Additionally, extensive television coverage enabled people to see the violence and damage of the war, giving protestors moral ground to argue that the war was too devastating to continue keeping U. The United States totally withdrew from Vietnam on March 29, and the war officially ended on April 30, The Vietnam War had been the longest war the US had fought in up to that point in history, and the most controversial.
Estimated solider and civilian casualties range from , to 3. It was hot that day; the mosquitoes were going through my mind, and the sun was again brilliant. In my mirror I saw its beam illuminate each and every particle of dust that my passing vehicle spewed into the air; thus creating a mobile, magical, camouflaged chamber of brightly dancing fairies shielding me from harm.
The dust settled back to normality, as if man did not exist. The jungle sat still except for the dirt road with my truck speeding along. I needed the rest! Then upon returning I would be stationed in Camp Enari, away from most of the intense fighting, and protected by the whole 4th.
Infantry Division. April 1st was my day to rejoin 4th. I pulled up to the local tailor shop to fix some of my fatigue pants. Then, I stopped at the 5th. I left the Ville at pm. Presently, I approached the road to the top of PDL hill, and I was thinking what a beautiful day this would have been if this were some other place in some other world.
I turned left into the open valley dirt road that lead to the OP, crossed the blue line river or stream on a map and raced through the dense, triple canopy jungle to the open valley floor. For a mile or so the road cut through the jungle like a tunnel; the vegetation brushing against the sides and roof hid what lurked in the shadows.
I always felt this was the maximal danger of the trip. Then I down shifted entered the worst section of massive ruts and the broken-up roadbed threw the truck all about its grooves. The wheels were bouncing crazily as the tires encounter deep furrows dug in the hard dirt from the last monsoon. I bounced all around and slowed almost to a stop, and I downshifted and ground to first gear while checking my watch.
It was pm when I entered the slowest aspect of the trip. The first impact of a rocket was twenty meters to the left and ten meters behind as the rocket flew over its target. I stomped the gas and the engine roared- the truck jumped forward and bounced crazily and so did, garbing the steering tightly. As I moved my right hand to change gears, it just blew apart, as red blood and parts of my hand flew everywhere… instantaneously, but in slow motion I seemingly was catapulted onto some parallel universe.
He signaled a repeat, and the second rocket impacted on target. I remember a distorted image of reality. The roar was deafening; through the shattered windshield, I saw the truck go out of control. My body was throne backwards into the seat and rebounded forwards; bent over at a degree angle from my waist. I saw the truck bounce towards the trees. Everything slowed down, and I was alone, above my body that was thrown into the dashboard hitting with my left side.
The dashboard gauges and the gearshift lever approached, as I hit the dashboard with my left side and my head crashed to the floor; My spirit rejoined and I was protected by the firewall. My body, accompanied by my mind, was pitched out the right-side door, sliding between the seat and under the dashboard to land on the shoulder of the dirt road alone. I saw the edge of the dirt, the jungle growth, the nearby trees, while I heard the world explode. Mark Stanley was gone. He was shot nine times, while I received the tenth bullet from the ten holes in the windshield.
Suddenly, I was in front of the truck near the grill. Perhaps, another RPG impacted and careened us sideways knocking me unconscious. I knew that I was gravely wounded, and bullets were kicking up dust clouds as they were landing around my feet. Awakening, I was the only person there, so the enemy was concentrated on me.
It was difficult for me to move. I raised my left leg and body up and pushed off that knee with my left hand. As I started to slowly stagger upright towards the opposite side of the road, trying with all my might to gain my balance, I went down hard. An AK found its target in my thigh. I was confused. Could this be friendly fire on a beautiful Sunday? Porier grabbed the M machinegun, risking his life, and ran down the hillside rushing to the ambush site.
It was a free-fire zone, and a nearby flight of gunships was engaged in shooting up the western valley. Porier was firing from the north, while the three Cobras choppers were engaged the sappers trying to kill me. Return to reality. Bullets were flying everywhere, and the noise was tremendous.
I knew I had to stand up again, even though I made a better target; my staying in the open road would be a death sentence. I managed to stand again, stepped, and hurled myself into the jungle. I struck a tree and rebounded into the open again… still a sitting duck. Straining to regain my feet again, I staggered a few strides to my right and throe myself forward, with all I was worth, collapsing finely into the vegetation face up.
As soon as I was wounded, I was thrown into a world that I was alone! Lying on my back in the underbrush, watching the blue sky, bleeding on the jungle floor alone.
I knew I was dying, but I struggled with all my might to stay alive. My whole essence was involved it the quest of one more heartbeat, one more breath, one more gasp of pain averting energy, one moment at a time. Then there was peace. Alternatively, to transfigure my destiny. I knew what my death would mean to my mother, my father, and the rest of my family and friends.
It would cause great pain to them; reminiscent of what occurred to the family of my namesake, my first cousin Dante Michael Puccetti. I was the first male born to the Puccetti family after his death, so my parents received permission to name their son after Dante.
I wonder if I was not Dante- would I have the inspiration to survive? I opted for love! I knew what life in-store for me in my recovery had- years of pain and disabilities while I waited for my next adventure. I realized what control I had in the cosmos. I had encountered a learning experience, and inspirational contact with the celestial.
The fear returned, as I knew he was of small stature. It could be a Yard, Don Porier, or a sapper. Veterans who served in Vietnam any time during the period beginning Jan. Agent Orange Registry —VA established the Agent Orange Registry to track the special health concerns of Veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange during their military service.
This program includes a comprehensive medical examination, including exposure and medical histories, laboratory tests, and a physical exam. A VA health professional discusses the results with the Veteran in a face-to-face consultation and a follow-up letter. The exam is cost-free to Veterans and does not require enrollment in VA health care or VA benefit programs. Presumptive service connection —Veterans may be eligible for disability compensation if they have a disability related to Agent Orange exposure during service and were discharged under other than dishonorable conditions.
VA has recognized certain cancers and other health problems as associated with exposure to herbicides during service. Veterans with qualifying Vietnam service, and service in the Korean demilitarized zone, are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. Other Veterans may be eligible if theycan document that they were exposed.
IOM reports —On Aug. IOM's most recent report , published in , is the 10 th and final in the series. Researchers found evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are more strongly linked to Agent Orange exposure than previously thought. But a review of the existing research did not support a previously held belief that spina bifida occurs in the offspring of exposed Veterans at higher rates.
The report also recommended that VA grant service-connected presumption to Veterans with "Parkinson's-like symptoms," not just those diagnosed with Parkinson's disease related to Agent Orange exposure. VA is currently reviewing these recommendations. VA established qualification for benefits related to Agent Orange exposure for some Veterans due to this report.
Other illnesses VA recognizes as presumptively service-connected for exposure to herbicide during the Vietnam War can be found here. Air Force Health Study —In , Congress directed that a study be conducted of the military personnel likely to have been the most highly exposed to Agent Orange herbicide in Vietnam: those who conducted missions as part of Operation Ranch Hand.
In the study, formally called the Air Force Health Study AFHS , Veterans who participated in the operation gave biospecimens such as serum, urine, adipose tissue, and semen, as did a comparison group of Air Force personnel who served in Southeast Asia at the time but were not involved in herbicide spraying operations. The initial physical examination and surveying of AFHS subjects was conducted in , and subsequent cycles were conducted in , , , , and The Air Force's final report on these surveys was issued in After the study concluded, Congress directed that the research assets that were collected be transferred to IOM.
The data are available from IOM, and can be used for research studies not only on Agent Orange, but also on the long-term health of Veterans, other effects of Vietnam service, the health impacts of aging, and disease-related biomarkers.
Anderson Cancer center published a study analyzing the medical records of men who joined the Agent Orange registry at the D. They found that the rate of non-melanoma invasive skin cancer among these Veterans was 52 percent, which is about twice as high as among men of the same age in the general population. The risk of skin cancer was highest 73 percent among Veterans involved in spraying Agent Orange.
The risk was also higher among men with the lightest skin types and lighter eyes. Only men with lighter skin types were involved in the study.
However, the researchers found no increased risk of malignant melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Prostate cancer and Agent Orange —A study by researchers at the Portland VA Health Care System found that Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are not only at higher risk for prostate cancer, but are more likely to have aggressive forms of the disease. The study was based on the records of 2, VA patients who had undergone an initial prostate biopsy.
Prostate cancer was diagnosed in a third of the Veterans. The chance of finding cancer was 52 percent higher in those whose records indicated Agent Orange exposure. One in six of all the men biopsied had high-grade, or fast-growing, disease. Exposure to Agent Orange did not raise the risk of low-grade prostate cancer, but it raised the risk of high-grade disease by 75 percent. In addition, men who had been exposed to Agent Orange tended to be about five years younger at the time of biopsy than non-exposed Veterans.
This is another sign of fast-growing cancer. The VET Registry consists of approximately 7, identical and fraternal male twin pairs, both of whom served in the military during Vietnam.
It is one of the largest national twin registries in the United States, and has members living in all 50 states. Although it was initially formed to address questions about the long-term health effects of service in Vietnam, it has evolved into a resource for genetic studies of mental and physical health conditions.
In addition to twins, selected adult children of twins and the mothers of those children are also VET Registry members. The non-twin groups were added to the registry in the late s, as part of a set of family studies. They compared the results to the Veterans' identical twins who did not serve in Vietnam and did not have the illness.
The team also scanned the brains of 14 Veterans who served in Vietnam who did not develop PTSD, and their 14 twin brothers who did not serve in country and also did not develop the illness. The team found that an area of the brain called the dorsal anterior cingulate is activated more greatly in response to stimuli in the Veterans who developed PTSD and their twins, as opposed to the Veterans and their twins who did not develop PTSD.
The dorsal anterior cingulate is a brain region thought to be involved in decision-making, performance monitoring, and other cognitive processes. Description This chart shows the number of veterans in the United States from to , by period of service. Download Chart. You will find more infographics at Statista. Number of visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the U. Percentage of U. Related Infographics. Covid Pandemic. Veterans Day. State of the Union.
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