Vietnam War casualties

Waiting to Lift Off by James Pollock, Vietnam Combat Artists Program, CAT IV, 1967. Courtesy of National Museum of the U. S. Army.

The Vietnam War began in 1955 and did not end until 1975, when North Vietnamese forces finally conquered Saigon. During this period the war escalated from an insurgency in South Vietnam sponsored by the North Vietnamese 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.

Deaths in South Vietnam

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.

South Vietnamese military deaths

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 Hanoi, 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 may have been exaggerated and inflated.

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.

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 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, 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 Express.
• 1,200 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Tay Vinh massacre between February 12 – March 17, 1966.
• 380 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Go Dai massacre on February 26, 1966.
• 66 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Binh Tai massacre on October 9, 1966.
• 280 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Dien Nien-Phuoc Binh Massacre on October 9, 1966.
• 430 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Binh Hoa massacre between December 3 and December 6, 1966.
• 79 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat massacre on February 12, 1968.
• 135 civilians were killed by South Korean forces in Ha My massacre on February 25, 1968.
• More than 500 civilians were killed by an American Army company in the notorious My Lai Massacre.
• 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.

Deaths in North Vietnam

Military Deaths

According to the Vietnamese government, there were 1,100,000 North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong military personnel deaths during the Vietnam War. 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. t

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.

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 PBS estimate that the 3.5 year Operation Rolling Thunder killed 182,000 civilians, with an additional 20,000 Chinese troops.

United States Armed Forces

Casualties as of 15 December 2011:

• 58,272 KIA or non-combat deaths (including the missing & deaths in captivity)
• 303,644 WIA (including 153,303 who required hospitalization and 150,341 who didn't)
• 1,678 MIA (originally 2,646)
• 725 POW (660 freed (28 escaped), 65 died in captivity)

By Service Branch

Branch of service	Number serving Worldwide	Number serving Southeast Asia	Number serving South Vietnam	Killed	Wounded	Missing
Army	4,368,000	2,276,000	1,736,000	38,209	96,802	532 {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	366 {C}
Air Force	1,740,00	385,000	293,000	2,584	1,021	536 {D}
Coast Guard				7	59	0 {E}
Civilians				19		32 {F}
Total	8,744,000	3,403,000	2,594,000	58,212	153,452	1,678

Source: The National Archives.
Note: DPMO website lists 1,678 missing as of 15 December 2011.

• A) Note: DPMO reports 532 to be unaccounted for {262 KIA/BNR; 22 POWs died/not returned; 248 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports 1 AWOL/deserter returned; 7 POWs died/returned; 171 remains returned; 138 POWs returned (15 escaped).
• B) Note: DPMO reports 212 to be unaccounted for {130 KIA/BNR; 2 POW/NR; 80 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports 1 AWOL/deserter returned; 6 POWs died/returned; 82 remains returned; 38 POWs returned (10 escaped).
• C) Note: DPMO reports 366 to be unaccounted for {280 KIA/BNR; 86 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports 9 POWs died/remains returned; 161 remains returned; 151 POWs returned (2 escaped).
• D) Note: DPMO reports 536 to be unaccounted for {187 KIA/BNR; 5 POW/NR; 344 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports that 14 POWs died/remains returned; 436 remains returned/recovered; 333 POWs returned (1 escaped).
• E) Note: 1 MIA C.G. remains found 2002 and identified 2005.
• F) Note: DPMO reports 32 to be unaccounted for {4 KIA/BNR; 5 POW/NR; 11 MIA; 8 POWs; 6 presumed dead}. PMSA also reports 4 POWs died/remains returned; 15 remains returned; 64 POWs returned (6 escaped).
• 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 15 December 2011 DPMO reports 959 remains returned: 677 from Vietnam, 247 from Laos, 32 from Cambodia and 3 from China

By Year

Year of Death	Number Killed
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

Source: The National Archives.

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 - OSS Lt. Col. A. Peter Dewey 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 Phu. {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. 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. Buis and M/Sgt Charles Ovnand {Chester Melvin Ovnand} killed by sniper; first and second names listed on Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
  • 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.
• {Last casualties-1975}:
  • 29 April 1975 - US Marine Embassy Guards McMahon and Judge killed. {Corporal Charles McMahon & Lance Corporal Darwin L. Judge}
  • 12–15 May 1975 — 15 US servicemen killed during the Mayaguez Incident and 3 MIAs killed later by the Khmer Rouge in Democratic Kampuchea.

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 Thompson 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.
• Second longest held POW
  • 8 years, 7 months - Everett Alvarez Jr. was captured on August 5, 1964 and released February 12, 1973.
• Last POW recorded
  • Charles E. Shelton-pronounced dead in September 1994.

South Korea

• 5,099 KIA
• 11,232 WIA
• 4 MIA

North Korea

According to Chinese soldiers stationed in Vietnam 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.^{[citation needed]}

China

1,446 KIA^{[citation needed]}

Soviet Union

~16.

Philippines

• 7 men KIA
• 2 men MIA^{[citation needed]}

Thailand

• 351 KIA
• 1,358 WIA

Australia

• 426 KIA, 74 died of other causes
• 2,940 WIA
• 6 MIA (All have been accounted for and have been repatriated)

New Zealand

• 55 KIA + 2 Civilians
• 212 WIA

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.