I was doing some research to find out how many Americans died in Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War and came upon some interesting information that I want to share with you. Not only did I find out the numbers, but I also discovered some other facts about those who died in that war. Have a look!
Data from the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files which is current as of April 29, 2008, was used to create each category.
Country of Casualty
Laos……………………………. 728
Cambodia…………………… 523
China……………………………… 10
North Vietnam……………1,120
South Vietnam…………..55,661
Thailand………………………… 178
Casualty Category
Accident………………………. 9,107
Declared dead……………. 1,201
Died later of wounds….. 5,299
Homicide……………………….. 236
Illness……………………………… 938
Killed in Action………….. 40,934
Presumed dead (remains recovered) 32
Presumed dead (remains not recovered) 91
Self-inflicted……………………. 382
Year of Death
1956 – 59…………………………….. 4
1960…………………………………….. 5
1961……………………………………. 16
1962…………………………………… 53
1963…………………………………… 122
1964……………………………………. 216
1965……………………………………1,928
1966………………………………….. 6,350
1967………………………………….11,363
1968………………………………….16,899
1969………………………………….11,780
1970……………………………………6,173
1971……………………………………2,414
1972…………………………………….. 759
1973…………………………………….. 68
1974…………………………………….. 1
1975…………………………………….. 62
1987…………………………………….. 1
1990…………………………………….. 1
2000 – 2006………………………… 5
Deaths Reported by State
ALABAMA……………………………… 1,208
ALASKA…………………………………. 57
AMERICAN SAMOA……………. 4
ARIZONA……………………………… 619
ARKANSAS…………………………… 592
CALIFORNIA……………………… 5,575
CANAL ZONE………………………………. 2
COLORADO…………………………….. 623
CONNECTICUT……………………….. 612
DELAWARE………………………………. 122
DISTR.OF COLUMBIA……………. 242
FLORIDA………………………………. 1,954
FOREIGN……………………………….. 4
GEORGIA………………………………. 1,581
GUAM…………………………………….. 70
HAWAII………………………………….. 276
IDAHO……………………………………. 217
ILLINOIS……………………………. 2,936
INDIANA………………………………. 1,534
IOWA…………………………………….. 851
KANSAS………………………………… 627
KENTUCKY……………………………. 1,056
LOUISIANA…………………………… 885
MAINE…………………………………… 341
MARYLAND…………………………. 1,014
MASSACHUSETTS……………… 1,331
MICHIGAN………………………. 2,657
MINNESOTA………………………. 1,077
MISSISSIPPI……………………….. 636
MISSOURI………………………….. 1,418
MONTANA………………………… 267
NEBRASKA…………………………. 396
NEVADA……………………………… 149
NEW HAMPSHIRE……………. 226
NEW JERSEY………………………. 1,487
NEW MEXICO…………………….. 395
NEW YORK……………………… 4,119
N. CAROLINA…………………….. 1,613
N. DAKOTA…………………………. 199
OHIO……………………………….. 3,094
OKLAHOMA……………………….. 987
OREGON……………………………… 710
PENNSYLVANIA………………. 3,147
PUERTO RICO……………………… 345
RHODE ISLAND…………………… 209
S. CAROLINA………………………… 895
S. DAKOTA…………………………….. 192
TENNESSEE……………………………. 1,295
TEXAS…………………………………. 3,415
UTAH………………………………………. 361
VIRGIN ISLANDS………………….. 15
VERMONT……………………………… 100
VIRGINIA………………………………… 1,305
WASHINGTON………………………. 1,047
WEST VIRGINIA……………………… 733
WISCONSIN……………………………. 1,161
WYOMING……………………………… 119
Total Records: ……………………….. 58,220
These seven states accounted for 42.8% of the total fatalities in the war: These seven states accounted for 42.8% of the total fatalities in the war:
California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan
At least 100 names on the memorial are those of servicemen who were actually Canadian citizens. Among other countries that fought for South Vietnam on a smaller scale, South Korea suffered over 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia over 500, and New Zealand some three dozen.
The ARVN suffered 254,256 recorded combat deaths between 1960 and 1974, with the highest number of recorded deaths being in 1972, with 39,587 combat deaths.
In 1995 Vietnam released its official estimate of the number of people killed during the Vietnam War: 2,000,000 civilians on both sides and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters.
I got information for this article from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_casualties
Vietnam War US Military Fatal Casualty Statistics:
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics
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CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website 
Excellent Job!
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Excellent information.
Another useful information would be : how many soldiers were in VN not being US citizens, drafted/volunteers with a ” green card ” status.
For example, I was drafted after I came from Switzerland! Became a US citizen years later.
Just saying!
H. Burgin
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Outstanding, well done.
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Informative
Saw a couple of guys kill themselves accidentally or self affected. Saw a few die in accidents while running convoys.
Many different ways to die in a war zone, unfortunately.
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What does this say about that 10 to 1 ratio?
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WOW! Over 9,000 due to accidents and 236 due to homicide. I love statistics. Thanks for posting
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Like, these are people in good shape and not prone to sickness….yet, things happen. The homicides makes one think of Platoon, the movie.
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Numbers have a certain grip on things…but to place this War as a mistake of mistakes, not really. What about the Brits and our Rev War…or, more to the times, our present Yellow Brick Road under this Presidency? And look at how you run your own life…with its economy or lack of one. And the marriage decisions…what, 50% go wrong. Life is a twisted path for us all.
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REMEMBERING
Hot, heat is the first impression,
this is the one that lasts
three hundred and sixty five days.
From the portal of the freedom bird
a year stretches across the runway,
across the heated shimmering tarmac,
far out in the yet unseen jungle
and seems to go on forever;
for some this elemental view,
begets only fear and hardship,
or a near future of youth forever.
Cold, cool is the lasting impression,
the one felt, in black granite;
a roll call stretching to sadness.
Names nestled comfortably
surrounded by cool green grass,
cool trees coolly reflecting a pool,
and cool white monuments.
For those names etched in reverence
hot bitter tears calculate the reality;
those three hundred and sixty five days
for so many measured indeed forever.
We left behind in this mortal world
must work to put aside our pain,
to meet our charge to live and love
to remember brothers no longer
driven by the frailty of life.
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For what? Too many deaths , poor leadership. A lying government 60,000 lives lost for nothing
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Thank you for your info and time!
VN 67-68
1st Inf 337RRC
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Very interesting article & startling statistics. I tried to print your article out but it didn’t work. If you have it as a Word file, can you please email it to me at; scipione@geneseo.edu. Many thanks!
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on vacation until next wk. Pls send me another request after Memorial day and I’ll fix you up.
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MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF MY BROTHERS & SISTERS!!!!!!!!
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Thank you for this article. Would you happen to know where I could find the daily casualty counts I remember hearing on the news? (I’m working on a novel set in 1968.)
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Hey John, thanks for sharing this. My time in Nam as a Huey pilot was ‘69-70. I enlisted right after high school (L’Anse Creuse HS) in what was then Mt Clemens MI (now Harrison Township). I currently live in Alabama and the thought that occurred to me while looking at the causalities by state was: ‘What percentage of each state’s population during that time period were causalities?’ I’m not sure what one might gleam from that but it just struck me as I saw Alabama’s number compared to California’s number a few lines down, I’m thinking that Alabama’s percentage would be much higher than California’s due to the smaller population there. Anyway, it was just a thought and I really only wanted to thank you for your continued efforts to tell the tales of our war here in email and on social media, you do a great service for all of us. Thanks again! Bob
Sent from my iPad
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Hi John, thank you for sharing this article. It is always sad to learn of so many young lives lost. I feel it most acutely as my oldest son is the age of many of these soldiers. The self inflicted number is even more sad in many ways.
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Excellent article. Would be interesting to see a breakdown among the branches
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Again my Brother …. I have had the great honor of doing volunteer work with the Traveling Walls and as usual, receive many different facts, stats and numbers !!!!! Whatever info I get, I enter into my thoughts and always keep in my mind !!!!! AS always, WELCOME BROTHERS & SISTERS !!!!!!!
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well done my brother !!!! I have been doing research and talking with NAM VETS, and you are right on !!!!!!!!!
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How many of the “accidental” deaths were inadvertent, self-inflicted drug and/or alcohol overdoses?
I know of one. He was my friend.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/10236/CHRISTOPHER-C-COOK/page/2/
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Most accidental deaths resulted from being around dangerous situations of weapons. My best friend, A Marine grunt who fought in Hue, Khe Sanh and several lesser known battles, was housed in a bunker at the Rockpile that had unknown artillery powder in it. The Bunker blew and he was severely burned and died a couple weeks later in Japan at the burn hospital.
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How many citizens of Mexico were offered U.S. citizenship by border judges in exchange for their service? I graduated Basic Training from Fort Lewis, WA in 1970 with three such “wetbacks”(so-called, not disparagingly): A-4-1 “Alpha “Gators”.
How many Mexicans were granted U.S. citizenship posthumously?
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Fascinating! My two tours [’66 – ’67 … ’71 – ’72] were fundamentally different in both the number of deaths and … unfortunately … the vast number of those who have and/will experience emotional trauma for the rest of their lives.
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very very interesting thank you for your work on this
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