In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North. The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters.
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How many US soldiers did the Viet Cong kill?
One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled.
How many Viet Cong died in the Tet Offensive?
The Tet Offensive was a catastrophic military failure for the communists. Historians estimate as many as 50,000 communist troops died in the effort to gain control of the southern part of the country.
How brutal were the Viet Cong?
VC/PAVN terror squads committed over 36,000 murders and almost 58,000 kidnappings from 1967 to 1972 according to a U.S. Department of Defense estimate in 1973.
Who did the Viet Cong kill?
Victims included women, men, children, and infants. The estimated death toll was between 2,800 and 6,000 civilians and prisoners of war, or 5–10% of the total population of Huế. The Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) released a list of 4,062 victims identified as having been either murdered or abducted.
Did any American soldiers stay in Vietnam after the war?
It’s estimated that tens of thousands of veterans have returned to Vietnam since the 1990s, mostly for short visits to the places where they once served. Decades after the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) many former soldiers still wonder why they were fighting.
What percentage of Vietnam veterans actually saw combat?
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.
What battle was nothing more than a diversion before the Tet Offensive?
Historians have observed that the Battle of Khe Sanh may have distracted American and South Vietnamese attention from the buildup of Viet Cong (VC) forces in the south before the early 1968 Tet Offensive.
How many Vietnamese died in Vietnam War?
In 1995 Vietnam released its official estimate of the number of people killed during the Vietnam War: as many as 2,000,000 civilians on both sides and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died.
How many American soldiers were killed during the Tet Offensive?
216 U.S. Marines and soldiers had been killed during the fighting and 1,609 were wounded. 421 ARVN troops were killed, another 2,123 were wounded, and 31 were missing. More than 5,800 civilians had lost their lives during the battle and 116,000 were left homeless out of an original population of 140,000.
What happened to captured Viet Cong?
All PAVN and NLF prisoners of war that were captured by the United States and Allied forces during the Vietnam War were turned over to South Vietnamese and ultimately the ARVN, for internment. By 1973, the ARVN held 37,540 POWs, including 9,971 PAVN soldiers and 26,927 NLF fighters.
How many war photographers died in Vietnam?
135 combat photographers
Between November 24, 1945, and April 30, 1975, 135 combat photographers died in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They were all loved; they were all unlucky. None lived to grow old. It is for their photographs, not their dying, that the world remembers them.
Was the Vietnam War brutal?
The fighting was intense and the results, the former soldiers say, were especially brutal. Villages were bombed, burned and destroyed. As the ground troops swept through, in many cases they gunned down men, women and children, sometimes mutilating bodies — cutting off ears to wear on necklaces.
How many were killed in the My Lai massacre?
On March 16, 1968, a platoon of American soldiers brutally kills as many as 500 unarmed civilians at My Lai, one of a cluster of small villages located near the northern coast of South Vietnam.
How many civilians were killed in the My Lai massacre?
500 people
A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people—women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the My Lai massacre, including young girls and women who were raped and mutilated before being killed.
Who was to blame for the My Lai massacre?
William Calley
Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in March 1968.
What did the Vietnamese call American soldiers?
American soldiers referred to the Viet Cong as Victor Charlie or V-C. “Victor” and “Charlie” are both letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet. “Charlie” referred to communist forces in general, both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.
How many Vietnam soldiers died of snake bites?
The United States Archives and other sources suggest that between 25 and 50 American soldiers a year were bitten by snakes during the war in Vietnam. Some 10,786 American soldiers died of non-combat causes, including 9,107 by accidents and 938 due to illness.
What was the bloodiest battle in Vietnam?
Battle of Khe Sanh
The 1968 Battle of Khe Sanh was the longest, deadliest and most controversial of the Vietnam War, pitting the U.S. Marines and their allies against the North Vietnamese Army.
How many Desert Storm veterans are still alive?
1.68 million Veterans
More than 2.2 million U.S. service members served during the era and an estimated 694,550 deployed to the Gulf. An estimated 1.68 million Veterans from that era are still alive.
How old is the average Vietnam veteran?
EsƟmated 6.4M Vietnam Era Veterans. Ages range from 97 to 55 years old (born between 1918 and 1960). Median age is 68 years. An overwhelming majority of Vietnam Veterans are male (6.2M) while in the civilian populaƟon females (47.7M) outnumber males by 20.5M.
