Vietnamese deaths during American War:ARVN (Army of the Republic of Viet Nam) [South Vietnam} : 250,000
NVA (North Vietnam Army) : 1,100,000 North civilians: 65,000 South civilians: Est. from 391,000 to 720,000 In 1995 the government of Viet Nam had a study that estimated 2,000,000 Vietnamese were killed on both sides during the war. Source: Best guess based on various estimates, such as PBS in America and Viet Nam's government. |
US Military Personnel statistics during the Vietnam war:Killed in Action: 58,148
Severely disabled: 75,000 Lost limbs: 5,283 61% of those killed were under 21 Missing: 1,875 2,709,918 US military served in Vietnam 2000 US census: 1,002,511 Vietnam veterans still alive. 2000 US census: 13,853,027 claimed to be Vietnam veterans. Therefore: 9 out of 10 who claim to be Vietnam veterans are not. |
Hill 937 (Hamburger Hill) May/June 1969Americans killed: 72
Americans wounded 354 NVA (North Vietnamese Army) killed: Est. 1000. Hill vacated by US June 5, 1969. NVA re-took hill within 2 months without resistance. (Source: The Ten Thousand Day War, by Michael Maclear) |
Vietnam War Memorial Wall, Washington D.C.
58, 267 names. Three sets of fathers and sons. Thirty-one sets of brothers. Eight women.
39,996 age 22 or younger. 33,103 were 18. 997 killed on their first day. 1448 killed on their last day. January 31, 1968 had the highest deaths in a single day: 245. May 1968 was the deadliest month with 2, 415 killed. (Source: John Swanson, Facebook, 2017). |
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Combat Deaths in 1968 and 1969
In 1969 US combat losses were 9,414, down from 14,592 in 1968. Another 10,000 Americans would die before the so-called peace agreement of 1973. The South Vietnamese military losses would rise to a total of approximately 250,000.
(Source: Maclear, ibid.) |
Operation "Speedy Express" by 9th Infantry in Mekong Delta.
From December 1968 through May 1969, under the command of Gen. Julian Ewell, the 9th Infantry Division recorded high body counts in response to the commander's constant demands for kills. "Jack up that body count or you're gone, colonel." Statistics indicate many KIAs were civilians: 10,899 reported enemy killed and only 748 weapons captured. April alone saw 699 killed and only 9 weapons found. Before Ewell, 80 kills for every American killed, about average for US units in VN. After Ewell took over, the ratio was 134:1. During Speedy Express in the delta, 6500 tactical air strikes, 5,078 tons of bombs, 1,784 tons of napalm. Artillery: 311,083 rounds fired into the delta countryside. (Source: Kill Anything That Moves by Nick Turse).
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Staggering Losses Equivalence
Americans tragically lost 58,000 lives between 1965 and 1975, for which we mourn and still ponder why military and political leaders led the U.S. into an unwise quagmire. However think of this: the Vietnamese lost 3.6 million lives. That is equal in proportion to the United States losing 27 million people. (Source: David K. Shipler, "Missed Opportunities?" New York Times Magazine, Nov. 1997). |
U.S. Bomb Tonnage Dropped During WWII and Vietnam:
U. S. Air Force (Army Air Corps) dropped 1,613,000 tons of bombs in Europe, and 537,000 tons in the Pacific Theater during WWII.
USAF dropped 6,162,000 tons of bombs in Southeast Asia. US Navy and Marines dropped 1,500,000 tons. (Source: Miguel and Roland, UC-Berkeley). |