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Old 05-23-2002, 05:55 AM
Advisor Advisor is offline
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Default Interesting Statistics

Received a GR8 Email from Marinevet containing some statistics that belie the popular (urban myth) view of Vietnam Vets and the war.

Finally some documentation to refute the misinformation and myths on who served in Vietnam.


II. Official Campaigns of the War in Vietnam (Time of service 15 March
1962- 28 March 1973)


1. Vietnam Advisory Campaign (15 March 1962 - 07 March 1965)
2. Vietnam Defense Campaign (08 March 1965 - 24 December 1965)
3. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Campaign (25 December 1965 - 30 June
1966)
4. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase II (01 July 1966 - 31 May 1967)
5. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase III (01 June 1967 - 29 January
1968)
6. Tet Counteroffensive (30 January 1968 - 01 April 1968)
7. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase IV (02 April 1968 - 30 June 1968)
8. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase V (01 July 1968 - 01 November 1968)
9. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase VI (02 November 1968 - 22 February
1969)
10. Tet 69/Counteroffensive (23 February 1969 - 08 June 1969)
11. Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 (09 June 1969 - 31 October 1969)
12. Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 (01 November 1969 - 30 April 1970)
13. Sanctuary Counter-offensive (01 May 1970 - 30 June 1970)
14. Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase VII (01 July 1970 - 30 June 1971)
15. Consolidation I (01 July 1971 - 30 November 1971)
16. Consolidation II (01 December 1971 - 29 March 1972)
17. Vietnam Ceasefire Campaign (30 March 1972 - 28 March 1973)

_____


III. Statistics

IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY


* Vietnam Veterans: 9.7% of their generation.
* 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 (August 5, 1964 -
March 28, 1973).
* 3,403,100 (including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the
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 (January 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, 1969).

CASUALTIES

* Hostile deaths: 47,359.
* Non-hostile deaths: 10,797.
* 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.
* Married men killed: 17,539.
* 61% of the men killed were 21 or younger.
* 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 in
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).

DRAFTEES AND VOLUNTEERS

* 25% of the total forces in country were draftees 648,500 as opposed
to 66% of the ones in 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% listed as others.
* 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.
* 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

* 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.
* Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial
or technical occupations.
* 79% of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or
better when they entered the military service. (63% of Korean War vets
and
only 45% of WWII vets had completed high school upon separation).
* Deaths by region per 100,000 of population: South-31, West-29.9;
Midwest-28.4; Northeast-23.5

WINNING & LOSING

* 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was
lost because of lack of political will

* Nearly 75% of the public agrees it was a failure of political will,
not of arms.

HONORABLE SERVICE

* 97% of Vietnam-era veterans were honorably discharged.
* 91% of actual Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy
combat are proud to have served their country.
* 66% of Vietnam vets say they would serve again if called upon.
* 87% of the public now holds Vietnam veterans in high esteem.
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  #2  
Old 05-23-2002, 08:59 AM
Beau Beau is offline
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Default Hold it

I gotta big "issue" on Gov't categorizations that my experience does not confirm:

" * 86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (includes
Hispanics); "
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  #3  
Old 05-23-2002, 09:25 AM
exlrrp exlrrp is offline
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Default You're forgetting.......

i think the most important statistic is this--not one American unit surrendered, not a squad, not a fire team, not a rowboat--the only war that this can be said of. Who says we didn't know how to fight and weren't willing to?

James

happy just to be alive
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  #4  
Old 05-23-2002, 09:35 AM
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Keith_Hixson Keith_Hixson is offline
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Default Very Interesting

Certainly betrays the stero-types that the media portrays. Also, the violence in fighting in Vietnam was some of the worst in the history of the military.

Very Interesting.

Thanks.

Keith
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Old 05-23-2002, 05:16 PM
ArtySgt ArtySgt is offline
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Default Thanks,

Thank you for posting this information. It confirmed a lot of other data I've seen/read about.
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  #6  
Old 05-23-2002, 05:37 PM
SeaSoldier SeaSoldier is offline
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Posts: 21
Default We...

Posted this same stuff on the old veterans.com site and like most things, they deleted it!

I happy to see someone post it again. Thanks

Semper Fi my friends,
steve
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Old 05-23-2002, 05:46 PM
sn-e3 sn-e3 is offline
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Default hey

if those date are correct i'm intitled to one more campaign star on my vietnam campaign ribbon cool
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