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Facts about vietnam, especially for those who were "not" there.
Lots of good information here -- interesting, especially for those folks unlike ourselves who were there.
> > > > *We do not live in Vietnam, Vietnam lives in us.* > > > > *Vietnam** Facts vs. Fiction.* > > > > > > I found this article very interesting. The most notable fact is that 2.7 > million Americans actually served in the Vietnam Theater of war. > > In the last census nearly 14 million Americans claimed they served in > Vietnam. > > *Four out of five are lying. I wonder why. * > > * > ** Vietnam Facts vs. Fiction * > > > For over 30 years I, like many Vietnam veterans, seldom spoke of Vietnam, > except with other veterans, when talking to other soldiers, and in public speeches. > These past five years I have joined the hundreds of thousands who believe it is high time the truth be told about the Vietnam War and the people who > served there. It's time the American people learn that the United States > military did not lose the War, and that a surprisingly high number of people > who claim to have served there, in fact, DID NOT. > > Below are some assembled facts most readers will find interesting. It isn't > a long read, but it will....I guarantee....teach you some things you did not > know about the Vietnam War and those who served, fought, or died there. > Please share it with those with whom you communicate. > Capt. Marshal Hanson, U.S.N.R (Ret.) > Capt. Scott Beaton, Statistical Source > > Vietnam War Facts: > Facts, Statistics, Fake Warrior Numbers, and Myths Dispelled > > 9,087,000 (Million) military personnel served on active duty during the > official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975. > 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam > Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation. > 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War > > *1. * 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. > > *2. * 58,148 were killed in Vietnam > > *3. * 75,000 were severely disabled. > > *4. * 23,214 were 100% disabled. > > *5. * 5,283 lost limbs. > > *6. * 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. > > *7. * Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21. > > *8. * 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. > > *9. * Of those killed, 17,539 were married. > > *10. * Average age of men killed: 23.1 years. > > *11*. Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. > > *12. *The oldest man killed was 62 years old. > > *13. *As of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted > for from the Vietnam War. > > *14. *97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged. > > *15. * 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served. > > *16. *74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. > > *17. *Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet > age groups. > > *18. *Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age > group by more than 18 percent. > > *19. *87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem. > > *20. *There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and > non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration > Study) > > *21. *Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of > one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. > > *22. *85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian > life. > > *23. *Interesting Census Stats and "Been There" Wanabees: > > * a. * 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as > of August, 1995 (census figures). > b. During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely > claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958. > > *24. * 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. > > *24. *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.> > *25. *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 erroneous 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). > > 26. 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. > > *27. *Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences > while Communists who did so received commendations. From 1957 to 1973, the > National Liberation Front 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 o f the peasants such as medical > personnel, social workers, and school teachers. - > > > *Common Myths Dispelled:> > *#1. Myth: Common Belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted. > Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the > men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those > killed in Vietnam were volunteers. > > > #2. Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans > range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran > population. > Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. "The CDC > Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 > years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among > Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. After that initial post-service > period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than > non-Vietnam veterans. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the > rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans' group. > > > #3.Myth: Common belief is that a disproportionate number of blacks were > killed in the Vietnam War. > Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, > and 1.2% was other races. Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley > Butler, in their recently published book "All That We Can Be," said they > analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder during Vietnam > "and can report definitely that this charge is untrue. Black fatalities > amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in Southeast Asia, a figure > proportional to the number of blacks in the U.S. Population at the time and > slightly lower than the proportion of blacks in the Army at the close of the > war." > > > #4 Myth: Common belief is that the war was fought largely by the poor and > uneducated. > Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly > elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or > infantry officers. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our > nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school education or > better. Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of > November 1993. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The > Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. (Although > 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date > and birth date. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some > of those who were listed as missing in action) Deaths Average Age Total: > 58,148, 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, > 22.55 years > > *#5 Myth:* The common belief is the average age of an infantryman fighting > in Vietnam was 19. > Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, > the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 > years old is a myth, it is actually 22. None of the enlisted grades have an > average age of less than 20. The average man who fought in World War II was > 26 years of age. > > *#6 Myth:* The Common belief is that the domino theory was proved false. > Fact: The domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast > Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and > Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to > Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's > commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept > all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of > great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in > these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion > from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for > Communism. > > #7 Myth: The common belief is that the fighting in Vietnam was not as > intense as in World War II. > Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw > about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman in Vietnam > saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the > helicopter. 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. MEDEVAC helicopters flew > nearly 500,000 missions. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half > were American). The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization > was less than one hour. As a result, less than one percent of all Americans > wounded, who survived the first 24 hours, died. The helicopter provided > unprecedented mobility. Without the helicopter it would have taken three > times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos > (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva > Accords or 1962 would secure the border). > > *#8 Myth:* Kim Phuc, the little nine year old Vietnamese girl running naked > from the napalm strike near Trang Bang on 8 June 1972.....shown a million > times on American television....was burned by Americans bombing Trang Bang. > > Fact: No American had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that > burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. The planes doing the bombing near the village > were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in > support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. The Vietnamese pilot who > dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. Even > the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. The > incident in the photo took place on the second day of a three day battle > between the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who occupied the village of Trang > Bang and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) who were trying to force > the NVA out of the village. Recent reports in the news media that an > American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc are > incorrect. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. "We > (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF," according to > Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of > TRAC at that time. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim > Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. They were Kim's cousins not > her brothers. > > #9 Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam. > Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American > military did not lose a battle of any consequence. From a military > standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. General > Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike, a professor at the University of > California, Berkley a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. > FACT: THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH > VIETNAMESE DID. Read on........ > *The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American > military left Vietnam*. The last American troops departed in their entirety > 29 March 1973. > FACT: How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? We fought to > an agreed stalemate. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January > 1973. > > * It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, > limitation of both sides' forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to > peaceful reunification. > > *The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted > almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military > running for their lives. > > *There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily > Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 then there > were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. > > > *As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and > misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was reported as an overwhelming > success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. Forces. > Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite initial victories by the > Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those > forces. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is > considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a > great commander. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of > the Communist forces on all fronts. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 > NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong > elements in South Vietnam. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the > South never recovered. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and > that was the News front and the political arena. This was another example > in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. However, > inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous. > > > Please give all credit and research to: > Capt. Marshal Hanson, U.S.N.R (Ret.) > Capt. Scott Beaton, Statistical Source ---END--- Gimp
__________________
Gimpy "MUD GRUNT/RIVERINE" "I ain't no fortunate son"--CCR "We have shared the incommunicable experience of war..........We have felt - we still feel - the passion of life to its top.........In our youth our hearts were touched with fire" Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. |
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