Source: U.S. Government (VA Web Site Stats)
Photos By: Gary Thomas

• Vietnam Vets: 9.7% of their generation

• 9,087,000 Military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era.  Aug. 5,  1964 - May 7,  1975. 

• 8,744,000 GIs Were on active duty during the war. Aug. 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. Jan. 1, 1965 - Mar. 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)

• Hostile deaths:  47,378

• Non-hostile deaths: 10,800

• Total:  58,202 (Includes men formorley 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 limb;  1,081 Sustained multiple amputations. 

• Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WW II  and 70% higher than Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WW II. 

• Missing in action:  2,338.

• POWs:  766 (114 Died in captivity.)

• 25% (648,500) Of total forces in country were draftees.

• Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam.

• Reservist 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.

• 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 proffessional, managerial, or technical occupations.

• 79% Of the men who served Vietnam had a high school education or better when they entered the military service. (63% Of Korean War Vets and only 45% of WW II 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.

• 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 Northwest 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 % 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%

• 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.

• 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.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

All B/W Photos On This Page By: Gary Thomas

Twan with his sister and friends.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

All photos on this page are protected. Use of any photos for any purpose is strictly prohibited.
Permission may be given if requested in writing for educational use only.
mailto:veter3@sbcglobal.net
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Editor's Note: For more photos and causality statistics of the Vietnam War  please access the Vietnam tab in the Table of Contents frame to the left. There are also more Vietnam items in the "Photos and Articles" section. Thank you for your interest, and if you have questions please e-mail us at the E-Mail address above.

THIS IS A VNHD SPECIAL RE-PUBLICATION
[The following is reprinted from the San Antonio Light Nov. 26, 1989]

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE CLASS OF 1966?
Article Title Q & A - By Rick Atkinson 

Among other things, they suffered higher rates of fatalities than any other West Point class. They also underwent enormous changes. They arrived in July, 1962, inspired by John Kennedy's idealism, the same idealism that led others to join the Peace Corps. When they graduated in 1966, they went off to war in Vietnam, many of them for two tours of duty. When they came out, they found they were no longer the leaders of their generation; they were pariahs. This was shocking to them and very disillusioning. In 1970, when they were first eligible to resign from the Army, they did so in such enormous numbers that the pentagon commissioned a study to find out why.

What did the study say?

The men didn't like the way they were treated by their countrymen. By then they didn't care much for the Army. They found the idealism of West Point and its black-and-white values of duty, honor and country hard to reconcile with the realities of a jungle war with many shades of gray. They found that their wives, affected by the dramatic changes in the role of women in American society, didn't want to be Army wives any longer. Basically, they didn't want to be outsiders.

     How has the Class of '66 changed over the last 23 years?

They've merged back into their generation. Many have second wives; the marriages that were formed right out of the academy fell apart. But in some ways, they have not changed. In general, they remain committed to the values they learned at West Point. Their sense of service to the country and their communities is extremely strong...............

Click on image to return to the top of the page.