Lochren) subtracted the muster figures (262-47=215)(82.1%) and asserted that "[every one of the] 215 [missing men] lay upon the field. Those who argue that the United States won the war point to the fact that the U.S. defeated communist forces during most of Vietnams major battles. 7. A casualty is just a soldier who is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat. The Coffelt Database is an intellectual property with copyrights held by the Coffelt Group and other contributing organizations. Nick Turse, in his 2013 book, Kill Anything that Moves, argues that a relentless drive toward higher body counts, a widespread use of free-fire zones, rules of engagement where civilians who ran from soldiers or helicopters could be viewed as VC, and a widespread disdain for Vietnamese civilians led to massive civilian casualties and endemic war crimes inflicted by U.S. Many were never directly involved in the fighting, but rather were only caught in the crosshairs of South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese forces. By 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. November 19, 1967 was one of the bloodiest days for American troops in the Vietnam War. Those who argue that the United States opponents won the war cite the United States overall objectives and outcomes. Richard Coffelt's health began failing, and on 29 October 2010 he made his last contributions to the Coffelt Database. Of the 4953 Navy and Air Force casualties, both officer and enlisted, 4, 736 or 96% were white. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., lists more than 58,300 names of members of the U.S. armed forces who were killed or went missing in action. Of the 2.6 million, between 1 and 1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in. [3], A 1995 demographic study in Population and Development Review calculated 791,0001,141,000 war-related Vietnamese deaths, both soldiers and civilians, for all of Vietnam from 196575. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Significant numbers resettled in the United States, Canada, Italy, Australia, France, West Germany, and the United Kingdom.[105]. Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972. Principal Wars in Which the US Participated . [98], Unexploded ordnance continue to detonate and kill people today. [103], On 9 August 2012, the United States and Vietnam began a cooperative cleaning up of the toxic chemical from part of Da Nang International Airport, marking the first time Washington has been involved in cleaning up Agent Orange in Vietnam. It is still a concern in Southeast Asia today. The Internet cannot and has not replaced on-the-spot investigation, though; in example, one member of the Coffelt Group has photographed over 80,000 documents at the LBJ and Nixon Presidential Libraries and in the National Archives. There are some limitations on the search capabilities and downloading records en masse is not allowed. An estimated two million civilians of all nationalities, including those of Cambodia and Laos, were killed in the fighting. [92], African Americans suffered disproportionately high casualty rates in Vietnam. Chapter 17 index: "Communists provided further corroboration of the proximity of their casualty figures to American figures in a postwar disclosure of total losses from 1960 to 1975. His estimate of total deaths is reflected in the table. 69th Armor Page: Ray's Home Page: E-Mail Me: Note: NVA casualty data was provided by North Vietnam in a press release to Agence France Presse (AFP) on April 3, 1995, on the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The 'shameful gamesmanship' practiced by 'certain reporting elements' under pressure to 'produce results' also shrouded the process. Omissions? The United States had provided funding, armaments, and training to South Vietnams government and military since Vietnams partition into the communist North and the democratic South in 1954. Nine-year-old Kim Phuc had ripped off her burning . They also are AT-CTI certified. 232,000 military personnel were still missing as of 2017, a total of 1,081,000 dead and missing for the American War. The United States withdrew its forces in 1973, placing the onus on South Vietnam to fight its own battle. Kennedys expansion stemmed in part from Cold War-era fears about the domino theory: if communism took hold in Vietnam, it would topple democracies throughout the whole of Southeast Asia, it was thought. [95] Of the 27 million draft-age men between 1964 and 1973, 40% were drafted into military service, and only 10% were actually sent to Vietnam. Ronald H. Spector is Professor of History and International Affairs in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea. Veterans were viewed negatively for their participation in the war, even if it was not by their choice to do so. The United States has spent over $65 million since 1998 as part of unexploded ordnance clearing operations. They have a Bachelor's in Air Traffic Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and minored in Aviation Safety and Homeland Security. These photographs have become a part of the Coffelt Database. Vietnam War Casualties record set contains 58,192 additional names of service people who lost their lives while serving overseas. To be listed on the Memorial one simply need to have been: 1) A native Hoosier; and, 2) Killed in Action or Missing in Action between 1 January . Officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. 70. . These deaths made up about 40% of the total casualties. The war was fought on Vietnamese land, in addition to the territories of Cambodia and Laos. The U.S. military reported 58,220 American casualties. In that respect, it failed: the two Vietnams were united under a communist banner in July 1976. ^ 1st Cavalry Division was the unit with most casualties suffered during the Vietnam War with 32,036; including 5,444 KIA and 26,592 wounded. Regarding killed in action the 1st Marine Division was the unit with the highest . History is not a fixed set of facts. During the final years of World War II, political leader Ho Chi Minh organized a group, the Viet Cong, to fight the powers in occupancy of the territory and take control. The study's authors stated that methodological limitations of the study include imbalance between rural and urban areas and the potential exclusion of high mortality areas. North Vietnam had won victory over the French and was likely to make South Vietnam submit to a Communist regime. Shelby L. Stanton, 'The Rise and Fall of an American Army,' Spa Books, 1989, xvi. Initially, the toll was just over 57,000, but new casualties came to light. American Foreign Policy in the First Indochina War. It is unknown how much aid was lost from North Vietnamese allies. Updates? More than 58,000 American casualties of the Vietnam War are commemorated on the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC. Aid sent from other nations to the South Vietnamese effort waged about 5,000 total deaths. That can include disabled by injuries, disabled by psychological trauma, captured, deserted, or missing. Infantry Unit Commander (ARMY) 06/23/66: A Co: GORDON THOMAS: DALTON: Ground Casualty: 4th Bn: Undefined Code: Hostile, Died: Selective Service: South Vietnam: Invalid . The following year, in 1976, Vietnam was united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In the United States, the Vietnam War became known as one of the most unpopular wars . Moyar, Mark. On that panel, above the names is this inscription: In honor of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. WWII POWs; WWII Enlistments; Japan POWs; Korean War Casualties; Displaying 1 - 20 . The United States lost 58,220 known military personnel. The war persisted from 1955 to 1975 and most of the fighting took place in South Vietnam; accordingly it suffered the most casualties. In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., inscribed with the names of 57,939 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of the war. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. [62] According to the Vice Minister Nguyn B Hoan, in 2022, nearly 200,000 PAVN/VC were still MIA (whose bodies were have not been found), and 300,000 whose bodies have been found, but buried anonymously and never identified. I had just returned from Iraq and was working with Vietnam veterans who'd served in . It was first used in 1962 and was effective at its job. In the midst of an intense 3-week fight against the North Vietnamese Army in the province of Kontum, South Vietnam, elements of the U.S. Army 173d Airborne Brigade and the 503d Infantry Regiment assaulted a battalion of North Vietnamese soldiers entrenched on a hill outside the village . [62] Across all three wars including the First Indochina War and the Third Indochina War there was a total of 1,146,250 PAVN/VC confirmed military deaths, included 939,460 with bodies recovered and 207,000 with the bodies unfound. 1968 Tet Offensive - Hanoi failed in its most ambitious goal of producing a general uprising in the South, it suffered more than 45,267 (mainly Viet Cong) deaths but gained a propaganda, political and strategic victory. A 1975 US Senate subcommittee estimated around 1.4 million civilian casualties in South Vietnam because of the war, including 415,000 deaths. (L Company Ranger 75th Infantry Archives) At only 17 years old, B.C.'s . In just 30 minutes, they had 30 casualties. Since body counts were a direct measure of operational success, US "operations reports" often listed civilian deaths as enemy KIA or exaggerated the number. Learn about Vietnam war statistics and casualties. The war was fought largely in North Vietnam and South Vietnam, though some fighting did occur in the neighboring territories of Cambodia and Laos. Combat Area Casualties Dataset. A Korean War era soldier and later an attorney in Hays, Kansas, Richard became aware that the government had not made public a central source of information regarding the servicemen and women who died as a result of service in Vietnam. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Deaths in the Vietnam War. As before, emphasis was placed on obtaining hard documentation, a task made easier as material became available on the Internet from governmental and private organizations. He recalled the attack and said, "We go in, and the helicopter started . Over 58,000 American lives were lost in the fighting. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, but his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, continued the work that Kennedy had started. The Vietnam War was a long, deadly struggle that took place from 1954 to 1975 between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 The Viet Cong used the jungle terrain to their advantage both as a means of hiding, as well as a place to bury pressure-sensor explosives to wipe out unsuspecting bands of patrolling enemy forces. The Vietnam War was costly to the U.S. Marine Corps. The question of who won the Vietnam War has been a subject of debate, and the answer depends on the definition of victory. [25], Operating under the direction of the CIA and other US and South Vietnamese Intel organizations and carried out by ARVN units alongside US advisers was the Phoenix Program, intended to neutralise the VC political infrastructure, whom were the civilian administration of the Viet Cong/Provisional Revolutionary Government via infiltration, capture, counter-terrorism, interrogation, and assassination. The two countries finally resumed formal diplomatic relations in 1995. Civilian deaths are still ongoing because of the use of unexploded ordnances left behind from the war. This list is organized in alphabetical order, and can be used to determine the place on the Vietnam Memorial where an individual's name can be found - the panel and line number to the right of the name. Vietnam War: 1964-1973: 58,220: 153,303: 5,283: 1:2.6: 1:29.0 (0.03) Persian Gulf War: NAVY * This was the turning point and the start of South Vietnam's defeat. The Vietnam War death toll is estimated to be around 3.8 million casualties in total. Grenada (1983) 3. Other Deaths (In Theater) 2,835 Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 17,672 Non-mortal Woundings 103,284 Living Veterans 1,165,000 Vietnam War (1964-1975) Total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide)6 8,744,000 Deployed to Southeast Asia 7 3,403,000 Battle Deaths 8 47,434 Other Deaths (In Theater)8 10,786 Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)8 32,000 Village battles were not uncommon as the two factions fought for control of the region. California (5,572 Estimated Casualties). Many black men who had previously been ineligible could now be drafted, along with many poor and racially intolerant white men from the southern states. Panama . [33][34] The United States government has challenged these figures as being unreliable. Estimates include both civilian and military deaths in North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The United States also reduced support troops, and in March 1971 the 5th Special Forces Group, the first American unit deployed to South Vietnam, withdrew to Fort Bragg, . Of the 7877 officer casualties, 7595 or 96.4% were white, 147 or 1.8% were black; 24 or . [19], Other casualties for the ARVN included up to 1,170,000 military wounded,[59] and 1,000,000 surrendered or captured. Ho Chi Minh was outraged and began to engage his forces in small fights with South Vietnamese troops. succeed. Pentagon statistics listed 39,000 and 61,000 PRG/DRV dead for the same time period.". "Making More Enemies than We Kill? A mass exodus in 1975 of people loyal to the South Vietnamese cause was followed by another wave in 1978 of boat people, refugees fleeing the economic restructuring imposed by the communist regime. These statistics were sourced from the appendix of On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War 1967-1968. [46], The ROK Capital Division reportedly perpetrated the Bnh An/Ty Vinh massacre in February/March 1966. The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History Both American/South Vietnamese forces and the Viet Cong can be held accountable for the number of civilian deaths, but the Viet Cong had a larger hand in overtaking villages and using more offensive military tactics to draw out the South Vietnamese forces. Encounter Books, December 2022. She has an M.S.Ed. For more information see Vietnam War casualties and Aircraft losses of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos . In 1980 Richard set out to determine the unit of assignment for each Army soldier who died in Vietnam. 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam. However, side effects occurred because of Agent Orange. Who had the highest casualty rates in the Vietnam War? non-hostile occurrence or who were missing in action or prisoners of war in the Southeast Asian combat area during the Vietnam War, including casualties that occurred in Cambodia, China, Laos, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Thailand. An additional 232,000 military personnel were still missing as of 2017, a total of 1,081,000 dead and missing for the American War. Answer (1 of 3): !st Cavalry Division KIA - 5,444 WIA - 26,592 Total Casualties - 32,036 The First Team was in VN from Aug 1965 until Aug 1972 Per: Willbanks, James H. (2013). He received his B.A. The following general rules are observed: (2) AVIATION UNIT PERSONNEL in the Navy, Marines, and Air Force are indexed at the, (3) NAVAL PERSONNEL, other than aviation personnel, are indexed by, * Battle of Hamburger Hill. in Social Studies Education. Ho Chi Minh created the Viet Cong as a resistance force to French democracy. This series contains records of U.S. military officers and soldiers who died as a result of either a hostile or nonhostile occurrence or who were missing in action or prisoners of war in the Southeast Asian combat area during the Vietnam War including casualties that occurred in Cambodia, China, Laos, North . According to statistics from the South Vietnamese Ministry of Health, 44.5% of civilians admitted to hospitals between 1967 and 1970 were wounded by mines or mortars, 21.2% by guns or grenades, and 34.3% by artillery or bombing. Although North Vietnamese and Viet Cong casualty counts vary wildly, it is generally understood that they suffered several times the number of American casualties. The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. Answer (1 of 4): The Army lost the most which makes sense as they had the most number of soldiers serve in Vietnam. For this figure, Guenter Lewy assumes that one-third of the reported enemy killed may have been civilians, concluding that the actual number of deaths of the VC and PAVN military forces was probably closer to 444,000. The Vietnam War became a painful lesson for many - from Washington, D.C. to Smalltown America. The dates of death . [6], A 2008 study by the BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal) came up with a higher toll of 3,812,000 dead in Vietnam between 19552002. The terms of this expansion included yet more funding and arms, but a key alteration was the commitment of U.S. soldiers to the region. Fighting continued on a lesser scale for some time afterwards and refugee numbers rose sharply due to the continued conflict, but the development of a strong trading market in the 80s helped the nation become more unified. Vietnam Syndrome Overview & Analysis | What is Vietnam Syndrome? 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