Vietnam War casualties
Encyclopedia
The Vietnam War
began in 1955 and did not end until 1975, two years after all US and allied personnel had withdrawn, when North Vietnamese forces finally conquered Saigon. During this period the war escalated from an insurgency in South Vietnam
sponsored by the North Vietnam
ese government to direct military intervention in the south by North Vietnam, as well as the active participation of military forces of the United States
and other countries. The war also spilled over into the neighbouring countries of Cambodia
and Laos
. An exhaustive reckoning of the total casualties must include statistical information available for each theater of the war. The casualty figures below focus on Vietnam and exclude those in Cambodia
and Laos
. The Republic of Vietnam (commonly called South Vietnam) was where most of the fighting took place, and it accordingly suffered most from the war.
RF/PF=Regional Force/Popular Force militia, Para=paramilitary forces
, 1,100,000 North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong military personnel died during the Vietnam War Rummel reviewed the many casualty data sets, and this number is in keeping with his mid-level estimate of 1,011,000 North Vietnamese combatant deaths. He further calculated a mid-level estimate of 251,000 Viet Cong military deaths. Thus, Viet Cong forces accounted for about 22% of the total communist military deaths. What percent of the 849,000 North Vietnamese regulars died in South Vietnam is unknown, but a reasonable assumption is the vast majority occurred in South Vietnam. If 80% of the North Vietnamese casualties died in South Vietnam, this equals 680,000 men, plus 251,000 Viet Cong for a total 931,000 deaths.
The US emphasis on "kill ratios" was logical in view of an attrition strategy, but such measures of success were often exaggerated and inflated. One study of captured enemy documents for example, found that actually enemy losses were roughly 50 percent less than what MACV claimed in official reports.
Besides those killed in battle, many thousands of NVA/NLF soldiers died from disease or accidents. The climate was an enemy to all combatants. Southeast Asia is hot and humid all year round, both in the dry and wet seasons with their accompanying dust or mud and rain. In the northern part of South Vietnam, the nights are chilly and damp. Fog and low clouds often made navigation through the mountains and hills difficult. Mosquitoes carried malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever, and there were occasional outbreaks of the black plague and cholera. Habitual dehydration led to thickened blood. When wounded and in shock, the blood vessels of an injured soldier contract, and the thickened blood complicated the problems. Mosquitoes, leeches, red and black ants, centipedes, scorpions, poisonous snakes and the ever present flies were a bother; most bit or stung and some carried diseases. Dysentery, diarrhea and "jungle fevers" were debilitating. Heat exhaustion, dehydration, ringworm and beriberi
were common An estimated ten thousands NVA/NLF troops died per year from these causes.
Below is a loose outline of which side caused the non-uniformed and civilian deaths. The Vietnamese government in 1995 estimated that 2,000,000 Vietnamese civilians on both sides died in the war, but does not divide the deaths between North and South Vietnam. Rummel estimated (apart from the post 1975 communist power consolidation) that a low-level of 486,000 civilians died; the mid-level was 843,000, with a high level at 1,200,000.
During the peak war years, almost a third of civilian deaths were the result of Viet Cong atrocities.
During the Diem
Regime (1955–1963, in the earliest stages of US involvement), an estimated 80,000 persons died during the forced relocation of 900,000
southern civilians. 4,000 communist prisoners were killed through ill-treatment, about 10,000 suspected communists were executed, and 1,500 civilians died during shellings. Diem's total is roughly 95,500 civilian deaths, apart from the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces his soldiers killed.
From 1964 to 1975, an estimated 1,500 persons died during the forced relocations of 1,200,000 civilians, another 5,000 prisoners died from ill-treatment and about 30,000 suspected communists were executed. 6,000 civilians died in the more extensive shellings. In Qam Ham province 4,700 civilians were killed in 1969. This totals 50,000 deaths caused by the South Vietnamese forces, excluding North Vietnamese forces killed by the ARVN in combat.
About 100,000 civilians were killed as they fled before the final victorious NVA military offensive of 1975. Some 156,000 ARVN troops and Souther 15,000 civilians were killed during Hanoi's invasion of South Vietnam. Sources have estimated that 170,000 South Vietnamese died in the re-education camps, while the number executed could have been more than 200,000. The maximum number killed through slave labor, according to Rummel, is 150,000. Owing to the extreme uncertainty surrounding boat people estimates, but including Vietnam's foreign democide
, Rummel estimates that a minimum of 400,000 and a maximum of slightly less than 2.5 million people died of political violence from 1975-87 at the hands of Hanoi. Many of Rummel's estimates are far higher than most others.
. R.J. Rummel reviewed the many casualty data sets, this number is in keeping with his mid-level estimate of 1,011,000 North Vietnamese combatant deaths. He further calculated a mid-level estimate of 251,000 Viet Cong military deaths. Thus, Southern Forces (i.e.,Viet Cong) were around 22% of the total military deaths. What percentage of the remaining 849,000 North Vietnamese Regulars died in South Vietnam is unknown. The assumption is the vast majority of these deaths occurred in South Vietnam.
The Vietnamese government in 1995 estimated that 2,000,000 Vietnamese civilians on both sides died in the war. Overall figures for North Vietnamese civilian dead range from 50,000 to several hundred thousand.
estimate that the 3.5 year Operation Rolling Thunder
killed 182,000 civilians, with an additional 20,000 Chinese troops.
Note: DPMO website lists 1,687 broken down as of 1 June 2011
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.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
began in 1955 and did not end until 1975, two years after all US and allied personnel had withdrawn, when North Vietnamese forces finally conquered Saigon. During this period the war escalated from an insurgency in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
sponsored by the North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese government to direct military intervention in the south by North Vietnam, as well as the active participation of military forces of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other countries. The war also spilled over into the neighbouring countries of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. An exhaustive reckoning of the total casualties must include statistical information available for each theater of the war. The casualty figures below focus on Vietnam and exclude those in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. The Republic of Vietnam (commonly called South Vietnam) was where most of the fighting took place, and it accordingly suffered most from the war.
ARVN Deaths
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam ARVN lost about 266,000 killed from 1959 through 1975. R.J. Rummel's range was 216,000 at the low end and 316,000 at the high end. Lewy, from US Department of Defense's document, report ARVN suffered 220,357 killed from 1965 through 1974. A PBS estimate was a quarter of a million men killed in action.| Year | Regular | RF/PF | Para | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 4,418 | 7,535 | - | 11,953 |
| 1967 | 6,110 | 6,606 | - | 12,716 |
| 1968 | 12,930 | 11,393 | 3,592 | 27,915 |
| 1969 | 8,652 | 10,286 | 2,895 | 21,833 |
| 1970 | 9,647 | 11,738 | 1,961 | 23,346 |
| 1971 | 8,864 | 13,118 | 756 | 22,738 |
| 1972 | 38,697 | 890 | 39,587 | |
RF/PF=Regional Force/Popular Force militia, Para=paramilitary forces
North Vietnamese Deaths
According to the government in HanoiHanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, 1,100,000 North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong military personnel died during the Vietnam War Rummel reviewed the many casualty data sets, and this number is in keeping with his mid-level estimate of 1,011,000 North Vietnamese combatant deaths. He further calculated a mid-level estimate of 251,000 Viet Cong military deaths. Thus, Viet Cong forces accounted for about 22% of the total communist military deaths. What percent of the 849,000 North Vietnamese regulars died in South Vietnam is unknown, but a reasonable assumption is the vast majority occurred in South Vietnam. If 80% of the North Vietnamese casualties died in South Vietnam, this equals 680,000 men, plus 251,000 Viet Cong for a total 931,000 deaths.
The US emphasis on "kill ratios" was logical in view of an attrition strategy, but such measures of success were often exaggerated and inflated. One study of captured enemy documents for example, found that actually enemy losses were roughly 50 percent less than what MACV claimed in official reports.
Besides those killed in battle, many thousands of NVA/NLF soldiers died from disease or accidents. The climate was an enemy to all combatants. Southeast Asia is hot and humid all year round, both in the dry and wet seasons with their accompanying dust or mud and rain. In the northern part of South Vietnam, the nights are chilly and damp. Fog and low clouds often made navigation through the mountains and hills difficult. Mosquitoes carried malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever, and there were occasional outbreaks of the black plague and cholera. Habitual dehydration led to thickened blood. When wounded and in shock, the blood vessels of an injured soldier contract, and the thickened blood complicated the problems. Mosquitoes, leeches, red and black ants, centipedes, scorpions, poisonous snakes and the ever present flies were a bother; most bit or stung and some carried diseases. Dysentery, diarrhea and "jungle fevers" were debilitating. Heat exhaustion, dehydration, ringworm and beriberi
Beriberi
Beriberi is a nervous system ailment caused by a thiamine deficiency in the diet. Thiamine is involved in the breakdown of energy molecules such as glucose and is also found on the membranes of neurons...
were common An estimated ten thousands NVA/NLF troops died per year from these causes.
Specific Incidents
- 1968 Tet Offensive - Hanoi failed in its most ambitious goal of producing a general uprising in the South and instead suffered more than 45,267 communist (mainly Viet Cong) deaths.
- 1972 Easter Offensive - This saw 50,000 to 75,000 North Vietnamese combatants killed plus their loss of over 700 tanks. The communist attack was broken up mainly by US air power.
Non-Uniformed/Civilian Deaths in South Vietnam
The Viet Cong and on occasion North Vietnamese regulars often wore civilian clothes. Civilians could thus be mistaken for a being a member of one side and be shot. They were sometimes killed simply from being caught up in the midst of a battle. South Vietnam suffered the majority of an estimated 2,000,000 Vietnamese civilians killed this way. Rummel's review of the various data led to a mid-level estimate of 843,000 civilian deaths in both North and South Vietnam. The detailed Figures are not complete, but the mid-level R.J. Rummel estimates are that around 391,000 South Vietnamese civilians died. Another 643,000 died as the communist North Vietnamese consolidated power after their victory in 1975. Rummel's low-level estimate was 361,000 South Vietnamese civilians and his high-estimate was 720,000.Below is a loose outline of which side caused the non-uniformed and civilian deaths. The Vietnamese government in 1995 estimated that 2,000,000 Vietnamese civilians on both sides died in the war, but does not divide the deaths between North and South Vietnam. Rummel estimated (apart from the post 1975 communist power consolidation) that a low-level of 486,000 civilians died; the mid-level was 843,000, with a high level at 1,200,000.
Deaths Caused by NVA/VC Forces
NVA/VC forces killed about 86,000 civilians and 33,000 prisoners of war between 1957 and 1975. Rummel's summary has a mid-level estimate of 17,000 South Vietnamese civil servants (ARVN's local millitia) killed by North Vietnamese forces (including the Viet Cong). In addition, another 36,000 Southern civilians were executed for various reasons. Another 50,000 refuges were killed, along with 1,260 civilians during the NVA's shelling of Saigon, and some 2,800 to 6,000 civilians killed in the Massacre at Huế during the Tet Offensive. About 130 US POWs and 16,000 South Vietnamese POWs were executed by their communist captors.During the peak war years, almost a third of civilian deaths were the result of Viet Cong atrocities.
Deaths Caused by South Vietnamese Forces
The estimated total number of civilians and suspected communists killed by the South Vietnamese forces from 1955 to 1975 was 145,500.During the Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
Regime (1955–1963, in the earliest stages of US involvement), an estimated 80,000 persons died during the forced relocation of 900,000
southern civilians. 4,000 communist prisoners were killed through ill-treatment, about 10,000 suspected communists were executed, and 1,500 civilians died during shellings. Diem's total is roughly 95,500 civilian deaths, apart from the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces his soldiers killed.
From 1964 to 1975, an estimated 1,500 persons died during the forced relocations of 1,200,000 civilians, another 5,000 prisoners died from ill-treatment and about 30,000 suspected communists were executed. 6,000 civilians died in the more extensive shellings. In Qam Ham province 4,700 civilians were killed in 1969. This totals 50,000 deaths caused by the South Vietnamese forces, excluding North Vietnamese forces killed by the ARVN in combat.
Deaths Caused by North Vietnamese Communist Power Consolidation
Tens of thousands civilians are thought to have died in the communist re-education camps. Many more took part in forced labor projects; Rudolph J. Rummel argues that nearly 10% of these died. The communists also executed tens of thousands. Some estimates are as high as 100,000 people thus killed. To this must be added the possibly one hundred thousand boat people who died trying to flee now communist Vietnam. The consolidation of power ended in about 1984, although boat people continued to flee and die through 1988.About 100,000 civilians were killed as they fled before the final victorious NVA military offensive of 1975. Some 156,000 ARVN troops and Souther 15,000 civilians were killed during Hanoi's invasion of South Vietnam. Sources have estimated that 170,000 South Vietnamese died in the re-education camps, while the number executed could have been more than 200,000. The maximum number killed through slave labor, according to Rummel, is 150,000. Owing to the extreme uncertainty surrounding boat people estimates, but including Vietnam's foreign democide
Democide
Democide is a term revived and redefined by the political scientist R. J. Rummel as "the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder." Rummel created the term as an extended concept to include forms of government murder that are not covered by the...
, Rummel estimates that a minimum of 400,000 and a maximum of slightly less than 2.5 million people died of political violence from 1975-87 at the hands of Hanoi. Many of Rummel's estimates are far higher than most others.
Specific incidents
- A Newsweek journalist claimed an unnamed official told him that an estimated 5,000 civilians died as "collateral damage" from the American military during Operation Speedy ExpressOperation Speedy ExpressOperation Speedy Express was a controversial United States military operation of the Vietnam War conducted in the Mekong Delta provinces Kien Hoa and Vinh Binh...
. - 1,200 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Tay Vinh massacreTay Vinh massacreThe Tay Vinh massacre was a series of massacres conducted by the ROK Capital Division of the South Korean Army between February 12, 1966 and March 17, 1966 of 1,200 unarmed citizens in Tay Vinh village, Tay Son District of Binh Dinh Province in South Vietnam. During the operation, the Capital...
between February 12 – March 17, 1966. - 380 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Go Dai massacreGo Dai massacreThe Go Dai massacre was a massacre conducted by the ROK Capital Division of the South Korean Army on 26 February 1966 of unarmed citizens in Go Dai hamlet, Binh An village, Tay Son District of Binh Dinh Province in South Vietnam. The Capital Division troops killed 380 villagers within an hour.After...
on February 26, 1966. - 66 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Binh Tai massacreBinh Tai massacreThe Binh Tai massacre was a massacre conducted by the South Korean Forces on 9 October 1966 of 68 citizens in Binh Tai village, Phuoc Binh of Song Be Province in South Vietnam.-Investigation:...
on October 9, 1966. - 280 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Dien Nien-Phuoc Binh MassacreDien Nien-Phuoc Binh MassacreThe Dien Nien-Phuoc Binh Massacre was a massacre conducted by South Korean forces on October 9 and October 10, 1966, of 280 unarmed citizens in Tinh Son village, Quang Ngai province in South Vietnam. The massacre was conducted in two hamlets in Tinh Son village...
on October 9, 1966. - 430 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Binh Hoa massacreBinh Hoa massacreThe Binh Hoa massacre was a massacre conducted by the South Korean forces between December 3 and December 6, 1966, of 430 unarmed citizens in Binh Hoa village, Quang Ngai province in South Vietnam. The most of the victims were children, elderly and women. The victims included 21 pregnant women...
between December 3 and December 6, 1966. - 79 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat massacrePhong Nhi and Phong Nhat massacreThe Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat massacre was a massacre conducted by the 2nd Marine Brigade of the South Korean Marines on 12 February 1968 of unarmed citizens in Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat village, Dien Ban District of Quang Nam Province in South Vietnam....
on February 12, 1968. - 135 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Ha My massacreHa My massacreThe Ha My massacre was a massacre conducted by the South Korean Marines on 25 February 1968 of unarmed citizens in Ha My village, Quang Nam in South Vietnam. The victims were 135 women, children and elders from the thirty households...
on February 25, 1968. - More than 500 civilians were killed by an American Army company in the notorious My Lai MassacreMy Lai MassacreThe My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
. - More than 25,000 South Vietnamese civilians were killed and almost a million become temporary refugees, with over 600,000 interned in South Vietnamese Government camps as a result of North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive.
Military Deaths
According to the Vietnamese government, there were 1,100,000 North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong military personnel deaths during the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. R.J. Rummel reviewed the many casualty data sets, this number is in keeping with his mid-level estimate of 1,011,000 North Vietnamese combatant deaths. He further calculated a mid-level estimate of 251,000 Viet Cong military deaths. Thus, Southern Forces (i.e.,Viet Cong) were around 22% of the total military deaths. What percentage of the remaining 849,000 North Vietnamese Regulars died in South Vietnam is unknown. The assumption is the vast majority of these deaths occurred in South Vietnam.
Civilian Deaths
R.J. Rummel's mid-level estimated that 65,000 North Vietnamese Civilians died from 1960-1975. tThe Vietnamese government in 1995 estimated that 2,000,000 Vietnamese civilians on both sides died in the war. Overall figures for North Vietnamese civilian dead range from 50,000 to several hundred thousand.
Specific Incident
Complete statistics for the American bombings of North Vietnam are unavailable. As noted above estimates of total 1957 to 1975 North Vietnamese civilian deaths caused by American bombing range from Rummel's low estimate of 52,000, his mid-level estimate of 65,000, his high level estimate of 70,000. There is a separate PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
estimate that the 3.5 year Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained US 2nd Air Division , US Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force aerial bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.The four objectives...
killed 182,000 civilians, with an additional 20,000 Chinese troops.
United States Armed Forces
Casualties as of 1 June 2011:- 58,272 KIAKilled in actionKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
or non-combat deaths (including the missing & deaths in captivity) - 303,644 WIAWounded in actionWounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight....
(including 153,303 who required hospitalization and 150,341 who didn't) - 1,687 MIAMissing in actionMissing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
(originally 2,646) - 866 POWPrisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(765 released, 36 escaped, 65 died in captivity)
By Service Branch
| Country | Branch of service | Number serving Worldwide | Number serving Southeast Asia | Number serving South Vietnam | Killed | Wounded | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Army | 4,368,000 | 2,276,000 | 1,736,000 | 38,209 | 96,802 | 545 {A} |
| Marines | 794,000 | 513,000 | 391,000 | 14,838 | 51,392 | 212 {B} | |
| Navy | 1,842,000 | 229,000 | 174,000 | 2,555 | 4,178 | 369 {C} | |
| Air Force | 1,740,00 | 385,000 | 293,000 | 2,584 | 1,021 | 544 {D} | |
| Coast Guard | |
|
|
7 | 59 | 0 {E} | |
| Civilians | |
|
|
19 | |
32 {F} | |
| Total | 8,744,000 | 3,403,000 | 2,594,000 | 58,178 | 153,452 | 1,711 |
Note: DPMO website lists 1,687 broken down as of 1 June 2011
- A) Note: DPMO reports 548 to be accounted for {278 KIA/BNR; 22 POWs died/not returned; 258 presumed dead}. PMSA reports 1 AWOL/deserter returned; 13 POWs died/returned; 171 remains returned; 17 escaped; 122 POWs returned.
- B) Note: DPMO reports 213 are to be accounted for {130 KIA/BNR; 2 POW/NR; 81 presumed dead}. PMSA reports 1 AWOL/deserter returned; 7 POWs died/returned; 82 remains returned; 10 POWs escaped; 28 POWs returned.
- C) Note: DPMO reports 369 to be accounted for {281 KIA/BNR; 88 presumed dead}. PMSA reports 2 escaped; 10 POWs died/remains returned; 161 remains/returned; 149 POWs returned.
- D) Note: DPMO reports 549 to be accounted for {193 KIA/BNR; 5 POW/NR; 368 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports that of 784 POWs, 1 escaped; 15 POWs died/remains returned; 436 remains returned/recovered; 332 POWs returned.
- E) Note: 1 MIA C.G. remains found 2002 and identified 2005.
- F) Note: DPMO reports 32 to be accounted for {4 KIA/BNR; 5 POW/NR; 11 MIA; 8 POWs; 6 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports 5 POWs escaped; 4 POWs died/remains returned; 15 remains returned; 54 POWs returned.
- Vietnam: original missing 1,971 of whom 677 are repatriated/identified and 1,294 missing with 587 classified as no further pursuit
- Laos: original missing 575 of whom 247 are repatriated/identified and 328 missing with 25 classified as no further pursuit
- Cambodia: original missing 85 of whom 32 are repatriated/identified and 58 missing with 5 classified as no further pursuit
- China: original missing 10 of whom 3 are repatriated/identified and 7 are missing with 3 classified as no further pursuit
- Note: as of May 2009 PMSA includes in each service branch of Vietnam War fatalities "Country not listed": US Army 27; USMC 8; US Navy 17; Civilians 6.
- As of 1 June 2011 DPMO reports 959 remains returned: 677 from Vietnam, 247 from Laos, 32 from Cambodia and 3 from China
By Year
| Country | Year of Death | Number Killed |
|---|---|---|
| USA | ||
| 1956–1964 | 401 | |
| 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 | |
| 1974–1998 | 1,178 |
By Enlistment
| Enlistment | Number Killed |
|---|---|
| Volunteer | 40,484 |
| Draftees | 17,725 |
First and last US Casualties
- {First casualties-1945; 1954; 1956, 1957; 1959}:
- 26 September 1945 - OSSOffice of Strategic ServicesThe Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
Lt. Col. A. Peter DeweyA. Peter DeweyAlbert Peter Dewey , shot by accident by Viet Minh troops on September 26, 1945. Dewey was the first American fatality in French Indochina, killed in the early aftermath of World War II. ....
killed in Vietnam. - 6 May 1954 - CIA pilot James 'Earthquake McGoon' McGovern and co-pilot Wallace Buford killed in Laos during the battle of Dien Bien PhuBattle of Dien Bien PhuThe Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
. {McGoon remains found 2002 and identified in 2006} - June 8, 1956 - The first official death in Vietnam is U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr.Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr.Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr. was the first person to lose his life in the conflict that would later be known as the Vietnam War. He was killed by another U. S. airman. The United States Air Force Technical Sergeant died on June 8, 1956. Through the efforts of his sister, Alice Fitzgibbon Rose...
of Stoneham, MA who was killed by another U.S. airman. - 21 October 1957 - Captain Harry Cramer killed in Vietnam.
- 8 July 1959 - Major Dale R. BuisDale R. BuisU.S. Army Major Dale Richard Buis was formerly the first name listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.Buis originally hailed from Pender, Nebraska, and graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri. He was part of the Military Assistance Advisory Group sent in 1955 to train...
and M/Sgt Charles OvnandCharles OvnandMaster Sergeant Chester Melvin Ovnand was formerly listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as the second American killed in the Vietnam War....
{Chester Melvin Ovnand} killed by sniper; first and second names listed on Vietnam Veterans MemorialVietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
. - 22 December 1961 - SP4 James Thomas Davis, 3d Radio Research Unit (Army Security Agency), killed in an ambush in Vietnam, The Wall: Panel 01E - Row 004.
- 26 September 1945 - OSS
- {Last casualties-1975}:
- 29 April 1975 - US Marine Embassy Guards McMahon and JudgeMcMahon and JudgeCharles McMahon and Darwin Lee Judge were the last two United States servicemen killed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The two men, both U.S...
killed. {Corporal Charles McMahon & Lance Corporal Darwin L. Judge} - 12–15 May 1975 — 15 US servicemen killed during the Mayaguez IncidentMayagüez incidentThe Mayaguez incident between the Khmer Rouge and the United States from May 12–15, 1975, was the last official battle of the Vietnam War. The names of the Americans killed, as well as those of three Marines who were left behind on the island of Koh Tang after the battle and who were subsequently...
and 3 MIAs killed later by the Khmer Rouge in Democratic KampucheaDemocratic KampucheaThe Khmer Rouge period refers to the rule of Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, Khieu Samphan and the Khmer Rouge Communist party over Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge renamed as Democratic Kampuchea....
.
- 29 April 1975 - US Marine Embassy Guards McMahon and Judge
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 ThompsonFloyd James ThompsonFloyd James "Jim" Thompson was the longest held prisoner of war in United States history, spending nearly nine years in captivity in Vietnam.-Early life:...
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.
- 8 years, 355 days - Floyd James Thompson
- Second longest held POW
- 8 years, 7 months - Everett Alvarez Jr.Everett Alvarez Jr.Everett Alvarez Jr. was a Navy Commander who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war in American history. Alvarez was the first American pilot to be shot down and held as a POW in North Vietnam...
was captured on August 5, 1964 and released February 12, 1973.
- 8 years, 7 months - Everett Alvarez Jr.
- Last POW recorded
- Charles E. Shelton-pronounced dead in September 1994.
North Korea
According to Chinese soldiers stationed in VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
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.
Australia
- 426 KIA, 74 died of other causes
- 2,940 WIA
- 6 MIA (All have been accounted for and have been repatriated)
External links
- Matthew White, Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century : Vietnam.
- National Archives AAD Searchable database.
- Casualties—US vs NVA/VC Casualty breakdown by year, province, unit. Ray's Web Server.
- The Vietnam Center and Archive. Texas Tech University.