On this day in 1973,

U.S. Withdraws From Vietnam

58,000+ American Boys Killed - 40,000 Killed Ages 22 & Under

On this day in 1973, the last American troops left South Vietnam following the loss of 58,000+ American boys, most of my generation, and most of whom had been drafted and forced to go to Vietnam to fight and die.  

The names on The Vietnam Memorial Wall are arranged in the order in which they were killed by date and within each date the names are alphabetized.   

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass., listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956.  His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps LCpl Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept.7, 1965. 

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s former National Security Advisor, wrote a necessary read about this sad episode in American history titled "Dereliction of Duty" and subtitled “Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the lies that led to Vietnam.”  

Gen. McMaster says Democrat President Johnson “disregarded the advice he did not want to hear in favor of a policy based on the pursuit of his own political fortunes and his beloved domestic programs."  "The administration’s lies to the American public grew in magnitude as the American military effort in Vietnam escalated,” initially without the public’s knowledge or consent.  

Johnson’s “guns and butter” policies led to rampant inflation reaching 18%, political turmoil, and social shock waves felt for a generation.

58,000+ American boys killed.