Lewy reduced the number of Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) battle deaths claimed by the U.S. by 30 percent (in accordance with the opinion of United States Department of Defense officials), and assumed that one third of the reported battle deaths of the PAVN/VC may have actually been civilians. Apart from these few restrictions, the Coffelt Database is open to the public - just as Richard Coffelt intended. These statistics were sourced from the appendix of On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War 1967-1968. In the late 1990s, others joined Richard's effort, contributing information and collating the collected material into digital form using the Holloway database as a baseline. Data for this series of conflicts includes military personnel killed in the attacks on the USS Cole on October 12, 2000, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and in Afghanistan and elsewhere since those dates. Posted By: Jagermeister, 2/27/2023 4:40:17 PM Military historian and Hillsdale College professor Mark Moyar has just published Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968, which is the second in what will become a massive three-volume revision of the entire Vietnam War. [62], According to American writer Joseph Babcock, the Vietnamese government estimated 300,000 PAVN/VC missing-in-action (MIA) in 2019, but that the real number of MIA is widely believed to be closer to 500,000 people, whose bodies were either never found or buried anonymously and never identified. Commander George L. Jackson said, "In response to this criticism, the Department of Defense took steps to readjust force levels in order to achieve an equitable proportion and employment of Negroes in Vietnam." It is unknown how much aid was lost from North Vietnamese allies. Since 1941 Congress has declared war only six times, all during World War II. The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History A number of incidents occurred during the war in which civilians were deliberately targeted or killed. Revolutionary War. His estimate of total deaths is reflected in the table. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and China poured weapons, supplies, and advisers into the North, which in turn provided support, political direction, and regular combat troops for the campaign in the South. In the days before "embeds" this generation's enforced melding of photographer and military unit there was a certain sense of . [55] These policies were also reported on by US commanders, with one US Marine General stating "whenever the Korean marines received fire "or think [they got] fired on from a village they'd divert from their march and go over and completely level the village it would be a lesson to (the Vietnamese). Being killed in action was the leading cause of American casualties. [102] The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or suffer health problems due to Agent Orange exposure. Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a costly conflict between all sides from both a financial and military perspective. U.S. Army Personnel and Dependent Casualties, 1961-1981 85% of the records in this database are related to the Vietnam Conflict. Lebanon (1982-1984) 240. The 2nd Marine Brigade reportedly perpetrated the Binh Tai Massacre on 9 October 1966. 80 lessons * The 143 men subsequently declared dead between 1973 and 2002 are not included in these totals. Of these, more than 13,000 were killed and 88,000 wounded, nearly a . Chapter 14: "The cease-fire war claimed 26,500 ARVN dead in 1973, and almost 30,000 in 1974. Devon has tutored for almost two years. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. The Viet Cong used the jungle terrain to their advantage both as a means of hiding, as well as a place to bury pressure-sensor explosives to wipe out unsuspecting bands of patrolling enemy forces. Seeing an opportunity to seize control, Ho's Viet Minh . Statistical Information about Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War, Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Electronic Data Records Relating to Military Objectives and Activities During the Vietnam War, Electronic Records of Korean and Vietnam War Casualties, How to File a FOIA Request for Archival Records, Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, Records of Deceased, Wounded, Ill, or Injured Army Personnel, Including Dependents and Civilian Employees, Records with Unit Information on Military Personnel Who Died During the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.. Major incidents. One of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's top award for bravery on the battlefield, A South Korean court has ordered the government to pay $24,000 to a Vietnamese woman who survived a gunshot wound but lost several relatives when South Korean marines rampaged through her village during the Vietnam War in 1968, De-escalation, negotiation, and Vietnamization, The United States negotiates a withdrawal, 9 Questions About the Vietnam War Answered, https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War, Vietnam War - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Vietnam War - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Biden to award Medal of Honor to Vietnam-era Army officer, Court says South Korea responsible for Vietnam War massacre. In 1980 Richard set out to determine the unit of assignment for each Army soldier who died in Vietnam. Vietnam War, (195475), a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. How to Order a Draft Record. In general we index the memorials at the lowest practical unit level. The riot at the Long Binh Jail is the most publicized of thousands of racial incidents reported in South Vietnam between 1968 and 1971. Although North Vietnamese and Viet Cong casualty counts vary wildly, it is generally understood that they suffered several times the number of American casualties. flashcard sets. It was first used in 1962 and was effective at its job. These estimates probably include deaths of Vietnamese soldiers in Laos and Cambodia, but do not include deaths of South Vietnamese and allied soldiers which would add nearly 300,000 for a grand total of 3.4 million military and civilian dead. [62] Across all three wars including the First Indochina War and the Third Indochina War there was a total of 1,146,250 PAVN/VC confirmed military deaths, included 939,460 with bodies recovered and 207,000 with the bodies unfound. Infantry Unit Commander (ARMY) 06/23/66: A Co: GORDON THOMAS: DALTON: Ground Casualty: 4th Bn: Undefined Code: Hostile, Died: Selective Service: South Vietnam: Invalid . The numbers below are not exact, as there are still personnel who have not been identified or are identified as missing. Called the American War in Vietnam (or, in full, the War Against the Americans to Save the Nation), the war was also part of a larger regional conflict (see Indochina wars) and a manifestation of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. During the height of the conflict, Navy personnel scouted the rivers and canals of the sprawling Mekong Delta for communist guerrilla forces, arms, and ammunition. [18], R. J. Rummel estimated that PAVN/VC forces killed around 164,000 civilians in democide between 1954 and 1975 in South Vietnam, from a range of between 106,000 and 227,000, plus another 50,000 killed in North Vietnam. The United States had provided funding, armaments, and training to South Vietnams government and military since Vietnams partition into the communist North and the democratic South in 1954. North Vietnam and the United States reached a peace agreement shortly after withdrawal. * During January 1973, 29 Americans died in Vietnam--19 as a result of hostile action. [11][12][13][14] It was difficult to distinguish between civilians and military personnel in many instances as many individuals were part-time guerrillas or impressed laborers who did not wear uniforms. One study estimated that American commanders exaggerated body counts by 100 percent. Furthermore, the murder of children was not uncommon to prevent them from joining the armed forces in the future, making up around 15% of total deaths. In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., inscribed with the names of 57,939 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of the war. An estimated two million civilians of all nationalities, including those of Cambodia and Laos, were killed in the fighting. This stemmed from the United States' involvement in the Cold War, which the United States fought to preserve democracy against the forces of Communism springing up in countries such as the Soviet Union and China. Relations between the United States and Vietnam were stable in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, and peace was maintained. [91] Around 3035% of American deaths in the war were non-combat or friendly fire deaths; the largest causes of death in the U.S. armed forces were small arms fire (31.8%), booby traps including mines and frags (27.4%), and aircraft crashes (14.7%). The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., lists more than 58,300 names of members of the U.S. armed forces who were killed or went missing in action. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. But today, even as the U.S. military continues to grow more inclusive, most Americans are much less . It granted him broad latitude in handling the struggle against communism in Southeast Asia. 1975. The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. He further suggests that 222,000 civilians may have been counted as enemy military deaths by the U.S. in compiling its "body count" raising the total to 627,000 killed. 7. On that panel, above the names is this inscription: In honor of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. 49. Others now continue the work Richard began 30 years ago. Many were never directly involved in the fighting, but rather were only caught in the crosshairs of South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese forces. Nine-year-old Kim Phuc had ripped off her burning . California (5,572 Estimated Casualties). A mass exodus in 1975 of people loyal to the South Vietnamese cause was followed by another wave in 1978 of boat people, refugees fleeing the economic restructuring imposed by the communist regime. [24] Benjamin Valentino estimates 110,000310,000 deaths as a "possible case" of "counter-guerrilla mass killings" by U.S. and South Vietnamese forces during the war. Per war: 191,605 deaths in the First Indochina War, 849,018 deaths in the Second Indochina War (Vietnam War), and 105,627 deaths in the Third Indochina War. My Lai (4) and My Khe (4) (collectively the My Lai Massacre) claimed the largest number of victims with 420 and 90 respectively, and in five other places a total of about 100 civilians were executed. A. He succeeded in 1954 and established a Communist government. The United States provided funding and troops to the South Vietnamese effort to prevent Communism from spreading further in East Asia. The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. [45], Air force captain, Brian Wilson, who carried out bomb-damage assessments in free-fire zones throughout the delta, saw the results firsthand. However, side effects occurred because of Agent Orange. Sources: World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing, June 1946; Battle Casualties of the Army, 30 September 1954; List of Casualties Incurred by U.S. Military Personnel in Connection with the Conflict in Vietnam, 30 September 1975. A South Vietnamese plane seeking Vietcong hiding places accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on civilians and government troops instead. An error occurred trying to load this video. A casualty is just a soldier who is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat. Casualties fluctuated considerably from year to year, but a degree of accuracy can be inferred from the fact that 500,000 was 59 percent of the 849,018 total and that 59 percent of the war's days had passed by the time of Fallaci's conversation with Giap. An additional 232,000 military personnel were still missing as of 2017, a total of 1,081,000 dead and missing for the American War. The war persisted from 1955 to 1975 and most of the fighting took place in South Vietnam; accordingly it suffered the most casualties. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North. U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1966, An Expanding War, 1982 . [40][37] Sometimes civilian casualties from airstrikes or artillery barrages against villages were reported as "enemies killed". The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. [70], RJ Rummel estimates 1,011,000 PAVN/VC combatant deaths. Index of Vietnam War Casualties by Unit of Assignment. In the summer of 2017, I was a U.S. Army lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Against the background of the Cold War, the Vietnam War embroiled the United States, South Vietnam, and regional allies in a long and costly conflict against the regular forces of North Vietnam and the Communist Viet Cong guerillas. The Geneva conference established a treaty that split the nation of Vietnam in half for the time being, with reunification elections set to be held in 1956. That can include disabled by injuries, disabled by psychological trauma, captured, deserted, or missing. Da Nang was the primary storage site of the chemical. Among other countries that fought for South Vietnam on a smaller scale, South Korea suffered more than 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia more than 500, and New Zealand some three dozen. "Making More Enemies than We Kill? The important statistics and information to remember from this lesson are: To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Conflict. Discover the countries that took part in the Vietnam war and how many people died in the Vietnam war. In 2002, an early version of the Coffelt Database was deeded to the National Archives, which made it available on-line as a searchable database. In 1965 alone they comprised 14.1% of total combat deaths, when they only comprised approximately 11% of the total U.S. population in the same year. Vietnam War: 1964-1973: 58,220: 153,303: 5,283: 1:2.6: 1:29.0 (0.03) Persian Gulf War: combat, provided close combat support or were at least fairly regularly. 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Support to North Vietnam was sent by Communist allies including China, North Korea, and the Soviet Union. This list is organized in alphabetical order, and can be used to determine the place on the Vietnam Memorial where an individual's name can be found - the panel and line number to the right of the name. These are the most accurate estimates of the death tolls for each group of fighters: Civilians made up a large portion of the casualties in the Vietnam War. 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