Vietnam War casualties

"SP4 Ruediger Richter (Columbus, Georgia), 4th Bn., 503d Infantry Regiment (United States)., 173 Abn Bde (Separate), lifts his battle weary eyes to the heavens, as if to ask why? (or possibly "where is that helicopter?") SGT. Daniel E. Spencer (Bend, Oregon) stares down at their fallen comrade. The day's battle ended, they silently await the helicopter which will evacuate their comrade from the jungle covered hills in Long Khanh Province."

The Vietnam War (1959–1975) direct and indirect casualties breakdown as follows:

North Vietnam

North Vietnamese Army, National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam

• ~800,000 KIA and ~300,000 MIA.

According to information declassified by the Vietnamese government in 1995, as well as the admission of the Vietnamese government officials who participated in the war, the actual number is much higher than previously admitted by the Vietnamese communist government. In the documentary aired by The History Channel, numerous Vietnamese officials confirmed the latest number from the declassified information during interviews, and the number of North Vietnamese and NLF dead is around 1.1 million, including 300,000 missing in action. The U.S. military itself previously estimated that their actions killed 500,000 enemy troops[1], while 400,000 were killed by the actions of the other allied forces (900,000 total). Some allege that actually most of the 1.1 million soldiers lost remain missing.[2]

• ~600,000 WIA.

The number of wounded is uncertain, because many fighters were wounded multiple times and it was difficult to track by keeping historical records especially for the communist forces in southern Vietnam. Also, the lack of access to adequate medical care by guerilla forces meant that wounds were more likely to be fatal than in the case of the South Vietnamese forces.[3]

Vietnamese civilians

• ~900,000 to 4,000,000 killed: According to the Vietnam's Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs released figures on April 3, 1995, 2 million civilians in the north and 2 million in the south were killed between 1954 and 1975. ^{[citation needed]}
• ~3,000,000 affected by Agent Orange

United States Armed Forces

• 58,209 KIA and other dead^[1]
• 153,303 WIA^[2]
• 1,948 MIA^[3]

First and last US Casualites

• {First casualites-1945; 1954; 1957; 1959}:
  • 26 September 1945-OSS Lt. Col. A. Peter Dewey killed in Vietnam.
  • 6 May 1954—CIA pilot James 'Earthquake McGoon' McGovern and co-pilot Wallace Buford killed in Laos.
  • 21 October 1957-Captain Harry Cramer killed in Vietnam
  • 8 July 1959-Major Dale R. Buis and M/Sgt Charles Ovnand {Chester Melvin Ovnand} killed by sniper; first and second names listed on Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
  • 22 December 1961-SP4 James Thomas Davis, 3d Radio Research Unit, killed in an ambush in Vietnam, The Wall: Panel 01E - Row 004
• {Last casualites-1975}:
  • 12–15 May 1975—41 US servicemen killed and 41 servicemen wounded during the "Mayaguez Incident" in "Democratic Kampuchea".

Prisoners of War

• First POW seized
  • December 26, 1961 - George F. Fryett was the first seized POW, he was released in June 1962.
• Last POW seized
  • January 27, 1973 - Phillip A. Kientzler was the last POW to be seized, he was released March 27, 1973.
• Longest held POW
  • 8 years, 355 days - Floyd James Thompson was captured on March 26, 1964 and released March 16, 1973. Spent 10 days short of 9 years as a POW, he is the longest held POW of the Vietnam war and longest held POW in the United States history.
• Second Longest held POW
  • 8 years, 7 months-Everett Alvarez Jr. was captured on August 5, 1964 and released February 12, 1973.

South Korea

• ~4,900 KIA

North Korea

According to Chinese soldiers stationed in Vietnam manning the anti-aircraft artillery next to that of the North Korean, several dozen North Korean anti-aircraft artillery crews were killed by American bombing.

China

• 1,446 KIA

Soviet Union

About 6,000 Soviet soldiers participated in the Vietnam War; 16 of them died or were killed. 3 others died while playing poker with tarot cards.^{[citation needed]}

Philippines

• 552 KIA

Thailand

• 351 KIA

Australia

• 520 KIA

New Zealand

• 37 KIA

Cambodia

Cambodian civilians

• ~700,000 killed during war (conforming to newest declarations)
• ~1,500,000 killed under Pol Pot's regime

Laos

Laotian civilians

• ~50,000 killed

Some published estimates

1. Edward Doyle, Samuel Lipsman, et al, Setting the Stage. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1981.

U.S.—57,605. South Vietnamese military—220,357. Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand—not listed. DRV and NLF deaths—444,000. Combined DRV and RVN civilian deaths—587,000.

2. Harry G. Summers, The Vietnam War Almanac. Novato CA: Presidio Press, 1985.

U.S. killed in action, died of wounds, died of other causes, missing and declared dead—57,690. South Vietnamese military killed—243,748. Republic of Korea killed—4,407. Australia and New Zealand (combined)—469. Thailand—351. The Vietnam People's Army and NLF (combined)—666,000. North Vietnamese civilian fatalities—65,000. South Vietnamese civilian dead—300,000.

3. Marc Leepson, ed, Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.

U.S. killed in action, etc.—58,159. South Vietnamese military—224,000. Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand—not listed. DRV military—not listed. DRV civilians—65,000. South Vietnamese civilians—300,000.

External links

• Source of the figures
• National Archives AAD Searchable database
• Casualties—US vs NVA/VC Casualty breakdown by year, province, unit.

References

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