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I was a junior in high school when Saigon fell. I watched the images on television like the rest of America but it didn't affect me. I had teachers who had been there and they told us stories but none of my friends were drafted...we were too young.
A friend sent this to me this morning. Now that I'm older and the mother of two boys who have had to register for the draft, I understand.
To those who served not only in Vietnam but those who were support personnel...
Thank You.
Belinda
25 years ago this week I took part in the end of the Viet Nam war.
My Marine Corps unit was embarked on the USS Durham (LKA-114). Today marks
the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the evacuation
of the American embassy.
Here are some interesting statistics about the "war"................
These are results of a new survey from THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL
FUND Wash DC. It deals with preconceptions some folks might have about
who Vietnam Veterans really are.
VIETNAM WARRIORS:
A STATISTICAL PROFILE IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY
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-March 28, 1973). Another 50,000 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)
CASUALTIES:
· Hostile deaths: 47,378
· Non-hostile deaths: 10,800
Total: 58,202 (includes formerly classified as MIA and Mayaquez
casualties), subsequently died of wounds account for the hanging 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
limbs; 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.
· Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities
were 300% higher than in W.W.II and 70% higher than in Korea.
· Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared
to 5.7% in W.W.II.
· Missing in Action: 2,338. POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity).
DRAFTEES VS. VOLUNTEERS:
· 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees.
· 66% of US armed forces members were drafted during
W.W.II).
· Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in
Vietnam.
· Reservists 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 draftee: June 30, 1973.
RACE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND:
· 88.4% of those who actually served in Vietnam were
Caucasian.
· 10.6% 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 that enlisted, volunteered for the combat
arms.
· Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam at
a time when the percentage of blacks of military age was 13.5%
of the total population.
RELIGION OF THE DEAD:
· Protestant-64.4%
· Catholic-28.9%
· Other/none-6.7%.
SOCIETY-ECONOMIC STATUS:
· 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle and
working class backgrounds.
· 3/4ths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were
from middle income backgrounds. - Some 23% of Vietnam vets had
fathers with professional, managerial or technical occupations.
·79% who served had a high school education or better. (63%
of Korean War and only 45% of W.W.II vets had completed high
school upon separation).
DEATHS BY REGION PER 100,000 OF POPULATION:
· South-31
· West-29
· Midwest-28.4
· Northeast-23.5.
WINNING AND LOSING:
· 82% of vets 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 arms.
HONORABLE SERVICE:
· 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.
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