Who is the most famous Vietnam veteran?

His name is Staff Sergeant Joe Ronnie Hooper, and not only was he a hero in the Vietnam War; he is also the most decorated soldier in American international combat, even eclipsing both York and Murphy. Joe Ronnie Hooper was born on August 8th, 1938 in Piedmont, South Carolina.

Who is the most famous veteran?

Top 10 Celebrity Veterans

  1. Elvis Presley. “The Army teaches boys to think like men.”
  2. Clint Eastwood. “I was drafted during the Korean War.
  3. Johnny Cash. “That was the big thing when I was growing up, singing on the radio.
  4. Mr. T.
  5. Chuck Norris.
  6. Morgan Freeman.
  7. Humphrey Bogart.
  8. Ice-T.

Who was the best Vietnam soldier?

Sergeant First Class Jorge A. Otero Barreto (born 7 April 1937), a.k.a. “the Puerto Rican Rambo” and “Sergeant Rock”, is a former United States Army soldier. He earned 38 military decorations during his career, and has been called the most decorated U.S. soldier of the Vietnam War.

Who were the heroes of the Vietnam War?

Recipients

Name Service Date of action
William E. Adams † Army May 25, 1971
Bennie Adkins Army March 9, 1966
Lewis Albanese † Army December 1, 1966
Leonard L. Alvarado † Army August 12, 1969

Did any famous people serve in Vietnam?

Oliver Stone, who served in an infantry division in Vietnam for 15 months, drew on his experience in the war for films like Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989), both of which earned him Academy Awards for Best Director. These men are just two of the most famous American veterans of the Vietnam War.

What was the bloodiest day in Vietnam?

The deadliest day of the Vietnam War for the U.S. was 31 January at the start of the Tet Offensive when 246 Americans were killed in action.

Who dodged the Vietnam draft?

On January 21, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and early ’70s to avoid serving in the war.

Did any celebrities served in Vietnam?

Dennis Franz-Army-served 11 months with 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam (Actor) R. Lee Ermey spent 11 years in the Marines-Vietnam in 1968 for 14 months-staff Sergeant and medically retired for injuries received. The first Marine to ever be promoted after retirement. He is an actor and advisor on many movies.

Which photo stopped Vietnam War?

The photo, taken on June 8, 1972, captured a young child running to escape the impact of the Napalm bombing of a Vietnam village by the US forces. The image that conveyed the brutality of the war then went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Who was the longest POW in Vietnam?

Floyd James Thompson
He was one of the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history that was returned or captured by troops, spending nearly nine years in captivity in the forests and mountains of South Vietnam and Laos, and in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Floyd James Thompson
Battles/wars Vietnam War

What famous people got drafted to Vietnam?

Famous American Vietnam Vets

  • John McCain.
  • Oliver Stone.
  • Colin Powell.
  • Bob Kerrey.
  • Other Famous American Vietnam Vets.

Are there still POWs in Vietnam?

As of 2015, more than 1,600 of those were still “unaccounted-for.” The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense lists 687 U.S. POWs as having returned alive from the Vietnam War.

What was the deadliest job in Vietnam?

Overall, the U.S. military used nearly 12,000 helicopters in Vietnam, of which more than 5,000 were destroyed. To be a helicopter pilot or crew member was among the most dangerous jobs in the war.

What was the toughest unit in Vietnam?

The all-volunteer MACV-SOG (most were U.S. Army Special Forces “Green Berets”) carried out some of the most dangerous and challenging special operations of the Vietnam War.

Who Cannot be drafted?

WHO ARE EXEMPT FROM THE DRAFT?

  • The Vice-President of the United States, the Judges of the various Courts of the Untied States, the heads of the various executive departments of the Government, and the Governors of the several States.
  • The only son liable to military duty of a widow dependent upon his labor for support.

What birthdays were picked for the Vietnam draft?

On December 1, 1969, the Selective Service System of the United States conducted two lotteries to determine the order of call to military service in the Vietnam War in the year 1970, for men born from January 1, 1944 to December 31, 1950.

Did any rock stars serve in Vietnam?

2. John Fogerty- Before his bandThe Golliwogs became Creedence Clearwater Revival, the singer was in the Army Reserve, serving at Fort Bragg, Fort Knox and Fort Lee during the Vietnam War. He didn’t see any combat and was discharged in 1967.

How gruesome was the Vietnam War?

An estimated 500 Vietnamese, mostly women, children, and the elderly, died in the massacre. The brutality has been well documented: American soldiers raped, mutilated, and tortured the villagers before killing them; families were dragged from their homes, thrown into ditches and executed.

Who dropped the bomb on Napalm Girl?

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Phan Thị Kim Phúc OOnt
Born Phan Thị Kim Phúc April 6, 1963 Trảng Bàng, South Vietnam
Nationality Canadian
Other names Kim Phúc
Citizenship South Vietnam (1963–1975) Vietnam (1975–1997) Canada (1997–present)

Were there any female POWs in Vietnam?

During the Vietnam War Monika Schwinn, a German nurse, was held captive for three and a half years – at one time the only woman prisoner at the “Hanoi Hilton”. The following missionaries were POWs: Evelyn Anderson, captured and later burned to death in Kengkok, Laos, 1972. Remains recovered and returned to U.S.

Are there still POWs in Vietnam 2022?

STATUS OF THE POW/MIA ISSUE: September 17 , 2022

1,582 Americans are still listed by DoD as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War: Vietnam – 1,242 (VN-442, VS-802); Laos–285; Cambodia-48; Peoples Republic of China territorial waters–7.

How many soldiers died their first day in Vietnam?

997 soldiers
997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

What was the most elite unit in Vietnam?

MACV-SOG—Military Assistance Command, Vietnam—Special Operations Group (later renamed Studies and Observations Group)—was the elite military unit of the Vietnam War, so secret that its existence was denied by the U.S. government.

What was the life expectancy of a door gunner in Vietnam?

two weeks
Over 10% of Vietnam casualties were helicopter crew members, and most of those were the door gunners that protected the helicopter, its crew, and its transports, from their exposed position. The average lifespan of a door gunner on a Huey in Vietnam was just two weeks.

What unit lost the most soldiers in Vietnam?

US units with most casualties per conflict

Unit Conflict WIA
Harlem Hellfighters World War I
3rd Infantry Division World War II 18,766
1st Marine Division Korean War 25,864
1st Cavalry Division Vietnam War 26,592