Mortality is not a fun topic. But neither is ignoring demographics and the state of veterans service organizations.
In my short time in the VSO space, I have heard a number of times the average age of a VFW member is 68 or more, that the focus is on Vietnam veterans, and that younger veterans don’t care about the VFW.
To understand the trends behind these observations, I sat down with a former state commander and did a little math.
Vietnam Veterans (1959-1973)
- 1968 was the peak year for American troops levels with 536,100. From 1965 to 1971 levels exceeded 150,000 troops for a seven-year period.
- A hypothetical private serving in Vietnam, based on the 11B MOS, was 20-years old
- Our 20-year-old private in 1968 will be 70 years-old next year.
- American taxpayers receive full Social Security benefits at 67 and must take benefits at 70.
- That said, only a small 25,000 Vietnam War veterans will have not reached full benefit age.
- According to the CDC, the life expectancy for Americans is 78.8 years. That is the average number of years that a person can expect to live. That means 50% of Americans will reach that age.
- 8,744.000 total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide); 3,403,000 Deployed to Southeast Asia
- The Third Age of adulthood or the “golden years” is the span from retirement to infirmity and roughly falls between the ages of 65 and 80+.
- 2010 was when a 20-year-old in 1965 hit 65
- 2031 is when a 20-year-old in 1971 hits 80
So now that brings some clarity and it can be bettered argued that the “Golden Age” of the Vietnam Veteran is from 2010 to 2031.
