The following year, in 1976, Vietnam was united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. U.S. Army Personnel and Dependent Casualties, 1961-1981 85% of the records in this database are related to the Vietnam Conflict. Who had the highest casualty rates in the Vietnam War? These numbers do not include civilian and ARVN military deaths result from the communist mass-internment, the refugee crisis and subsequent exodus of Vietnamese people after the Fall of Saigon. 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. Weakened by defeat in the war, France withdrew its forces in 1945. [93][97], Civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis, Muhammad Ali and others, criticized the racial disparity in both casualties and representation in the entire military, prompting the Pentagon to order cutbacks in the number of African Americans in combat positions. 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. combat, provided close combat support or were at least fairly regularly. Other nations such as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and the Philippines provided a limited number of troops to South Vietnamese forces. Since 1941 Congress has declared war only six times, all during World War II. 80 lessons The Vietnam War became a painful lesson for many - from Washington, D.C. to Smalltown America. An addition 3 million Vietnamese were left wounded and around 12 million were refugees. On October 22, 1957, the U.S. forces suffered their first hostile casualties. ARMY * U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1967, Fighting the North Vietnamese, 1984 . American civilians were not killed in the Vietnam War. 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. Of the 7877 officer casualties, 7595 or 96.4% were white, 147 or 1.8% were black; 24 or . The Vietnam War was a costly conflict between all sides from both a financial and military perspective. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and China poured weapons, supplies, and advisers into the North, which in turn provided support, political direction, and regular combat troops for the campaign in the South. (The estimates for 195564 are much higher than other estimates). The Coffelt Database available on this website is updated almost every night at 3 AM. [citation needed] Black people often made up a disproportionate 25% or more of combat units, while constituting only 12% of the military. [33][34] The United States government has challenged these figures as being unreliable. 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. The "patrol boat: riverine," or Navy PBR, was the first watercraft built for the so-called brown water navy in Vietnam. The war also spilled over into the neighboring countries of Cambodia and Laos which also endured casualties from aerial and ground fighting. 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, . Statistical Information about Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War, Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Electronic Data Records Relating to Military Objectives and Activities During the Vietnam War, Electronic Records of Korean and Vietnam War Casualties, How to File a FOIA Request for Archival Records, Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, Records of Deceased, Wounded, Ill, or Injured Army Personnel, Including Dependents and Civilian Employees, Records with Unit Information on Military Personnel Who Died During the Vietnam War. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea. The majority of the remaining number of casualties were Vietnamese. KIA - Killed in Action WIA - Wounded in Action. 70. . [71] The official US Department of Defense figure was 950,765 communist forces killed in Vietnam from 1965 to 1974. Dr. Shulimson heads the History Writing Unit and is a graduate of the University of Buffalo, now the State University of New York at Buffalo. the Vietnam War). Commander George L. Jackson said, "In response to this criticism, the Department of Defense took steps to readjust force levels in order to achieve an equitable proportion and employment of Negroes in Vietnam." Persian Gulf (1988) (Oil Platforms) 2. The idea that this war was only to stop the spread of communism and push democracy on newly forming nations was very unpopular, and many civilians believed that the United States should not have gotten involved at all. North Vietnam had won victory over the French and was likely to make South Vietnam submit to a Communist regime. Revolutionary War. Air Group or Air Wing level when necessary, At other levels when appropriate for Headquarters and minor assigned unit personnel, Commissioned ship name (i.e., "USS WHATEVER"), Task Force level (TF 115, TF 116, TF 117) for personnel assigned to the riverine and coastal forces, Naval Support Activity level for the shore establishment, Fleet Marine Force unit for Navy personnel assigned to FMF units, SEAL/UDT and SeaBee personnel are indexed under the next higher command. [1][note 1] The word casualty has been used in a military context since at least 1513. [27] Estimates for the number of North Vietnamese civilian deaths resulting from US bombing range from 30,00065,000. troops. In 1995 Vietnam released its official estimate of the number of people killed during the Vietnam War: as many as 2,000,000 civilians on both sides and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. [22], Thomas Thayer in 1985 estimated that during the 196572 period the VC killed 33,052 South Vietnamese village officials and civil servants.[23]. Over 58,000 American lives were lost in the fighting. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died. 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. "It was the epitome of immoralityOne of the times I counted bodies after an air strikewhich always ended with two napalm bombs which would just fry everything that was leftI counted sixty-two bodies. It is still a concern in Southeast Asia today. McNamara claimed this program would provide valuable training, skills and opportunity to America's poora promise that was never carried out. Put in their place to rule was Emperor Bao Dai, a French implant who had ties to creating a democracy. The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 [92], African Americans suffered disproportionately high casualty rates in Vietnam. * The 143 men subsequently declared dead between 1973 and 2002 are not included in these totals. These alphabetical indexes are for your convenience but do not represent the order of names on the Wall. Over the following years, additions to the list have brought the total past 58,200. Casualty Data For The Vietnam War. Vietnam War, (195475), a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The Domino Theory & the Vietnam War | Significance & Eisenhower's Speech, History of the Vietnam War: Certificate Program, Middle School US History: Help and Review, Middle School US History: Tutoring Solution, DSST A History of the Vietnam War: Study Guide & Test Prep, CLEP History of the United States II: Study Guide & Test Prep, Post-Civil War U.S. History: Help and Review, American History Since 1865: Tutoring Solution, Post-Civil War American History: Homework Help, DSST The Civil War & Reconstruction: Study Guide & Test Prep, The Civil War and Reconstruction: Certificate Program, The Civil War and Reconstruction: Help and Review, Create an account to start this course today. 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 last U.S. infantry unit was pulled from the field on Aug. 11, 1972, so U.S. casualties dramatically declined. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. Joseph L. Rhodes, 22, Marines, L. [5], Uppsala University in Sweden maintains the Armed Conflict Database. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Johnson raised the number of South Vietnam deployments to 23,000 U.S. soldiers by the end of his first year in office. Posted By: Jagermeister, 2/27/2023 4:40:17 PM Military historian and Hillsdale College professor Mark Moyar has just published Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968, which is the second in what will become a massive three-volume revision of the entire Vietnam War. An estimate by the Department of Defense after the war gave a figure of 1.2 million civilian casualties, including 195,000 deaths. Ho Chi Minh created the Viet Cong as a resistance force to French democracy. [70], RJ Rummel estimates 1,011,000 PAVN/VC combatant deaths. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Meanwhile, the United States, its military demoralized and its civilian electorate deeply divided, began a process of coming to terms with defeat in what had been its longest and most controversial war. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. They had been in discussion with the United States, who fully backed their democratic government and offered support to their efforts to remain a sovereign nation. And John Sullivan enlisted in the Navy after graduating high school and served as a second class machinist mate during the Vietnam War. Numbers certainly do not tell the whole story - or all of them - but they certainly paint a picture of lives lost and families devastated. Ho Khang, ed, Marilyn Young. Not all of these were military personnel; nearly half of the deaths of the Vietnam War were the deaths of civilians caught in the fighting. A casualty is just a soldier who is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat. In 1980 Richard set out to determine the unit of assignment for each Army soldier who died in Vietnam. How to Order a Draft Record. 38,179 total casualties (KIA and wounded) The 1st Cavalry Division lost the most men, from Aug 1965 to Aug 1972 they had 5,444 KIA, with 26,592 wounded. Cobra helicopters totaled 1,110,716 flight hours in Vietnam. The US entered into war with Vietnam because they did not want the spread of Communism to occur in the democratic state of South Vietnam. The United States lost 58,220 known military personnel. 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. Furthermore, domestic unrest and the financial cost of war made peaceand troop withdrawalsa necessity, not a choice. The boat people's first destinations were the Southeast Asian locations of Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. . 62. 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. In 1968 US soldiers murdered several hundred Vietnamese civilians in the single . During that period, they stated, they lost 849,018 killed plus approximately 232,000 missing and 463,000 wounded. MARINE CORPS * Once a unit assignment has been determined, a link to the individual's memorial page is included in the appropriate Unit Index. WWII POWs; WWII Enlistments; Japan POWs; Korean War Casualties; Displaying 1 - 20 . By nearly every metric, the Vietnam War was, in the common sense of the word, a war. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. In 1939, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam were French colonies organized under a single administrative unit called 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 . The war cost the United States over $120 billion and the lives of over 58,000 troops. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. [25][30], 18.2 million gallons of Agent Orange, some of which was contaminated with Dioxin, was sprayed by the U.S. military over more than 10% of Southern Vietnam[31] as part of the U.S. herbicidal warfare program Operation Ranch Hand during the Vietnam War, from 1961 to 1971. [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. 20% of black males were combat soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Among other countries that fought for South Vietnam, South Korea had more than 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia more than 500, and New Zealand some three dozen. PAVN and VC losses were reported as 1.1 million dead and civilian deaths of Vietnamese on both sides totaled 2.0 million. He further suggests that 222,000 civilians may have been counted as enemy military deaths by the U.S. in compiling its "body count" raising the total to 627,000 killed. In 2002, an early version of the Coffelt Database was deeded to the National Archives, which made it available on-line as a searchable database. The Geneva conference established a treaty that split the nation of Vietnam in half for the time being, with reunification elections set to be held in 1956. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North. The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. 151. [64] According to the Vietnamese government, from 1994 to 2012, 172,460 PAVN/VC bodies were found, including 15,989 in Cambodia, and 14,549 in Laos, and around 10,000 bodies were found from 2012 to 2015, reducing the number of MIA from 390,000 (1993) to 207,000 (2016). The Vietnam War death toll is estimated to be around 3.8 million casualties in total. U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1966, An Expanding War, 1982 . [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. Although North Vietnamese and Viet Cong casualty counts vary wildly, it is generally understood that they suffered several times the number of American casualties. . [62][63] Based on unit surveys, a rough estimate of 3040% of dead and missing were non-combat deaths. According to RJ Rummel, from 1964 to 1975, an estimated 1,500 people died during the forced relocations of 1,200,000 civilians, another 5,000 prisoners died from ill-treatment and about 30,000 suspected communists and fighters were executed. Rummel calculated PAVN/VC deaths at 1,062,000 and ARVN and allied war deaths of 741,000, with both totals including civilians inadvertently killed. I had just returned from Iraq and was working with Vietnam veterans who'd served in . LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969, featuring a portrait of U.S. Army specialist William C. Gearing, Jr., one of 242 American servicemen killed in a single week of fighting during the Vietnam War. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. In my report I described them as so many women between fifteen and twenty-five and so many childrenusually in their mothers' arms or very close to themand so many old people." [8], Lewy estimates that 40,000 South Vietnamese civilians were assassinated by the PAVN/VC; 300,000 were killed as a result of combat in South Vietnam, and 65,000 were killed in North Vietnam for a total of 405,000 killed. War cost the United States over $ 120 billion and the financial cost of War made peaceand troop withdrawalsa,! 58,000 American lives were lost in the Vietnam War victory over the following years, additions to the United high... War only six times, all during World War II 1 ] the official US of! 1 ] [ 63 ] Based on unit surveys, a War Vietnam 1965... Teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me U.S. casualties dramatically declined WIA - wounded in.... Vietnamese civilian deaths resulting from US bombing range from 30,00065,000. troops Dai, a French implant who had ties creating! 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vietnam war casualties by unit