Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics

Electronic Records Reference Report

Introduction

The following tables were generated from the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files, which is current as of April 29, 2008.

The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of June 8, 1956, and the most recent casualty record contains a date of death of May 28, 2006. The Defense Casualty Analysis System Extract Files were created by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The records correspond to the Vietnam Conflict statistics on the DMDC web site, which is accessible online at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/main.xhtml.

The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files is the successor database to the Combat Area Casualties Current File. The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the DCAS contains 27 more records than the Combat Area Casualties Current File as of December 1998, which contains 58,193 records. Additionally, there are some changes to the fields between the two files, most notably in the respective date-of-death fields. The date-of-death reported in the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files is either the actual date-of-death or the date-of-incident, whereas the date-of-death for the Combat Area Casualties Current File is either the actual date-of-death or the date on which the casualty was declared dead.

The full casualty records of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files are accessible online for name searches (as well as for searches using any of the other fields identified in the data layout of the files in this series) for records of specific casualties via the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) resource.

The following casualty tables were created by using AAD to query the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the DCAS. These tables represent statistics for a selection of categories based on the fields of the file. The selections of fields used in creating these tables were made on the basis of usefulness and interest to prospective researchers and the general public. These tables are for informational purposes and do not answer all questions of a statistical nature regarding U. S. casualties of the Vietnam War. Note that AAD can also be used to query the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the DCAS for more complex Vietnam War casualty statistics than what are provided on this page, such as the number of casualties by race for a specific home state of record.

A full series description for the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files is accessible online via the National Archives Catalog under the National Archives Identifier 2163536. The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File is also accessible for direct download via the National Archives Catalog file-level description, National Archives Identifier 2240992.

Alternatively to the download option, we can provide reproduction copies of the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File on a cost-recovery basis upon request. Information regarding the ordering of electronic records is provided online on our Ordering Information page.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by CASUALTY CATEGORY (as of April 29, 2008 )

This table contains record counts based on the codes recorded in the “CASUALTY CATEGORY” field of the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File. In the case of the “PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS RECOVERED)” and “PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS NOT RECOVERED)” categories of the table, the record counts are based on the codes in both the “CASUALTY CATEGORY” and “REMAINS RECOVERED” fields.

Casualty Category Number of Records ACCIDENT 9,107 DECLARED DEAD 1,201 DIED OF WOUNDS 5,299 HOMICIDE 236 ILLNESS 938 KILLED IN ACTION 40,934 PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS RECOVERED) 32 PRESUMED DEAD (BODY REMAINS NOT RECOVERED) 91 SELF-INFLICTED 382 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by CASUALTY COUNTRY/OVER WATER CODE (Country of Casualty) (as of April 29, 2008 )

Country of Casualty Number of Records LAOS 728 CAMBODIA 523 CHINA 10 NORTH VIETNAM 1,120 SOUTH VIETNAM 55,661 THAILAND 178 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by HOME OF RECORD STATE CODE (as of April 29, 2008 )

Note that State Lists of Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War sorted alphabetically by the last name of casualty are available online at www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-lists/.

Home State of Record Number of Records ALABAMA 1,208 ALASKA 57 AMERICAN SAMOA 4 ARIZONA 619 ARKANSAS 592 CALIFORNIA 5,575 CANAL ZONE 2 COLORADO 623 CONNECTICUT 612 DELAWARE 122 DISTRICT 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 NORTH CAROLINA 1,613 NORTH DAKOTA 199 OHIO 3,094 OKLAHOMA 987 OREGON 710 PENNSYLVANIA 3,147 PUERTO RICO 345 RHODE ISLAND 209 SOUTH CAROLINA 895 SOUTH DAKOTA 192 TENNESSEE 1,295 TEXAS 3,415 UTAH 361 VERMONT 100 VIRGIN ISLANDS 15 VIRGINIA 1,305 WASHINGTON 1,047 WEST VIRGINIA 733 WISCONSIN 1,161 WYOMING 119 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by HOSTILE OR NON-HOSTILE DEATH INDICATOR (as of April 29, 2008 )

Hostile or Non Hostile Death Indicator Number of Records HOSTILE DEATH 47,434 NON HOSTILE DEATH 10,786 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by INCIDENT OR DEATH DATE (Year) (as of April 29, 2008 )

Year of Death Number of Records 1956 - 1959 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 1976 - 1979 0 1980 - 1986 0 1987 1 1988 - 1989 0 1990 1 1991 - 1999 0 2000 - 2006 5 Total Records 58,220

Researchers may note substantial differences between the above record counts generated from the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files and those previously posted online that were generated from the Combat Area Casualties Current File. The reason for the differences is due to the fact that the date reported for the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files is the date-of-death or the date-of-incident, whereas the date for the Combat Area Casualties Current File is the date-of-death or the date on which the casualty was declared dead. The difference in the dates reported is reflected in the names of the respective fields for the two files, which for the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the DCAS is named “INCIDENT OR DEATH DATE”, whereas for the Combat Area Casualties Current File the field is named “DATE OF DEATH or DATE DECLARED DEAD”.

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by MEMBER'S GENDER (as of April 29, 2008 )

Gender Number of Records Male 58,212 Female 8 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by MEMBER COMPONENT CODE ( Service Component) (as of April 29, 2008 )

Service Component Number of Records National Guard 97 Regular 34,508 Reserve 5,762 Selected Service 17,671 Not Reported 182 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by MEMBER PAYGRADE (as of April 29, 2008 )

Pay Grade Number of Records Enlistee (Grades E1 – E9) 48,717 Officers (Grade Codes O01 – O08)* 6,604 Warrant Officers (Grade Codes W01 – W04)* 1,277 Undefined Code or Blank 1,622 Total Records 58,220

This table contains record counts based on the codes recorded in the “MEMBER PAYGRADE” field of the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File . Note that the code list for this field does not distinguish Officers from Warrant Officers. The code list provided by the creating agency gives the meaning “OFFICER” for the codes O01, O02, O03, O04, O05, O06, O07, and O08. This code list also gives the meaning “OFFICER” for the codes W01, W02, W03, and W04. 1,274 records of the 1,277 records that contain the codes W01, W02, W03, or W04 in the “MEMBER PAYGRADE” field also contain one of the codes for Warrant Officers in the “MEMBER RANK OR RATE” field.

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by MEMBER SERVICE CODE (Branch of Service) (as of April 29, 2008 )

Service Number of Records Air Force 2,586 Army 38,224 Coast Guard 7 Marine Corps 14,844 Navy 2,559 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by RACE OMB NAME ( Race) (as of April 29, 2008 )

Race Number of Records AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE 226 ASIAN 139 BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 7,243 HISPANIC ONE RACE 349 NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER 229 NON-HISPANIC MORE THAN ONE RACE 204 WHITE 49,830 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by RELIGION CODE (as of April 29, 2008 )

Religion Number of Records AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCHES IN THE USA 4 ASSEMBLIES OF GOD 117 BAPTIST CHURCHES 9,480 BRETHREN CHURCHES 63 BUDDHISM 53 CATHOLIC CHURCHES (EXCLUDES ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH) 1 CHRISTIAN CHURCH 34 CHRISTIAN, NO DENOMINATIONAL PREFERENCE 1 CHURCH OF CHRIST 528 CHURCH OF GOD (ANDERSON, IN) 238 CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS (MORMON) 589 CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE 132 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES 1 EPISCOPAL CHURCH 825 FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE) 63 FRIENDS (QUAKERS) 12 ISLAM 12 JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 26 JUDAISM (JEWISH) 270 LUTHERAN CHURCHES 2,253 METHODIST CHURCHES 4,077 NO RELIGIOUS PREFERENCE 3,106 PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES 182 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA) 1,303 PROTESTANT, NO DENOMINATIONAL PREFERENCE 16,647 PROTESTANT, OTHER CHURCHES 558 REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA 45 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 16,817 SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST 116 SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 121 UNCLASSIFIED RELIGIONS 487 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST 45 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 11 Total Records 58,220

Record counts provided for informational purposes only, not official statistics.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact:

Reference Services, Electronic Records

Email: cer@nara.gov

Telephone: (301) 837-0470

Mail: 8601 Adelphi Road

College Park, MD 20740-6001.

January 2018