Facts And Figures

[frisco-kid]

IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY....

* Vietnam Vets: 9.7% of their generation.
* 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era [5AUG64-7MAY75].
* 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war [5AUG64-28MAR73].
* 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 [1JAN65-28MAR73].
* Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960-1964.
* 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 [30APR68].

CASUALTIES....

* 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.
* 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% per 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 WWII and 70% higher than Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.
* MIAs: 2,338.
* POWs: 766 [114 died in captivity].

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: 30JUN73.

RACE & 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 North-west 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....

* 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower-middle/working class background.
* 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 seperation.
* Vietnam Vets are less likely to be in prison. Only 1 half of 1% of Vietnam Vets have been jailed for crimes.
* Deaths by region per 100,000 of population: South-31%; West-29.9%; Midwest-28.4%; Northeast-23.5%.

WINNING AND 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. Same as 10yrs. prior.
* 91% of Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy combat are proud to have served thier country.
* 66% of Vietnam Vets say they would serve again if called upon.
* 87% of the public now holds Vietnam Vets in high esteem

Courtesy of the VFW Magazine.

[39mto39g]

Thanks for the info.
Ron

[sfc_darrel]

Statistical information for the film series was retrieved from the following sources:

National Archives
Department of Defense casualty records
Labor Department
Department of Veterans? Affairs
National Personnel Records

In addition to:

Burkett, B.G., ?Stolen Valor? (Verity Press, Inc., Dallas, Texas, 1998)
Sorley, Lewis, ?A Better War? (Harcourt Brace & Company, Orlando, Florida, 1999)
Dr. Robert Turner, Deputy Director, Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia
University of Texas, Vietnam Center ? Special Collections, Lubbock, Texas

With more under
HONARABLE SERVICE:
* As of 1985, on 9% of Vietnam veterans had not graduated high school as opposed to 23% of their non-military peers
* As of 1985, a Vietnam veteran was more likely to have gone to college than a man of his age who did not serve: Vietnam veterans ? 30%; non-military peer ? 24%
* In 1985, 8 of every 10 Vietnam veterans were married to their first spouse and 90% had children
* In every major study of Vietnam veterans where the military records were pulled from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis and the veterans were then located, an insignificant number had been found in prison.
* In 1994, the unemployment rate for all males over 18 was 6%; for Vietnam veterans ? 3.9%
* In a study conducted by the Labor Department and Department of Veterans? Affairs ? more African-American Vietnam veterans work in white-collar, public-sector jobs than do African-American males who never served.


http://www.ourpatriots.com/references.htm

[frisco-kid]

Went looking for this to bring forward. Found it on page 48 . I thought maybe you could print it out and glean some info out of it [or use it all?] to use for your conference. Disspells alot of myths about us. Also, on page 27 there's a thread titled "WHO ARE YOU?" It's a poem that I wrote back then. You're welcome to use it, but let me know first.