Casualties - US vs NVA/VC

[David]

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.

US casualty information was derived from the Combat Area Casualty File of 11/93, and The Adjutant General's Center (TAGCEN) file of 1981, available from the National Archives.

Entire War

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	47,378 1	304,704 2	2,338 3	766 4
ARVN	223,748	1,169,763	NA	NA
South Korea	4,407	17,060	NA	NA
Australia	469	2,940	NA	NA
Thailand	351	1,358	NA	NA
New Zealand	55	212	NA	NA
NVA/VC	1,100,000	600,000	NA	26,000 5

Note 1: there were an additional 10,824 non-hostile deaths for a total of 58,202
Note 2: of the 304,704 WIA, 153,329 required hospitalization
Note 3: this number decreases as remains are recovered and identified
Note 4: 114 died in captivity
Note 5: Does not include 101,511 Hoi Chanh

Legend: KIA = Killed In Action WIA = Wounded In Action MIA = Missing In Action CIA = Captured In Action

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1968 Tet Offensive

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	1,536	7,764	11	unknown
ARVN	2,788	8,299	587	unknown
NVA/VC	45,000	unknown	unknown	6,991

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Casualties By Year

1961-1965

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	1,864	7,337	18	unknown
ARVN	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown
NVA/VC	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown

1966

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	5,008 1	29,992	61	unknown
ARVN	11,953	71,584	unknown	unknown
NVA/VC	71,473	unknown	unknown	3,247

Note 1: there were an additional 1,045 non-hostile deaths for a total of 6,053

1967

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	9,378 1	56,013	113	unknown
ARVN	12,716	76,299	529	unknown
NVA/VC	133,484	unknown	unknown	6,065

Note 1: there were an additional 1,680 non-hostile deaths for a total of 11,058

1968

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	14,594 1	87,388	176	unknown
ARVN	28,800	172,512	587	unknown
NVA/VC	208,254	unknown	unknown	9,462

Note 1: there were an additional 1,919 non-hostile deaths for a total of 16,511

1969

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	9,414 1	55,390	112	unknown
ARVN	22,000	131,780	683	unknown
NVA/VC	132,051	unknown	unknown	5,905

Note 1: there were an additional 2,113 non-hostile deaths for a total of 11,527

1970

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	4,221 1	24,835	101	unknown
ARVN	23,000	137,770	727	unknown
NVA/VC	86,591	unknown	unknown	3,934

Note 1: there were an additional 1,844 non-hostile deaths for a total of 6,065


1971

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	1,380 1	18,109	16	unknown
ARVN	19,901	123,545	727	unknown
NVA/VC	19,320	unknown	unknown	2,304

Note 1: there were an additional 968 non-hostile deaths for a total of 2,348


1972

Force	KIA	WIA	MIA	CIA
US Forces	300 1	3,936	11	unknown
ARVN	25,787	139,731	727	unknown
NVA/VC	4,261	unknown	unknown	1,349

Legend: KIA = Killed In Action WIA = Wounded In Action MIA = Missing In Action CIA = Captured In Action
Note 1: there were an additional 261 non-hostile deaths for a total of 561

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Troop Levels

As of 1 January 1968

Force	Total Strength	Support	Combat Arms
US Forces	409,111	346,260	62,850
ARVN	Not Avail	Not Avail	Not Avail
NVA/VC	420,000	unknown	unknown

As of 1 January 1969

Force	Total Strength	Support	Combat Arms
US Forces	440,029	372,429	67,600
ARVN	Not Avail	Not Avail	Not Avail
NVA/VC	332,000	unknown	unknown

The figures for relative strengths assume the following: On January 1, 1969 there were 110 battalions in Vietnam (98 Infantry, 3 tank, and 9 artillery). An Infantry battalion had 656 infantrymen (4 companies per battalion with 164 men per company). An armor battalion had 204 tankers (3 companies per battalion with 68 tankers per company). An artillery battalion had approximayely 300 men. Therefore, the number of actual "trigger pullers" added up to 67,600. Note that this was "authorized strength". Most battalions were not even close to their TO&E strength during the war, with many infantry companies operating with 80 men. This was true despite the fact that the parent divisions reported being at, or slightly over, authorized strength. There were a large number of REMFs in Vietnam.

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U.S. Army KIA by Unit

Source: National Archives and Records Administration

Unit	Nickname	KIA	Comment
1st Cavalry Division	First Team	5,464	-
25th Infantry Division	Tropic Lighting	4,561	-
101st Airborne Division	Screaming Eagles	4,022	-
1st Infantry Division	Big Red One	3,151	-
Various Individual Units	-	2,872	See Note 1 below
9th Infantry Division	Old Reliables	2,629	-
4th Infantry Division	Ivy Division	2,541	-
173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate)	Sky Soldier	1,758	-
1st Aviation Brigade	-	1,706	-
196th Light Infantry Brigade	-	1,188	-
11th Light Infantry Brigade	-	1,109	-
Military Assistance Command Vietnam	MACV	1,017	Advisors to ARVN
198th Light Infantry Brigade	-	987	-
United States Army Vietnam	USARV	847	Headquarters - includes advisors
5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)	Green Berets	834	-
23rd Infantry Division	Americal	809	non-brigade units
199th Light Infantry Brigade	Redcatchers	757	-
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment	Blackhorse	729	-
1st Logistical Command	-	598	-
5th Infantry Division (Mechanized)	Red Diamond	530	1st Brigade only
I Field Force Vietnam	IFFV	353	-
82d Airborne Division	All American	228	3rd Brigade only
1st Signal Brigade	-	193	-
II Field Force Vietnam	IIFFV	80	-
Engineer Command	-	64	-
Unit unknown	-	6	-

Note 1: This group is comprised of the following individual units with no further breakdown

17th Field Hospital (An Khe)
22nd Surgical Hospital (Phu Bai)
71st Evacuation Hospital (Pleiku)
91st Evacuation Hospital (Tuy Hoa)
95th Field Hospital (Qui Nhon)
3rd Field Hospital (III Corps)
7th Surgical Hospital (III Corps)
45th Surgical Hospital (III Corps)
93rd Evacuation Hospital (III Corps)
80th Engineer Group
121st Assault Helicopter Company
18th Military Police Brigade
89th Military Police Brigade
8th Transportation Group
48th Transportation Group
11th Aviation Group
12th Aviation Group
23rd Artillery Group
108th Artillery Group
35th Engineer Group
45th Engineer Group
34th General Support Group
506th Field Depot

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Additional Casualty Statistics

Source: Combat Area Casualty File of 11/93, National Archives
All US Forces KIA in Vietnam = 58,169
US Army Soldiers KIA in Vietnam = 38,190
US Army Infantrymen (MOS 11B, 11C, etc.) KIA in Vietnam = 20,460
US Army Helicopter Crewmen KIA in Vietnam = 3,007
US Army Scouts KIA in Vietnam = 1,127
US Army Tankers KIA in Vietnam = 725 (equals 27% of all tankers ever assigned to Vietnam)

US Marines Killed In Action in Vietnam = 14,836

More US Army Infantrymen died than Marines of all MOSes

The highest loss-rate for any MOS was 11E (Armor Crewman) 27% KIA

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U.S. Army KIA by Province

Source: Combat Area Casualty File of 11/93, National Archives

Code	Province	KIA	Comment
99	Province unknown	6,276	Military Region unknown
02	Thua Thien	2,893	I Corps - Hue, etc.
23	Binh Duong	2,742	III Corps
22	Tay Ninh	2,648	III Corps
05	Quang Ngai	2,342	I Corps - Border w/II Corps
07	Binh Dinh	2,211	II Corps - Bong Son, An Loa Valley, etc.
04	Quang Tin	2,068	I Corps - Tam Ky, etc.
01	Quang Tri	1,683	I Corps - south of DMZ
06	Kontum	1,641	II Corps - Dak To, Ben Het, etc.
42	Hua Nghia	1,424	III Corps - Khiem Cuong, etc.
25	Bien Hoa	1,147	III Corps
24	Gia Dinh	1,064	Capital Special Zone - Saigon
08	Pleiku	1,015	II Corps - Hwy 14, Ia Drang, etc.
27	Long An	1,002	III Corps
03	Quang Nam	971	I Corps - Da Nang, etc.
21	Binh Long	909	III Corps
30	Dinh Tuong	794	IV Corps - My Tho, etc.
14	Phuoc Long	679	III Corps - Phuoc Binh, etc.
19	Long Khanh	558	III Corps - Xuan Loc, etc.
**	Unknown Code	467	NARA error
33	Kien Hoa	416	IV Corps - Truc Giang, etc.
17	Binh Thuan	300	II Corps - Phan Thiet, etc.
09	Phu Yen	282	II Corps - Tuy Hoa, etc.
11	Khanh Hoa	275	II Corps - Nha Trang, etc.
26	Phuoc Tuy	204	III Corps - Vung Tau, Phuoc Le, etc.
18	Binh Thuy	176	III Corps - Ham Tan, etc.
13	Quang Duc	171	II Corps - Gia Nghia, etc.
10	Darlac	163	II Corps - Ban Me Thout, etc.
35	Phong Dinh	146	IV Corps - Can Tho, etc.
15	Lam Dong	143	II Corps - Bao Loc, etc.
32	Vinh Long	142	IV Corps
28	Kien Tuong	140	IV Corps - Moc Hoa, etc.
16	Ninh Thuan	97	II Corps - Phan Rang, etc.
36	Kien Giang	77	IV Corps - Rach Gia, etc.
12	Tuyen Duc	76	II Corps - Da Lat, etc.
29	Kien Phong	65	IV Corps - Cao Lanh, etc.
47	Unknown code	60	Possibly Saigon Area
38	Ba Xuyen	56	IV Corps - Khanh Hung, etc.
34	Vinh Binh	49	IV Corps - Phu Vinh, etc.
43	Go Cong	40	IV Corps - Go Cong, etc.
93	Province unknown	34	Military region 3 - III Corps
39	An Xuyen	33	IV Corps - Quon Long, etc.
37	Chuong Thien	30	IV Corps - Vi Thanh, etc.
92	Province unknown	25	Military region 2 - II Corps
46	Sa Dec	25	IV Corps - Sa Dec, etc.
41	Phu Bon	24	II Corps - Hau Bon, Song Ba River, etc.
99	Province unknown	22	Military region 1 - I Corps
31	An Giang	17	IV Corps - Long Xuyen, etc.
81	Offshore	19	Military Region 1 - I Corps
89	Offshore unknown	19	Province & Military Region unknown
44	Bac Lieu	14	IV Corps - Bac Lieu, etc.
82	Offshore	11	Military Region 2 - II Corps
NZ	Unknown Code	10	NARA error
94	Province unknown	9	Military region 4 - IV Corps
83	Offshore	2	Military Region 3 -III Corps
84	Offshore	2	Military Region 4 - IV Corps
20	No code provided	1	NARA error, possibly Cam Ranh Bay
40	Con Son Island	1	IV Corps
45	Chua Doc	1	IV Corps - Shau Phu, etc.
48	Unknown code	1	NARA error
49	Phu Quoc Island	1	IV Corps
50	DMZ	0	Demilitarized Zone

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

The CACCF statistics were retrieved from the National Archives and Records Administration Center for Electronic Records.

CACCF Record Counts by Age at Time of Death or Declaration of Death (as of 12/98)

AGE	Number of Records
17	12
18	3,103
19	8,283
20	14,095
21	9,705
22	4,798
23	3,495
24	2,650
25	2,018
26	1,414
27	917
28	768
29	710
30-39	4,927
40-49	1,156
50-59	121
60-62	4
Unknown, Not Reported	17
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics


CACCF Record Counts by Branch of Service (as of 12/98)

Military Service Branch	Number of Records
Air Force	2,584
Army	38,209
Coast Guard	7
Marine Corps	14,838
Navy	2,555
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

CACCF Record Counts by Casualty Type (as of 12/98)

Type of Casualty	Number of Records
Hostile, Killed in Action	38,502
Hostile, Died of Wounds	5,264
Hostile, Died While Missing	3,524
Hostile, Died While Captured	116
Non-Hostile, Died from Other Causes	7,458
Non-Hostile, Died of Illness or Injury	1,978
Non-Hostile, Died While Missing	1,351
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

CACCF Record Counts by Country of Casualty, as of 12/98

Country of Casualty	Number of Records
Cambodia	520
Laos	733
North Vietnam	1,124
Communist China	10
South Vietnam	55,629
Thailand	177
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

CACCF Record Counts by Marital Status, as of 12/98

Marital Status	Number of Records
Married	17,215
Single	40,775
Unknown	203
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

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CACCF Record Counts by Military Pay Grade, as of 12/98

Military Pay Grade	Number of Records
Enlisted (E1-E9)	50,312
Officer (O1-O8)	6,602
Warrant Officer (W1-W4)	1,278
Unknown	1
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

CACCF Record Counts by Race (as of 12/98)
Racial category titles are those used in the documentation created at the genesis of the file, ca. 1967

Race	Number of Records
American Indian	226
Caucasian	50,120
Malayan	252
Mongolian	116
Negro	7,264
Unknown	215
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

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CACCF Record Counts by Reason (Cause of Casualty) (as of 12/98)
in order of most frequent cause to least frequent cause

Reason (Cause of Casualty)	Number of Records
Gun, Small Arms Fire	18,518
Multiple Fragmentary Wounds	8,456
Air Loss, Crash on Land	7,992
Other Explosive Devices	7,450
Artillery, Rocket or Mortar	4,914
Other Accident	1,371
Misadventure	1,326
Drowned, Suffocated	1,207
Vehicle Loss, Crash	1,187
Accidental Homicide	944
Accidental Self Destruction	842
Other Causes	754
Air Loss, Crash in Sea	577
Burns	530
Illness, Disease	482
Suicide	382
Heart Attack	273
Intentional Homicide	234
Malaria	118
Bomb Explosion	52
Stroke	42
Hepatitis	22
Unknown, Not Reported	520
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

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CACCF Record Counts by Service Component (as of 12/98)

Service Component	Number of Records
Military Reserves	5,760
National Guard	97
Regular Military	34,475
Selective Service *	17,672
Unknown	189
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

* Draftees
CACCFRecord Counts by Sex (as of 12/98)

Sex	Number of Records
Female	8
Male	58,185
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics

CACCF Record Counts by State Home of Record (as of 12/98)

State Home of Record	Number of Records
Alabama	1,207
Alaska	57
Arizona	623
Arkansas	588
California	5,573
Canal Zone	2
Colorado	620
Connecticut	611
Delaware	122
District of Columbia	242
Florida	1,952
Georgia	276
Guam	70
Hawaii	276
Idaho	217
Illinois	2,934
Indiana	1,532
Iowa	853
Kansas	627
Kentucky	1,055
Louisiana	882
Maine	343
Maryland	1,014
Massachusetts	1,323
Michigan	2,654
Minnesota	1,072
Mississippi	637
Missouri	1,413
Montana	268
Nebraska	395
Nevada	151
New Hampshire	227
New Jersey	1,484
New Mexico	399
New York	4,121
North Carolina	1,609
North Dakota	198
Ohio	3,096
Oklahoma	988
Oregon	709
Pennsylvania	3,144
Puerto Rico	345
Rhode Island	207
South Carolina	896
South Dakota	193
Tennessee	1,291
Texas	3,415
Utah	366
Vermont	100
Virgin Islands	15
Virginia	1,304
Washington	1,050
West Virginia	732
Wisconsin	1,161
Wyoming	120
Other Countries	121
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics


CACCF Record Counts by Year of Death or Declaration of Death (as of 12/98)

Year of Death or Declaration of Death	Number of Records
1956-1960	9
1961	16
1962	52
1963	118
1964	206
1965	1,863
1966	6,143
1967	11,153
1968	16,592
1969	11,616
1970	6,081
1971	2,357
1972	641
1973	168
1974	178
1975	161
1976	77
1977	96
1978	447
1979	148
1980	26
1981-1990	34
1991-1998	11
Total	58,193

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics


TOTAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS EVACUATED FROM VIETNAM, U.S. ARMY, BY MONTH, 1965-69

Month	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
January	164	832	1,469	2,417	3,224
February	227	1,330	1,851	3,576	3,099
March	226	1,062	2,178	2,471	4,166
April	252	853	1,780	2,782	3,210
May	300	1,298	2,367	3,952	4,334
June	480	1,256	2,072	2,701	3,951
July	471	766	1,595	2,569	2,879
August	821	957	1,521	2,700	3,308
September	999	942	1,431	3,401	2,187
October	1,978	983	1,851	2,856	1,890
November	2,361	1,331	2,435	2,790	1,789
December	1,885	996	2,152	3,176	1,879
[SIZE=h3]Total[/size]	10,164	12,606	22,702	35,391	35,916

[moogie]

David, my name is Daniel Ellwood,403rd trans.co.Wunder Beach,VN 1967/68.I was sewed up in an APC and returned to duty I am trying to find out if the 1st brig.5th mech. might still have a record.Our comp records were destroyed in a typhoon in 1968.I was hit in the knee and the back and was paralized for a few min.No record? list of medics for Wunder/Utah Beach for 1968.We movesd them onto the beach.Any help appreciated