Vietnam Veterans facts

While investigating facts about Vietnam Veterans Of America and Vietnam Veterans Day, I found out little known, but curios details like:

After gay Vietnam War veteran Leonard Matlovich died, his epitaph said this: ''When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men, and a discharge for loving one.''

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Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC, faced harassment based on her ethnicity after her design was picked, including presidential candidate Ross Perot calling her an "egg roll".

What percentage of vietnam veterans were in combat?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what is not true about the vietnam veterans memorial. Here are 50 of the best facts about Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Donations I managed to collect.

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A Jack Russell Terrier sacrificed his life to save 5 kids from two Pit Bulls and posthumously received a PDSA Gold Medal, and a Purple Heart from a Vietnam War veteran
A Vietnam War veteran waited in line at a Jane Fonda book signing just to spit tobacco juice in her face, calling her a traitor to the US for her actions in the 1970s
Jimmy McMillan, the guy from the "Rent Is Too Damn High" meme, is a karate expert, and Vietnam War veteran, as well as a former postal worker, stripper, and private investigator.
A gay Vietnam veteran once said "I got a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one"
Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan) who played a paraplegic vietnam war vet, dedicates his music and life's work to helping US veterans through tours and charitable donations.
James Stewart is the highest-ranking actor in military history (Brigadier General). He was World War II and Vietnam War Veteran and Licensed Commercial Pilot. In 1996, he was due to have the battery in his pacemaker changed, but opted not to, preferring to let things happen naturally.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is 150 yards long. A similar monument for the Vietnamese killed (with the same density of names) would be NINE MILES LONG!
Don Crowe, a Vietnam veteran awarded the Purple Heart, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for selling less than an ounce of marijuana to an undercover police officer in 1972; his first offense.
Pat Sajak is a Vietnam War Veteran and was the host of "Good Morning Vietnam".
On November 13th, 1982 thousands of Vietnam Veterans participated in a march that ended at the memorial. The memorial was then officially dedicated.

vietnam veterans facts — What percentage of vietnam veterans actually saw combat?

Why did vietnam veterans receive a cold homecoming?

You can easily fact check why were vietnam veterans treated poorly by examining the linked well-known sources.

The first American to die during the Vietnam War was United States Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard Bernard Fitzgibbon, Jr., however he was murdered by another American. His name wasn"t added to the memorial until 1999.

A contest was started to invite designs for the park with a cash prize of $50,000 to be awarded to the winner. The winner was Maya Lin, a 21-year old Yale University undergraduate, with entry number 1026. There were a total of 1,421 designs submitted to the contest.

Many Vietnam War veterans joined the protest movement by the late 1960s. Veterans Against the War was one of the more notable veteran anti-war groups and Ron Kovic was one of the most notable veteran anti-war leaders.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was completely funded by veterans, individuals, corporations and other organizations. It was not built with federal government money.

Congress chose and authorized the site for the memorial, deciding on the site of a demolished WW1 munitions building near the Lincoln Memorial.

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Many people opposed Maya Lin's design but her design was built. Additional features were added to her wall design to enhance the memorial including a bronze sculpture of three soldiers.

How vietnam veterans treated after the war?

Names continue to be added to the memorial. In order for them to be added the soldier must meet criteria determined by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Women's Memorial was designed by Glenna Goodacre and dedicated on November 11th, 1993. It honors the women who served in the Vietnam War, most of them nurses.

The first two names on the Vietnam Veterans memorial wall are Dale R. Buis and Chester M. Ovnand, who were killed at Bien Hoa by Vietcong guerrillas. They had been watching a movie in the mess hall at the time.

The wall for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was made of black granite from Bangalore, India, and the names of the veterans were typeset by Datalantic in Atlanta, Georgia. The typeset stone was then shipped to Memphis, Tennessee, where the names were permanently etched into it.

Leonard Matlovich was the first gay US service member to come out. When he died, he was buried without a name and known only as Gay Vietnam Veteran. His epitaph reads: ‘When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.’

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There were 57,939 names original names etched into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

Since Veterans Day in 1996 a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been displayed in more than 400 locations in the U.S.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was found to have over 100 spelling errors after its construction. Dozens of these errors were beyond repair and are still set in stone today.

The third place winner of the design contest was Frederick Hart. He was asked to complete his sculpture of three soldiers, called "The Three Servicemen". It was added to the memorial in 1984.

How many vietnam veterans are still alive?

The the first members of LAPD's SWAT were veterans of the Vietnam and Korean Wars issued weapons confiscated from criminals, and the acronym original stood for "Special Weapons Attack Team."

The Veterans Art Museum has an exhibit which features 58,307 dog tags, each one representing the death of military personnel in the Vietnam War and is arranged in date order of death.

Ron Launius, ring leader of Hollywood's Wonderland Gang, was a United States Air Force veteran of the Vietnam era, who had been dishonorably discharged and convicted of smuggling heroin from Vietnam back to the United States in the corpses of American soldiers.

Nearly 60 years after it began, new names are still being added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial “The Wall” to honor those servicemen and women killed or MIA following the Vietnam War.

There are no verified, contemporaneous accounts of protesters actually spitting on Vietnam veterans

The VVMF (Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.) became a non-profit organization in 1979 and raised money for the memorial.

When NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk's carotid artery was slashed by another player's skate, he was saved by the team's athletic trainer, a former army medic and Vietnam veteran, who reached into his neck and pinched off the artery until medical help could arrive.

Staff Sgt. Don Nicholas, a US Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, who re-enlisted in the US Army in order to serve on the frontlines in the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq

The National Parks Service collects, catalogs, and preserves items left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Over 400,000 items have been collected and many documented online.

The murder of Joe Torres, a Vietnam veteran, who was beaten to death by Houston officers and thrown into a river after being arrested for drunken disorderly conduct. The officers received 1 year of prohibition and a 1$ fine.

Approximately 35% of the veterans living today served in the United States military in the Vietnam War.

The G.I. Bill was expanded in 1984. The author of the bill was Mississippi congressman Sonny Montgomery, who originally intended for the expansion to make it easier for Vietnam veterans to attend college.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial's designer when asked about design inspiration said- "I thought about what death and loss is. A sharp pain that lessens with time, but never heals. A scar. The idea occured on site. Take a knife and cut open the earth and with time the grass would heal it."

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was designed by an Asian American Woman (Maya Lin) who believes that if the competition had not been "blind", she "never would have won". She received harassment and slurs after her ethnicity was revealed.

This is our collection of basic interesting facts about Vietnam Veterans. The fact lists are intended for research in school, for college students or just to feed your brain with new realities. Possible use cases are in quizzes, differences, riddles, homework facts legend, cover facts, and many more. Whatever your case, learn the truth of the matter why is Vietnam Veterans so important!