By  this census, FOUR OUT OF  FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.

 

Viet Nam Statistics - SOBERING

"Of  the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam, Less than 850,000 are estimated  to be alive today, with the youngest American Vietnam veteran's age  approximated to be 54 years old."
 
So,  if you're alive and reading this, how does it feel to be among the last 1/3rd  of all the U.S. Vets who served in Vietnam?

 
Don't  know about you guys, but kind of gives me the chills, considering this is the  kind of information I'm used to reading about WWII and Korean War vets...  
 
So the last 14 years we are dying too fast, 
 
So in 2190 days,only 6 years from today, feel lucky to be a Vietnam veteran alive..... 
 
These  statistics were taken from a variety of sources to include: The VFW Magazine,  the Public Information Office,

and  the HQ CP Forward Observer - 1st Recon April 12, 1997.
 
STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN UNIFORM AND  IN COUNTRY VIETNAM VETERANS:
 
*  9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era  (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975).
 
*  8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964-March 28,1973).  
 
*  2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam, this number represents 9.7% of their  generation.
 
*  3,403,100 (Including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the broader  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 men 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, 1968).
 
CASUALTIES:
 
 The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He  was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was  named for him.

 
Hostile  deaths: 47,378
 
Non-hostile  deaths: 10,800
 
Total:  58,202 (Includes men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties)..   
 
Men  who have subsequently died of wounds account for the changing total.  
 
8  nurses died -- 1 was KIA.
 
61%  of the men killed were 21 or younger.
 
11,465  of those killed were younger than 20 years old.
 
Of  those killed, 17,539 were married.
 
Average  age of men killed: 23.1 years
 
Total  Deaths:                          23.11 years
 
Enlisted:  50,274                     22.37 years
 
Officers:  6,598                       28.43 years
 
Warrants:  1,276                    24.73 years
 
E1:  525                                 20.34 years
 
11B  MOS:18,465 (Infantry)  22.55 years
 
Five  men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.
 
The  oldest man killed was 62 years old.
 
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 WWII and 70% higher than Korea.  
 
Multiple  amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.  
 
Missing  in Action: 2,338
 
POWs:  766 (114 died in captivity)
 
As  of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the  Vietnam War.
 
DRAFTEES VS. VOLUNTEERS:
  
25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66%  of U.S. armed forces members were drafted during WWII).
 
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  man drafted: June 30, 1973.
 
RACE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND: 
 
88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were  Caucasian; 10.6% (275,000) 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 North-west 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 who 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 Dead: Protestant -- 64.4%; Catholic -- 28.9%; other/none -- 6.7%   
 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS:
  
Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same  non-vet age groups.
 
Vietnam  veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more  than 18 percent.
 
76%  of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class backgrounds.  
 
Three-fourths  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%  of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or better when  they entered the military service.
63% of Korean War vets and only 45% of  WWII vets had completed high school upon separation.
 
Deaths  by region per 100,000 of population: South -- 31%, West --29.9%; Midwest --  28.4%; Northeast -- 23.5%.
 
DRUG USAGE & CRIME:  
 
There  is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam  Veterans of the same age group.  (Source: Veterans Administration  Study)
 
Vietnam  Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of one percent of  Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.
 
85%  of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.  
 
WINNING & LOSING:  
 
82%  of veterans 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 of 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.
 
74% say they would  serve again, even knowing the outcome.
 
87% of the public now  holds Vietnam veterans in high esteem.
 
INTERESTING CENSUS STATISTICS &THOSE TO  CLAIM TO HAVE "Been There":
  
1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as  of August,1995 (census figures).
 
During that same Census  count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country was:  9,492,958.
 
As of the current Census  taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population  estimate is: 1,002,511.

This  is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between '95 and '00. That's 390 per day.
 
During  this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served  in-country is: 13,853,027.
 
By  this census, FOUR OUT OF  FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.
 
The  Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War  Library originally reported with errors that  2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country. Corrections and  confirmations to this erred index resulted in  the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense. (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365).  
 
Isolated  atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from  anti-war critics and the news media while  Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media  mention at all. The United States sought to  minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on  civilians a centerpiece of its strategy.

Americans  who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists  who did so received commendations.
 
From 1957 to 1973, the National  Liberation Front (VC) assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another  58,499. The death squads  focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives  of the peasants such as medical personnel,social  workers, and school teachers. -

Nixon Presidential  Papers.