Why was the US in so much debt after the Vietnam War?

Answer 1

With out money, one cannot afford to fight wars, said Frederick the Great, an 18th century Prussian King. We lost over 2,000 expensive fixed wing aircraft at nearly a million dollars apiece (1960's prices). Approximately 8,000 helicopters were destroyed or heavily damaged, at half the price of a premium jet fighter. US Navy warships (one US Destroyer was struck by a bomb dropped from a North Viet Mig-17, destroying it's rear 5" gun mount), two aircraft carriers were nearly destroyed during fires, Swift Boats and PBR, along with other "Brown Water Navy" craft were either sunk or destroyed, the battleship New Jersey had been activated to help lower the number of aircraft being exposed to ground fire (instead of using expensive jets and the lives of it's pilots, fire shells at the target with a battleship). Small arms ammunition is expensive (machingun, rifle, pistol, ammunition), grenades, mortar shells, artillery shells, and all manner of aerial bombs. The US dropped 2 1/2 times more bombs in Vietnam, than it did in all of WWII. Aircraft, ships, tanks, and regular vehicles absorb fuel, at today's gasoline prices, consider the amount of fuel those war machines consumed. Add those items to FOOD and Medical equipment for the 500,000 GI's in country DAILY. We didn't cover clothing, boots, sleeping bags, canteens, bicnoculars, night observation devices, etc. Financing a war IS a very expensive endeavor.