More US Veterans have died following the Vietnam war from the post-traumatic stress disorder leading to suicide than those who died in combat.
THERE ARE MORE THAN 58,000 NAMES OF AMERICAN DEAD ON THE MEMORIAL WALL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE TOTAL COSTS IN LIFE IS STILL BEING COUNTED.
| THE PEOPLE | ||
| American Veterans | Vietnamese People | |
| In Country | 2.5 million | est. 1970 pop. 41 million |
| In Combat | 1.5 million | unknown |
| Killed in Action | 58,000+ | 2.5 million |
| Wounded | 300,000+* | 4 million |
| Missing in Action | 2,000+ | 250,000 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | 1.5 million+ | unknown |
| Suicides | 100,000+ | unknown |
| Homeless | 150,000 nightly | unknown |
| Boat People | 0 | 1 million (Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia) |
| Lost at Sea | 0 | 500,000 |
| Disabled Street People | unknown | 3 million |
| New Agent Orange Deformities | unknown | 35,000/year |
| Peacetime Deaths Due to Unexploded Bombs & Mines | 0 | 50,000+ (Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia) |
| Maimed by Bombs and Mines (1975-98) | 0 | 67,000 |
| Re-education Camps | 0 | 400,000 in 100 camps |
| * includes U.S: 74,000 quadriplegics and multiple amputees | ||
| THE VIETNAMESE LAND | ||
| Total Herbicides Used | 19.4 million gallons | |
| Agent Orange Sprayed | 11.7 million gallons | |
| Mangrove Forest Destroyed | 60% | |
| Forest & Jungle Destroyed | 18% | |
| Cultivated Land Destroyed | 8% | |
| U.S. BOMBING | ||
| 8 billion+ pounds (4 times more than WWII total; equal to 600 Hiroshima-size bombs) | ||
| 23 million bomb craters | ||
| 2,257 U.S. aircraft lost | ||
| Over 4,000 of total 5,778 villages bombed, 150 completely destroyed | ||
| DESTROYED | ||
| 10 million cubic meters of dikes | ||
| 815 hydroelectric works | ||
| 1,100 lake embankments | ||
| 8 forestry | ||
| 48 agricultural research centres with 6,000 agricultural machines and 46,000 water buffalo | ||
| 400 factories | ||
| 18 power stations | ||
| 13,000 boats | ||
| 15,100 bridges | ||
| 2,923 high schools and universities | ||
| 350 hospitals | ||
| 1,500 maternity hospitals | ||
| 484 churches | ||
| 465 pagodas | ||
| 240,540 thatched huts | ||
| TOTAL COST TO THE UNITED STATES: | ||
| $925 Billion |
CASUALTIES OF THE VIETNAM WAR
By Edward Tick, Utne magazine