John Doever Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sir, would you mind me translating this into Spanish and getting it posted in our blog? Be glad you served with a soldier’s soldier like LTC Herbert. Posted by Papa-Echo-64 on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 1:56 PM ... i was told by 2 diff vietnam vets the the average life expectancy of those gunners was about 18 min from take off. — 5.8, Data compiled by William F. Abbott from figures obtained shortly after the construction of the Vietnam War Memorial. As I remember it the life expectancy was based on after the ambush was sprung or the fire fight started. Photo above is of Stanley Kober with RTO, John Scheur. Even now, though he remembers aiming as high as he could get away with and not be pushed out by the sergeant to join the spread bodies of the farmers, his eyes hold smoke and the reflection of thin brown legs kicking out beneath the body of a woman. 1ST MAW 66-68. They were located, next to us, in/on Long Bhin Post. “I went to Fort Eustis, Virginia, for (helicopter) door-gunner school. Hi, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one The fact is that most machine gunners, RTOs, junior officers and other extremely dangerous jobs survived the war. There was no mention regarding how the number was reached or even what data was considered. I applaud the courage and difficult and all so dangerous job of Roger Herforth when he served as an RTO for the Hawk Recon Platoon of the 101st airborne division in Vietnam.. At this time—- senior Army leadership ordered us all to read the Geneva Convention to our troops— because of the My Lai debachle. Very memorable comments. Saw from mostly safe distance almost all the weapons systems that where there used. We went out typically in two boat patrols one lead one cover . I always felt that Infantry units were in more danger because of ambush issues and no permanent defensive structures. Ambushed on October 4th,1967. While the perceptions and insights are based on the authors' experiences, no reference to any real person is intended or should be inferred. When Apache Snow began, I was an RTO, after Airborne, and before the CA on Dong Ap Bia, I became the AG for Roeski. The United States suffered a little over 58,000 KIA and 304,000 WIA during the war. Love this analysis. C Co, 1st-12th 66-67. Because if only 1 RTO fought for say only 10 or 15 minutes before being killed, that would ‘up’ the AVG – for the total war! We were almost finished, just a few thousand men wrapping up a few loose ends. As I recall, the life expectancy was very short for a door gunner. It was an HONOR and a privilege to serve with these brave men for my 11 month tour. Oct 8, 2014 - Door gunner life expectancy about 30 days. The views expressed on this website may not necessarily reflect the views of Rattle or of the Rattle Foundation. Anyway I was wondering about the RTOs in a grunt platoon, was that their MOS or were they 11B that carried a PRC ? In Vietnam — 70% 0f the casualties were Infantry BUT it might be 70% of ALL the Infantry that served in Vietnam. Then we all, loaded on C-147 cargo planes. The background image is from the cover of Rattle #70 by James Christopher Carroll. A friend recently sent me the link to an article claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War was only 5 seconds. An interesting comment I had. Thanks for posting! Hats off to them. Nobody attacked, where we were. Different strokes for different folks in war fer’ sure. Sept 69 to Sept 70. Infantry 1st & 2nd lieutenants: They are the battle coordinators who try to manage the fight on the ground and direct overhead support. On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM CherriesWriter – Vietnam War website wrote: > pdoggbiker posted: ” A friend recently sent me the link to an article > claiming that the life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War > was only 5 seconds. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_losses_of… You seen the enemy you shots him and vice versa. 10-4. Just published my book “The Last Goodbye” by John Fratangelo, available on line on Barnes and Noble and Amazon Prime Books, Getting great reviews. I was a cmbt engr – demolition specialist – carried a 45 auto and an M70 grenade launcher in addition to the C-4 and Det Cord. “I know what it is like to be scared,” he said. Units would send a thorough report of their KIA and WIA, battle action coordinates, estimated enemy troop strength, enemy unit KIA/captured and any known direction heading. I always was told that the life expectancy of a LT was 14 seconds in INITIAL combat versus 9 seconds for an RTO. I do remember when I got short I thought about it a lot more. That was supposed to be 58, 220. but wait, there are more numbers for the same story. We killed a lot of the enemy but we took few serious casualties. Great story!!! My second tour was as the S3 for LTC Anthony Herbert—one of America’s greatest leaders and WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. Re: Helicopter Crews (Medevac & Dustoff): To my knowledge, only the 1st Cav “Medevac” had M60’s for protection. And these pilots in Vietnam were never pampered. Thank You General Vessey for the almost 53 years I have lived since that day…. I couldn’t disagree. I personally believe and agree with previous posts that when it’s your time, not much you can do. During a hot landing or extraction, when taking him out, the ship was left undefended from that side. One MOS I figured was a sure short timer was POL{Fuel} Truck Driver. The trailer for that video can be seen by googling the title, and it might still be sold on Amazon. Your Dad and I had the same job. Commanders like him were few and far between – many were afraid of their own shadow and were only there to get their “ticket” punched. Over 600 Navy FMF Hospital Corpsmen we’re killed in Vietnam. We walked the mountains and rice patties all thru Tu Thien Province. Thank God I made it. RIght there and the NVA we were usually up against knew this. When Roeski got hit, I took over the M-60. How many Vietnam veterans are still alive 2019? As mentioned, who kept track of that in the first place? … I was shot down on my very first mission in July 1968. Thank You for your courageous service as an RTO with the legendary Hawk Recon Platoon. I would say that Medivac crews were most at risk since their arrival often occurred while the fighting was still taking place. Tribute to Single Parent Poets, Jenifer Browne Lawrence: “I was raised in a family of engineers and have worked in civil engineering for more than 30 years. When moving, the antenna is like a periscope in the ocean – a huge plus for an enemy sniper. Carried the prc25 for about 7 months. Slick drivers were next. I always found ‘life expectancy’ numbers interesting in that I could never find any supporting information that could be validated. And yes, please God, bless America. We were discussing the different units and dangers of each. I’m quite certain there are many more examples of jobs held during the Vietnam War that had extremely low life expectancies and welcome your feedback in the comment section below. The ball turret gunner was one of … I agree with all of the comments, however I would add Tunnel Rats to the group I was one and saw many of my friends die in those tunnels I was very fortunate or very lucky and was never a lead but was at the tail end. I handled Top Secret Commo on a daily basis. Correct. Vlach served with the 54th General Command as a door gunner on an UH1 “Huey” helicopter. Radio Operator: His radio was the lifeline of the unit on the ground and its termination would effectively eliminate air and artillery support as well as disrupt internal company communications during combat. I’ve always considered myself damn lucky to make it out alive. Remember he wanted to reenlist for one more year in Vietnam. Don’t worry; it’s far, far from here. I was a grunt with c co. 4/31 196th it inf bade. I had scary thoughts about myself humping the bush as a RTO, I was a real puny guy back then. Ch. That same day, I along with 3/4 others was transported to Long Bhin Post. I lost my cherry very early. Gotta say I think you hit it on the nose. The two door gunners each operated an M60 machine gun, which was fed a belt of 7.62 mm cartridges and could fire at a rate of up to 700 rounds per minute. It’s just (bad) luck, fate, randomness – there’s no right or wrong, no justice or fairness, no reasoning. Different type units, different locations, different opinions on dangers. From Cam Rahn, we kept flying north to, a Landing Zone near QUANG TRI. I was told my life expectancy was about 45 sec’s during a fire fight because of the weapons and demo I carried. A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane.. Roger Loves you too, I’m sure. Approximately 2,202 pilots were killed, along with 2,704 crewmen. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. means: 1 gets killed the 1st second, another one after 9 seconds – avg. I was one of the “many others” I rode river boats in the Mekong Jan 68 to 69. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal if Honor. I will always think/say, we had absolutely no reason for being in that place. Snipers sought out those individuals with a folded map sticking out of his trouser pocket, grease pencils poking from shirt pockets, and a compass/lanyard hanging from his neck. I was an Infantry Scout Dog handler. The conflict claimed the lives of 4,906 helicopter airmen. Never knew they had life expectancy stats. Was Billeted near an Army medevac Unit and was offered a chance to lay on my stomach with an M16 and door gun for them I decided not a good Idea. There’s 58,276. They were a great bunch. Comments were more interesting than the article it self. Your article was quite interesting. It is rare that they sit still during an ambush and are always on the move to oversee the fight; his RTO, joined at the hip. There were two different groups that flew aeromedical evacuations. We were very, lucky. Our door gunner canvas art is stretched on 1.5 inch thick stretcher bars and may be customized with your choice of black, white, or mirrored sides. Here’s my take on it all. Posted by 4 days ago. I think those numbers are percentages of US KIA, not mortality times. I am proud to have fought alongside of them. 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