiming Vietnam era service had grown to nearly fifteen million. No doubt, it probably still grows. Most of those who did serve in Vietnam, volunteered for it. Some two-thirds of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers. Those who served in Vietnam represented nearly ten percent of the men of their generation. The current war on terror will probably only involved a few percent. Moreover, as bad as Iraq is, you were more than twice as likely to be killed or wounded in Vietnam. Phony "Iraq veterans" are already showing up, continuing a nasty social custom that can be traced back to the 19th century.
Until they prosecute phoney Vets, this will continue.
Legends in their own minds...!
I’m always careful to identify myself as a Vietnam Era vet, as differentiated from a Vietnam vet.....
What I did in my service doesn’t hold a candle to those who did the actual fighting and dying over there — and I refuse to cheapen the honor they deserve by implying that I share their status.....
Thank you for your service, love your home page!
9 million served during the era.
2.7 million were deployed to combat.
less than six million still alive.
11.2 claim to have served.
And
I bet all of them claim to suffer from PTSD.
ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa, went the the twin engines on John kill em all kerry’s boat (real heros have nick names like that). It was a dark and quiet night, John kill em all Kerry turned to his first mate and (in a quiet yet confident voice) said....”it’s quiet...too quiet I don’t like it.
If only we can get a bit farther up river without getting spotted we’ll be able to drop off secret agent x-183”.
In the blink of an eye the calm of the night was SHATTERED KAPOW KAPOW WOOOOSH BLAM BLAM the night came alive with a song of DEATH! They had sailed into a clever ambush set by Charlie (John kill em all Kerry’s long time foe).
The crew strickened with fear and unable to move turned as one to the one man who had the courage, the skill, the WILL to save them.
John kill em all Kerry like a coiled spring leapped into action (That’s what heros like to do in these kind of situations) with a sneer on his lips John kill em all Kerry THRUST the throttle forward and mzzz teraza (hero’s like john kill em all Kerry like to have names for their boats) LEAPPED like a mighty stallion BAAATTLE STATIONS he shouted! Wakeing as from a dream John kill em all kerry’s band of brothers charged to their stations.
BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA sang the quad 50s in a tune that sang death and destruction for Charlie and his commie stooges, BRRRRAAAAAPPPP the 60’s spat out a curtain of lead, BOOOOM BOOOOM the 300mm mortars adding their song to the aria of war!
Now the dirty commies would pay for DARING to attack John killl em all Kerry and his All American band of brothes! With a ferral grin John kill em all Kerry shouted DIE COMMIE SCUM! (see hero types like John kill em all Kerry say things like that, they teach them that at hero school).
Just when it looked like one more (glorious) victory for John kill em all Kerry and his gallant band of brothers, KABOOOOM commie frogmen had placed a mine (the sneeky dirty underhanded Khmer rouge bast*rds) on the sleak and deadly mzzz teraza! In a bat of an eyelash john kill em all Kerry knew his gallant little steed was done for,
Flinging the little mzzz teraza at the nearest nest of vipers John kill em all Kerry CHARGED straight into the muzzels of death.
Afraid? Not he, John kill em all Kerry didn’t know the meaning of fear
{fear(Function): noun Etymology: Middle English fer,
from Old English f[AE]r sudden danger; akin to Latin periculum attempt, peril, Greek peiran to attempt
Date: 12th century
1 a : an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger
b (1) : an instance of this emotion
(2) : a state marked by this emotion
2 : anxious concern :
SOLICITUDE
3 : profound reverence and awe especially toward God
4 : reason for alarm : DANGER synonyms FEAR, DREAD, FRIGHT, ALARM, PANIC, TERROR, TREPIDATION mean painful agitation in the presence or anticipation of danger. FEAR is the most general term and implies anxiety and usually loss of courage .
DREAD usually adds the idea of intense reluctance to face or meet a person or situation and suggests aversion as well as anxiety .
FRIGHT implies the shock of sudden, startling fear .
ALARM suggests a sudden and intense awareness of immediate danger .
PANIC implies unreasoning and overmastering fear causing hysterical activity .
TERROR implies the most extreme degree of fear.
TREPIDATION adds to DREAD the implications of timidity, trembling, and hesitation.}
The boat rammed into the den of inequity, and leapping from the galllant but doomed craft a 50cal in his right hand his (trusty) M-16 in his left a 5in. cannon strapped to his back John kill em all Kerry LEAPPED into the very heart of the enemy AAAAHHHHHH he cried all the while dealing death to the left and right (hero types do stuff like that all the time, that’s why they’re hero types)
The (dirty) commies quaked in fear at this (magnificent specimen) All American hero type in a blood lust cried “It’s kill em all Kerry! Please don’t kill us, John kill em all Kerry would have none of that! Not after their dastardly attack and mortal wounding of his (beloved) mzzz teraza, DIE YOU DIRTY COOMIS RATS, I’LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH MASSACHUSETTS!
And oh the carnage the ensued, So terrible was his (awesome but sensitive) wrath that soon after those above him (being jealous of his superior combat skills and the love his band of brothers had for him) sent him back to the good old US of A.
Stay tuned for more advetures of John kill em all Kerry.
I bet all of them claim to suffer from PTSD.
I wonder if I could use that to get out of work monday? :-)
Having worked in the VA through the years following the VN war, sorting out real from fabricated claims was a vexing task but one some of us at least took seriously. The one's who expressed the greatest sense of injured entitlement were generally the frauds.
Real disabled vets deserve everything we can provide, but nothing I resented more than a con artist cashing in on the tax payers dollar. Unfortunately there are many who do, and continue to do so today.
I was born in 1929, so I was 16 when World War 2 ended. I see quite a few obituaries these days of men my age, or even younger, describing them as WW2 veterans. I know there were a few who lied to get in, and even fought in combat, but those were rare cases. But I think very few men my age missed military service later on, either by voluntary enlistment or the Korean war draft which began in the summer of 1950. Late that year, any man who could walk into the Army physical probably passed, and I don’t know anyone who stayed out on a college deferment. Under a postwar realignment of Army pay grades, new soldiers were officially “recruits” for the first six months or so, until “recruits” began to show up in the newspaper casualty lists. That was quickly changed to “Pvt-1”.
I remember hearing about this at Woodstock.
You were there too? Oh Wow man like Groovy.
I’m sure we have more than a few on FR. :-\
***I’m always careful to identify myself as a Vietnam Era vet, as differentiated from a Vietnam vet.....***
There were also some fake WWII vets. My dad, who served in Europe under Patton, told of a neighbor who enthralled everyone with tales of his adventures in the war. My dad knew this man had never left the states.
My dad served in WW11 and was in the Normandy landing D Day +7, but had the medals and documents to prove it (which he kept put away). However, he always refused to go to a VA hospital and would never talked about experiences, except at times he would tell mother something. If you didn't know him personally (as family) you would never know his service
Now, you’re talking; but, it will never happen.
yeah, I hate posers...just the other day, in the VFW, I found myself talking to a guy who claimed to be door gunner on the space shuttle...
My uncle also served in WWII and was involved in the Battle of St. Lo, Battle of the Bulge, and three others. He had a total of 5 battle stars. He had never talked about his experiences. Except for one thing: I asked him one day (when I was a kid)a question: What’s it like in the Battle of the Bulge?. “It was damn cold!” was his answer. He never said anything else!
I found out a lot more by being involved in genealogy of my family.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.