Concerned Veterans of Louisiana Inc.
Concerned Veterans of Louisiana Inc.
111 Jenna Dr
Schriever, LA 70395
ph: 985-448-1790
thetabe
American Wars
Additional American Operations
MORE FACTS ABOUT THE VIETNAM WAR YOU MAY NOT KNOW .!!!!!!!
STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY VIETNAM VETERANS:
* 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975).
* 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964-March 28,1973).
* 2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam, this number represents 9.7% of their generation.
* 3,403,100 (Including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the broader Southeast 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 (Jan. 1,1965 - March 28, 1973).
Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964.
* Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly
exposed to enemy attack.
* 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam.
* Peak troop strength in Vietnam: 543,482 (April 30, 1968).
CASUALTIES:
The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station.
Davis Station in Saigon was named for him.
**Hostile deaths: 47,378 / Non-hostile deaths: 10,800
Total: 58,202 (Includes men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties).
Men who have subsequently died of wounds account for the changing total.
8 nurses died -- 1 was KIA.
61% of the men killed were 21 or younger.
11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old.
Of those killed, 17,539 were married.
Average age of men killed: 23.1 years
Total Deaths: 23.11 years
Enlisted: 50,274 - 22.37 years
Officers: 6,598 - 28.43 years
Warrants: 1,276 - 24.73 years E1: 525 - 20.34 years 11B MOS(Infantryman):
18,465 - 22.55 years Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.
The oldest man killed was 62 years old.
Highest state death rate: West Virginia - 84.1% (national average 58.9% for
every 100,000 males in 1970).
**Wounded: 303,704 --
153,329 hospitalized +
150,375 injured requiring no hospital care.
**Severely disabled: 75,000, -- 23,214: 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 Korea.
**Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in
WWII.
Missing in Action: 2,338 POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity) **As of January
15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam
War.
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 killed: 5,977
National Guard: 6,140 served: 101 died.
Total draftees (1965 - 73): 1,728,344.
**Actually served in Vietnam:
38% Marine Corps Draft: 42,633.
Last man drafted:
June 30, 1973.
RACE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND:
88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian; 10.6%
(275,000) were black; 1% belonged to other races.
86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (includes Hispanics).
12.5% (7,241) were black;
1.2% belonged to other races.
170,000 Hispanics served in Vietnam;
3,070 (5.2% of total) died there.
70% of enlisted men killed were of northwest European descent.
86.8% of the men who were killed as a result of hostile action were
Caucasian; 12.1% (5,711) were black; 1.1% belonged to other races.
14.6% (1,530) of non-combat deaths were among blacks.
34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.
*Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam at a time when the
percentage of blacks of military age was 13.5% of the total population.
**Religion of Dead:
Protestant -- 64.4%; / Catholic -- 28.9%; / other/none -- 6.7%
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS:
Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age
groups.
Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group
by more than 18 percent.
76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class
backgrounds.
**Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from
middle income backgrounds.
Copyright 2012 Concerned Veterans of Louisiana Inc. - All rights reserved.
Tommy Tabor / Webmaster
Concerned Veterans of Louisiana Inc.
111 Jenna Dr
Schriever, LA 70395
ph: 985-448-1790
thetabe