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Anonymous ID: 21a3a7 March 20, 2024, 9:28 p.m. No.20599839   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Vietnam War Statistics

 

Personnel

 

9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (28 February 1961 - 7 May 1975)

 

8,744,000 personnel were on active duty during the war (5 August 1964-28 March 1973)

 

3,403,100 (including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the SE Asia

 

Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, flight crews based in Thailand and sailors

 

in adjacent South China Sea waters).

 

2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam

 

( I January 1965 - 28 March 1973)

 

Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964

 

Of the 2.6 million, between 1 and 1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in

 

combat, provided close combat support or were at least fairly regularly

 

exposed to enemy attack.

 

7,484 women served in Vietnam, of whom 6,250 or 83.5% were nurses.

 

Peak troop strength in Vietnam was 543,482, on 30 April 1969.

 

Approximately 2,594,000 US Servicemen served in country during the Vietnam War.

 

1,736,000 were US Army

 

391,000 were US Marines

 

293,000 were US Airmen

 

174,000 were US Sailors (this figure includes the US Coast Guard)

 

Casualties:

 

Hostile deaths: 47,359

 

Non-hostile deaths: 10,797

 

Total: 58,156 (including men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez

 

casualties).

 

Highest state death rate: West Virginia–84.1. (The national average death

 

rate for males in 1970 was 58.9 per 100,000).

 

WIA: 303,704 - 153,329 required hospitalization, 50,375 who did not.

 

Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. 5,283 lost

 

limbs, 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.

 

Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than

 

in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the

 

rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.

 

MIA: 2,338

 

POW: 766, of whom 114 died in captivity.

 

Draftees vs. volunteers:

 

25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66% of U.S. armed

 

forces members were drafted during WWII)

 

Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam.

 

Reservists KIA: 5,977

 

National Guard: 6,140 served; 101 died.

 

Ethnic background:

 

88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian, 10.6%

 

(275,000) were black, 1.0% belonged to other races

 

86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (including Hispanics)

 

12.5% (7,241) were black.

 

1.2% belonged to other races

 

170,000 Hispanics served in Vietnam; 3,070 (5.2%) of whom died there.

 

86.8% of the men who were KIA were Caucasian

 

12.1% (5,711) were black; 1.1% belonged to other races.

 

14.6% (1,530) of non-combat deaths were black

 

34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.

 

Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam when the percentage

 

of blacks of military age was 13.5% of the population.

 

Socioeconomic status:

 

76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working

 

class backgrounds

 

75% had family incomes above the poverty level

 

23% had fathers with professional, managerial, or technical occupations.

 

79% of the men who served in 'Nam had a high school education or better.

 

63% of Korean vets had completed high school upon separation from the service)

 

Winning & Losing:

 

82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost

 

because of a lack of political will.

 

Nearly 75% of the general public (in 1993) agrees with that.

 

Age & Honorable Service:

 

The average age of the G.I. in 'Nam was 19 (26 for WWII)

 

97% of Vietnam era vets were honorably discharged.

 

Pride in Service:

 

91% of veterans of actual combat and 90% of those who saw heavy combat are

 

proud to have served their country.

 

66% of Viet vets say they would serve again, if called upon.

 

87% of the public now holds Viet vets in high esteem.

 

Helicopter crew deaths accounted for 10% of ALL Vietnam deaths. Helicopter

 

losses during Lam Son 719 (a mere two months) accounted for 10% of all

 

helicopter losses from 1961-1975.