19

[lumpy]

I recall liking this video when it came out , and have just stumbled across it again on u-tube . It has some quite cool ( aviation related ) footage ( and may stir a few memories , for those mature enough to remember when it first came out )

[corsair67]

Love that clip of the Skyraider popping off phosphorous balls while flying around the Jolly Green Giant.

[flyjoe180]

I remember the song and the clip. Also, have a read of this website page:

www.vhfcn.org/stats.htm


Of note here:

Myth: The average age of an infantryman fighting in Vietnam was 19.

Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. [CACF] The average man who fought in World War II was 26 years of age. [Westmoreland]

[Dave Homewood]

I remember the song very well, and have had it on my iPod for a couple of years now. It takes me back to my youth just before I joined the RNZAF when me and my mates used to watch all the Vietnam War staff that was around at the time in the 1986-88 period when it seemed to enjoy something of a revival with the excellent TV shows Tour of Duty and China Beach on primetime, and the films Platoon, Hamburger Hill, Full Metal Jacket, etc all coming out around then. Plus there was a series of magazines on that war that came out which my mate Alan subscribed to and he used to show us regularly. He picked up many Vietnamese swearwords and methods of killing from it! ;D

I wish they would rerun Tour of Duty. I have the first three soundtrack tapes from that and they became the music of my recruit course as several guys had them and they were always being played. It seems most of us had been into that 'Vietnam Craze' before we joined up. It seems a bit sick to be a fan of a war, but we were all teenagers being fed this stuff by TV and as we were all headed into the military that was still equipped with Vietnam era equipment in 1989, it seemed the thing to be into.

Joe, if you take into account the ages of the soldiers on the other side it may well average out at 19, there were a lot of kids and teens on the NVA and VC side. The song does not say "The average age of the American combat solider..."

[mumbles]

Jul 30, 2011 11:35:45 GMT 12 lumpy said:

( and may stir a few memories , for those mature enough to remember when it first came out )

I like the way you put that I remember arguing with a girl in my primary school who was convinced the lyrics were mentioning "Chaigon".

My understanding of the '19' myth is that it is accurate if you include ages from the time of enlistment and basic training, rather than solely those deployed in theatre. For those actually doing the fighting it wasn't true.

[11SQNLDR]

Wow, talk about a blast from the past

Sure hope that guy got treatment for his stutter ;D