VoyForums

Thu, December 24 2009, 18:53:36 [ VoyUser Login optional ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4], 5, 6, 7 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: Mon, June 12 2006, 21:58:26
Author: Jeff Northridge
Author Host/IP: 4.131.211.199
Subject: Re: Body Count
In reply to: Nicole Leveque 's message, "Body Count" on Mon, June 12 2006, 12:05:27

Howdy Nicole;

Casualties

Although western historians like to chop the war up into various pieces or phases depending on who was doing the fighting, the Vietnamese themselves view the whole thing as the "Vietnamese War of Independence" which essentially lasted from Sept. 2nd, 1945 to Apr. 30th, 1975 (almost 30 years). During that 30-year period and in spite of short periods of low-intensity combat, the war never ceased not even for a single day. The figures below are the best available for the combatants. Note: unaccounted for MIAs, POWs, and DICs (died in captivity) are included as KIA and VM = Viet Minh, VC = Viet Cong.

U.S.: KIA = 58,223 WIA = 304,704

South Korea: KIA = 5,068 WIA = 17,060

Australia: KIA = 475 WIA = 2,940

Thailand: KIA = 351 WIA = 1,358

New Zealand: KIA = 55 WIA = 212

Turkey: unknown (the Turks were mercenaries and were not there in an official capacity)

France: KIA = 75,867? WIA = 250,000? (the French have never revealed their true figures)

ARVN: KIA = 223,748 WIA = 1,169,763

NVA/VC/VM: KIA = 1,126,000 WIA = 600,000 (The figures are approximate and are probably too low because it is doubtful that they include losses during the First Indochina War. These figures were revealed by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on the 20th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, but it remains unclear as to which time period is being included here. Also, the KIA figure includes at least 26,000 DICs which is known from western sources.)

Observe the unusually low number of wounded compared to killed for the NVA/VC/VM. This is probably due to the lack of proper medical care that was available to the NVA/VC/VM.

Civilians killed during the above 30-year period are estimated to be between 4.5 and 5 million about 2 million of which were in North Vietnam. If one restricts the time period to the 11-year Vietnam Era, then the estimate is closer to 2 million. Adding it all up reveals that at least 6 million Vietnamese died during the war on both sides and conservatively estimating that at least as many were wounded will lead one to the conclusion that between one quarter and one third of the population of Vietnam were casualties (the total population of both North and South Vietnam was about 40 million in 1970).

The Vietnamese War of Independence was a conflict of unprecedented magnitude, intensity, and duration inflicted on a country with a land area of 325,360 sq. Km. which is about the size of the State of New Mexico with incredible devastation for all those involved (most of whom were Vietnamese). One would have to go back to the "Great Patriotic War" of Germany vs. the Soviet Union during WW II to find anything worse.

This also doesn't include permanent psychological damage to a significant percentage of both combatants and civilians, premature deaths and ailments due to Agent Orange and other Dioxin containing herbicides to which everybody in the South was exposed, and massive destruction and damage to property, infrastructure, the environment, wildlife, crops, and livestock. Total financial cost? Unknown, but probably in excess of $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion dollars).

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 2.94, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2008 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.