# Vietnam war statistics

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 26, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610 "2003-02-26T11:42:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610/1 "2003-02-26T11:42:10Z")

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I was browsing a brief history of the Vietnam war and some statistics that it through up were that of the 54000 (approximate) American troops killed up to a fifth were victims of “friendly fire.” Also 50% of the natural forestation was destroyed.  
I can well beleive the removal of so much vegetation because of bombings and the deliberate use of chemicals to destroy it, but was the proportion of US troops killed by they’re own side so high? It seems a bit much if true.

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**Author:** ![Read\_Neck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Read\_Neck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Read_Neck)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610/2 "2003-02-26T12:06:59Z")

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You might want to check the source. That’s total bullshit. Thirty tears after the fact,everybody’s an expert.

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**Author:** ![Read\_Neck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Read\_Neck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Read_Neck)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610/3 "2003-02-26T12:11:51Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Read\_Neck \*  
> \*\*You might want to check the source. That’s total bullshit. Thirty years after the fact,everybody’s an expert. \*\*

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**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610/4 "2003-02-26T19:47:17Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Read\_Neck \*  
> \*\*You might want to check the source. That’s total bullshit. Thirty years after the fact,everybody’s an expert. \*\*

Thats why I was asking, the stats were on a CDROM encyclopedia, Hutchinson IIRC. I would have expected it to be more thorourghly researched so I was surprised to read this. I’ll bump the post up incase anyone wants to disagree/agree.

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**Author:** ![bradministrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a698b9/32.png) [@bradministrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradministrator)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610/5 "2003-02-26T21:35:51Z")

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Well, according to [this webpage](http://members.aol.com/WarLibrary/vwc1.htm), for deaths in Vietnam,

2.3% were friendly fire  
2.0 were vehicle crashes  
0.7 were suicide  
5.8 were homicides or other accidents  
2.0 were ‘other’  
1.6 were due to illness

I can see how you could add those up and list them as “not caused by enemy action,” but of course, that’s not the same this as “friendly fire.”

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**Author:** ![bradministrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a698b9/32.png) [@bradministrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradministrator)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-war-statistics/157610/6 "2003-02-26T21:37:07Z")

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**thing**! Not the same **thing** as “friendly fire!” :smack: