Canadian Statistics
Greetings from the President
by Richard Shand
I had the somewhat unique experience of being a Canadian in Vietnam.
My family emigrated to Albuquerque New Mexico from Vancouver,
British Columbia in August, 1963. As an alien resident, I was
now eligible for the draft and I registered with the draft board
when I turned 18 in 1965.
After I graduated from high school, I wanted to join the Special
Forces. This desire didn't have anything to do with Vietnam -
the war was only beginning to heat up then. No, I had been enticed
by the recruiting brochures with pictures of camouflaged men shooting
the rapids and climbing cliffs, just the sort of adventure I craved.
I went down to the recruiter and boldly stated my purpose. 
He
sized me up - 5' 7 1/2" (171 cm), 140 lb. (77.5 kg) - than
told me I should go to university instead.
Now here's the irony. I did end up attending the University of
New Mexico, majoring in philosophy with a minor in political science.
My father tried to get me into the ROTC (Reserved Officers Training
Corps) program but I was ineligible because I was not a US citizen.
So instead I worked and my father got a US Defense Loan to help
defer the expenses of my education. After completing the first
semester of my Junior year (2 1/2 years), my father suddenly got
the news that, as a Canadian, I was also ineligible for the US
Defense Loan. Not only would there be no funding for the next
semester but the bank demanded payment for all the proceeding
semesters.
Although my grades were good, the lack of funding and my lack
of purpose in attending university made me decide to drop out.
I moved back to Vancouver in February 1968 where I became part
of the psychedelic revolution. In April a couple of good friends
visited me from New Mexico and I returned home with them - the
prodigal son. In my absence the Selective Service Board declared
me draft delinquent for not reporting my change of address. I
quickly wrote the board and explained that my stay to Canada had
only been temporary and that I had returned to the States. My
letter seemed to satisfy them. They moved me to the top of the
selection list and two months later I received a letter - "Greetings
from the President of the United States". I had been inducted
into the army.
Anonymous Warriors
"The worst of ours are going north, and the best of
theirs are coming south."
- Unknown marine quoted in Leatherneck magazine
When I was in Vietnam I was told that there were only 100 other
Canadians in-country at the time (including my brother who served
up north as a tech inspector for the choppers of the 2nd Signal
Brigade at Phu Bai.) I had been drafted but almost all Canadian
Vietnam veterans I have met were volunteers who crossed the border
to enlist. Since most Canadians gave the US border city they enlisted
in as their point of origin, the actual number of Canadians who
served in Vietnam may never be known. In addition, many Canadians
serving in Vietnam become US citizens and stayed in the United
States after their return.
"Colonel Shields said the Defense Department had no figures
because the records of soldiers who served in Vietnam had been
retired."
"Roderick Engert, chief of the reference branch of the Center
of Military History of the Pentagon, said the number might be
only 2,500 to 3,000. He extrapolates his figures from the casualty
ratio in the war, in which 2.7 million Americans served and 58,000
died. A Canadian Government official said he doubted that more
than 5,000 Canadians had served in Vietnam."
- Christopher S. Wren, "Vietnam War Also Haunts Canadian
Volunteers", The New York Times, Jan. 24, 1985
"...The war also lured an estimated 5,000 Canadians to enlist
in its jungle hells."
- Marci McDonald, "Vietnam's Bitter Legacy", Maclean's,
Apr. 29, 1985.
"Some estimate that their numbers far surpassed the more
than 30,000 American draft dodgers who fled to Canada to avoid
military service during the war. While exact numbers are impossible
to obtain, from my work as a military historian with the Canadian
War Museum, I estimate that of the many thousands who served in
the U. S. Vietnam-era military, some 12,000 Canadians actually
served in Vietnam itself."
- Fred Gaffen in "Perspectives", Vietnam magazine,
August 1991
From 1986 to 1987 I handled public relations for Canada's largest
Vietnam veterans organization, Vietnam Veterans in Canada (VVIC).
Based on the size of the organization and the number Canadian
Vietnam veterans VVIC came in contact with, I estimated that Canadians
serving in Vietnam numbered no more than 3,000.
If a significant number of Canadian Vietnam vets live in the United
States or have chosen not to make their presence known to veterans'
groups, the actual number may be significantly higher. Will the
total still be in the lower range of official estimates or will
it approach the 30,000 or even 50,000 figure commonly bandied
about by the media?
Information is available which allows one to calculate a reasonable
estimate1.
These include several undisputed facts about Canadians who served
in the US armed forces during the Vietnam war:
(a) The number who took out US citizenship
(b) The number of known KIA's and MIA's
(c) Documented service statistics on 166 personal, living
and dead
For my primary sources I will use Fred Gaffen's book Unknown Warriors
- Canadians in the Vietnam War and the VVIC membership list for
1988.
1. How did Canadians end up in Vietnam?
Unknown Warriors lists 48 Canadian
Vietnam veterans where information about citizenship, place of
residency and service status is available.
VVIC lists 39 Canadian Vietnam veterans who had
submitted DD 214s (the official record of service). The citizenship
and service status of 12 is known.
Service status breaks down into the following categories:
(a) Volunteers, most of whom crossed the border to serve in Vietnam;
(b) Career soldiers who had served time in the US armed forces
before Vietnam;
(c) American residents who received draft notices and either enlisted
or were drafted.
Many Canadian Vietnam veterans became naturalized citizens of
the United States before, during and after the Vietnam War.
Table 1
Service Status of Canadian Veterans in Vietnam
|
Career Soldiers |
Volunteers |
Draftee/Enlistees |
| With US Citizenship |
(6) 33% |
(7) 39% |
(5) 28% |
| Without US Citizenship |
(12) 36% |
(17) 52% |
(4) 12% |
2. How many Canadians with US citizenship served in Vietnam?
Unknown Warriors lists 22 Canadian Vietnam veterans who became
US citizens where information about service status and date of
citizenship is available. 67% of the career soldiers (4/6), 20%
of the volunteers (1/5). and 50% of the draftee/enlistees (2/4)
became naturalized between 1967 to 1975 (the years of US peak
involvement in Vietnam).
If we apply Table 1 to the percentages above, we can calculate
what percentage of each service status gained US citizenship from
1967 to 1975 .
Table 2
Canadian Vietnam Veterans Naturalized Between 1967 and 1975
| Career Soldiers |
Volunteers |
Draftee/Enlistees |
Total |
| 25% |
6.3% |
14.7% |
45.5% |
FACT: From 1964 to 1973, 2,100,000 men and women served in Vietnam.
That was exactly 24% of the 8,444,000 who were in the active armed
forces during those years.2
FACT: 3,244 Canadians in the US armed forces became naturalized
US citizens between 1967 and 1975.3
39% of Canadian Vietnam veterans with US citizenship in Vietnam
were volunteers (Table 1), most of whom joined specifically to
serve in Vietnam. We can allow that 24% of all Canadians in the
regular US Armed Forces served in Vietnam, based on the percentage
that applied to the Armed Forces as a whole. If we increase this
percentage by 39% to allow for new volunteers crossing the border,
then 33% of the Canadians in the US armed forces who became naturalized
US citizens served in Vietnam, numbering 1,071. Since this figure
represents 45.5% of all Canadian Vietnam veterans with American
citizenship (Table 2), their total would equal 2,354 - which can
be rounded off to:
2,500
3. How many Canadians with US citizenship were killed
in Vietnam?
(The following data on all personnel was obtained from Bill Abbott's
article "Names on the Wall", Vietnam Magazine, June
1993. The data on Canadians was obtained from the VVIC membership
list and Unknown Warriors).
Table 3
US Armed Forces in Vietnam by Branch of Service
|
Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
| All Personnel |
67% |
14% |
6% |
13% |
| Canadians With US Citizenship |
(13) 50% |
(2) 8% |
(2) 8% |
(9) 34% |
These are rough estimates, but they indicate
that Canadian Vietnam veterans with US citizenship were much more
likely than average to have served with the air force and less
likely to have served in the Marine Corps. If we apply these percentages
of Canadians with US citizenship to our estimated total of 2,500,
we arrive at the following numbers:
Table 4
Canadians With US Citizenship in Vietnam by Branch of Service
| Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
| 1,250 |
200 |
200 |
850 |
Table 5
Percent Dead and Wounded in Vietnam by Branch of Service
| Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
| 9.5% |
22.5% |
5.3% |
1.2% |
We can apply the casualty rates to our group of Canadians with
US citizenship to estimate the number of casualties in each branch
of the service.
Table 6
Estimated Dead or Wounded in Vietnam
|
Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
Total |
| Canadians With US Citizenship |
119 |
45 |
11 |
10 |
185 |
| Percent of Total |
64.3% |
24.3% |
6% |
5.4% |
100% |
The difference in the distribution of Canadian casualties in
the different branches of service from the overall percentages
is reflected in the overall casualty rate:
Table 7
Total Percentage of Dead or Wounded in Vietnam
|
Number Serving |
Killed and Wounded |
Percent |
| All Personnel |
2,100,000 |
211,454 |
10.0% |
| Canadians With US Citizenship |
2,500 |
185 |
7.4% |
We can then expect that if the casualty rate of our group of
Canadians is 74% that of the overall rate, the same ratio can
be applied to the mortality rate.
FACT: The names of 58,151 MIAs and KIAs are etched on the Vietnam
War Memorial in Washington, DC - about 2.8% of the 2.1 million
men and women who served in the Vietnam.
If the mortality rate of the 2,500 Canadians with US citizenship
figures was 74% of the 2.8% baseline rate, the result would be
2%. Therefore, the number of Canadians from this group who were
killed or missing in action would be: 50
4. How many Canadians in total were killed or missing
in action in Vietnam?
FACT: 93 Canadians are officially listed as killed in action
and 7 as missing in action.4
The names of 100 Canadian KIAs and MIAs listed on the "North
Wall" in Windsor Ontario should be not be considered
complete. 3 of 16 Canadian Vietnam veterans whose date of US citizenship
is known, or 20%, were raised in the United States
and naturalized years before they arrived in Vietnam. If any from
this group had been killed or missing in action, they would be
amongst the least likely to be listed as Canadian fatalities.
In addition, many of the Canadians who were not US citizens may
also be unaccounted for, despite intensive efforts by Canadian
veterans groups to locate them. Consequently, total Canadian-born
KIAs and MIAs could be as high as 200.
According to our figures, 80% of the Canadians with US citizenship
and virtually of those without who were killed or missing in action
in Vietnam grew up in Canada. It is inconceivable that more than
a few have not yet been identified as Canadian citizens by close
relatives and friends. No new names have been added to the North
Wall in the past year which also suggests that most MIAs and KIAs
have been accounted for. 200 would thus be a unrealistically high
estimate. The actual number of Canadian KIAs and MIAs in Vietnam
would appear to be closer to: 150
(Note that calculations based on the number of career soldiers
listed on the North Wall reveal that the number Canadian KIAs
and MIAs in Vietnam range from 135 to 149.
See Appendix A.)
5. How many Canadians without US citizenship served in
Vietnam?
Unknown Warriors lists the branch of service of 79 Canadians
killed or missing in action in Vietnam.
Table 9
Known Canadian KIAs and MIAs by Branch of Service
|
Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
| Total Serving |
(43) 54% |
(30) 38% |
(3) 4% |
(3) 4% |
We can apply the percentages in Table 9 to the estimated 150
Canadian KIAs and MIAs. In addition, if we apply the estimated
percentages of dead or wounded in each branch of service (Table
6) to the 50 Canadian KIAs and MIAs with US citizenship. then
take the difference, we derive the following numerical breakdown:
Table 10
Estimated Number Canadian KIAs and MIAs by Branch of Service
|
Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
| All Canadians (150) |
81 |
57 |
6 |
6 |
| Canadians With US Citizenship (50) |
32 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
|
__ |
__ |
__ |
__ |
| Canadians Without US Citizenship (100) |
49 |
45 |
3 |
3 |
__ __ __ __
Canadians Without US Citizenship (100) 49 45 3 3
We can then compare these calculations with actual numbers using
the VVIC membership list and Unknown Warriors.
Table 11
Percentages of Canadians Without US Citizenship in Vietnam by
Branch of Service
|
Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
| Estimated |
49 % |
45% |
3% |
3% |
| Actual |
(38) 50% |
(33) 44% |
(2) 3% |
(2) 3% |
There is very close agreement between our estimate and the actual
percentage of Canadians known to served in each branch of the
military service.
2.8% of all who served in Vietnam were killed or missing in
action. (As a comparison, out of the 26,000 Canadians who served
in the Korean war, 516 or 2% were killed in action.) If the 100
KIAs and MIAs represented the same percentage, over 3,500 Canadians
without US citizenship served in Vietnam. The mortality rate of
the Canadians, however, was much higher than average. For instance,
volunteers who returned back across the border (and chose not
to become US citizens) were 3 times more likely
to have served with the US Marine Corps than
their American counterparts (44% to 14% - see Table 3).
The US Army paid a high price for its long involvement in South
Vietnam. American military deaths exceeded 58,000, and of these
about two thirds were soldiers. The majority of the dead were
low-ranking enlisted men (E-1 and E-3), young men twenty-three
years old or younger, of whom approximately 13% were black. Most
deaths were caused by small-arms fire and gunshot, but a significant
portion, almost 30%, stemmed from mines, booby traps, and grenades.
Artillery, rockets, and bombs accounted for only a small portion
of the total fatalities.
- Vincent H. Demma, American Military History,
Overall, Canadians without US citizenship were 4 times more likely
to fight as combat infantrymen than the average serviceman in
Vietnam.
Table 12
Combat Status of US Armed Forces in Vietnam5
|
Combat Infantry |
Artillery &
Engineers |
Aviation |
HQ &
Logistics |
| All Personnel (1967) |
10.46% |
12% |
2% |
75% |
| Canadians With US Citizenship |
(5) 28% |
(1) 6% |
(2) 11% |
(10) 55% |
| Canadians Without US Citizenship |
(11) 41% |
(6) 19% |
(4) 12% |
(9) 28% |
If we subtract the percentage of Canadians without US citizenship
who served in HQ, logistics and engineering units, the majority
of these Canadians served in what are termed "maneuver
battalions".
"A maneuver battalion is a combat unit of battalion size,
usually infantry, armored cavalry, tanks, or mechanized infantry,
that is able to move under its own resources and engage the enemy
with its organic weapons. In April 1968, the United States had
112 maneuver battalions, and Department of Defense figures showed
29 percent of total Army personnel in Vietnam and 34 percent of
the Marines as serving in maneuver battalions."
- Ronald H. Spector, After Tet - The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam
(The Free Press)
Table 13
Annual KIA Rate per 1000 Average Strength
For US Armed Forces in Vietnam (Jan 67- Sep 68)
|
Army |
Marines |
Overall |
| Maneuver Btns |
99.9 |
130.2 |
108.9 |
| Non-maneuver Btns |
5.5 |
15.9 |
7.3 |
| All Forces |
25.2 |
54.5 |
31.1 |
| Ratio Maneuver to All Forces |
4/1 |
5/2 |
7/2 |
Using Table 5 - Percent Dead and Wounded in Vietnam by Branch
of Service, we can take our percent breakdown of Canadians without
US citizenship in Table 10 and extrapolate the number who served
in each branch.
Table 14
Number of Canadians Without US Citizenship by Branch of Service
in Vietnam
| Army |
Marines |
Navy |
Air Force |
Total |
| (49/9.5%) 516 |
(45/22.5%) 200 |
(3/5.3%) 57 |
(3/1.2%) 250 |
1,023 |
Based on these figures and allowing an additional 50% for margin
of error, the total number of Canadians without US citizenship
who served in Vietnam would have been no more than: 1,500
Confirming the Estimates
"Staff Sergeant Giroldi ended his career as a drill instructor
at Parris Island, South Carolina. While there, recruits, some
of whom would be going to Vietnam, had their training period reduced
from 13 weeks to 8 or 9 to meet quotas. While at Parris Island,
he never came across any Canadian recruits."
- Fred Gaffen Unknown Warriors - Canadians in the Vietnam
War
If we add together our estimates of the number of Canadian Vietnam
Veterans with and without US citizenship, the total number of
Canadians who served in Vietnam is 3,500. The
sample of Canadian Vietnam veterans used as the basis for these
calculations amount to only 2% of this total, however. Calculations
based on the number of career soldiers killed or missing in action
could raise this total to 4,000. (See Appendix
A.)
The VVIC membership list contains the name of any alleged Vietnam
veteran given to the organization either by the individual himself,
or by someone else (relative, friend, associate, word of mouth.)
The VVIC has been in operation since 1985 and has received exceptionally
high exposure on TV, radio and the newspapers. If 1/3 of the Vietnam
vets in British Columbia and Alberta were made known to the VVIC,
the total number of Canadian Vietnam veterans in these provinces
would be 300. These provinces constitute 22.2
% of Canada's population. Allowing 10% for post-service mortality
(see Appendix B),
the total number of Canadian Vietnam veterans without US citizenship
would be approximately: 1,500
CONCLUSION
My estimate has stirred up some controversy here at home since
it was published in the Canadian Legion magazine. Some veteran's
organizations have uncritically been publicizing much higher figures,
partially in the expectation that this would help generate more
funding. I wholeheartedly support the efforts of these organizations
to assist Vietnam veterans and have benefited myself from the
dedicated work of the VVIC. I think that an honest examination
of the subject will help more than hinder these groups. It is
important to know how many Canadians were in Vietnam to gauge
the effectiveness of any outreach program in treating Vietnam
related problems such as PTSD. Should resources here in Canada
be directed to reach all those unaccounted for thousands, or should
resources be concentrated on helping those here in need now?
Only a full review of the military records of all those who served
in Vietnam (specifically form DD 47) will yield an accurate list
of those who entered their place of birth as in Canada and their
citizenship as non-American. In the meantime checking the records
of all those who were killed or missing in action should help
provide a much more reliable count than the guestimates we have
now.
Foot Notes
1. All numbers were calculated to three decimal places then rounded
for presentation. (back)
2. Bill Abbott, "Names on the Wall", Vietnam Magazine,
June 1993. (back)
3. Statistical Analysis Branch of the Department of Immigration
and Naturalization Service of the US Department of Justice (Fred
Gaffen, Unknown Warriors). (back)
4. Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Windsor, Ontario. (back)
5. Charles B. MacDonald's chapter "The in-country enemy:
battle with the Viet Cong" in The Vietnam War. (back)
Appendix A - The Problem of the Missing
Career Soldiers
"...The DOD percentages reveal that nearly 75% of Army
enlisted casualties were privates or corporals. The Marine Corps
losses were skewed even more to the lower ranks: 91% were privates
or corporals. If the two branches are combined, then 80%
of the Army and Marine enlisted casualties were privates - or
corporals - grades E-1 to E-4."
- Bill Abbott, "Names on the Wall", Vietnam Magazine,
June 1993
Unknown Warriors lists the ranks, birth dates and dates
of service of 80 Canadians killed or missing in action in Vietnam.
34 or 42%were E-5 or higher in rank, 46 or 58%
were E-4 or lower. Most enlisted casualties were quite young amongst
all servicemen in Vietnam.
"...83% of Marine enlisted casualties, 65% of Army enlisted
casualties, and nearly 70% of all enlisted casualties
were 21 or under. Only the Navy, with 50% of its enlisted casualties
over 21, and the Air Force, with 75% over 21, showed an older,
more experienced demographic.
- Bill Abbott, "Names on the Wall", Vietnam Magazine,
June 1993
In contrast, of the Canadian officially listed as KIAs or MIAs,
only 48% were 21 or under. Canadians serving in Vietnam were thus
1.7 times more likely than the average serviceman to be E-5 or
above, and 1.4 times more likely to be over 21 years of age.
To derive the number of career soldiers killed or wounded in action
from our estimates we must first determine what percentage of
career soldiers served in combatant units (infantry, artillery,
combat engineers and aviation).
Table 15
Ratio of Canadians Serving in Combat Units in Vietnam
|
Career Soldiers |
Volunteers |
Draftee/Enlistees |
| With US Citizenship |
(2/9) 22% |
(3/9) 33% |
(1/4) 25% |
| Without US Citizenship |
(4/13) 30% |
(12/16) 75% |
(3/6) 50% |
According to Table 13, the annual KIA rate for maneuver
battalions in Vietnam from January 67 to September 68
was 10.8%, compared with 3.1% overall. This overall percentage
is 9% higher than the 2.8% killed in action during the entire
duration of the war. If we adjust the KIA rate for maneuver battalions
down 9% to correct for the difference, we can expect KIA rate
for the duration of the war to have been around 9.7%.
The KIA rate for non-maneuver battalions in Vietnam
from January 67 to September 68 was .73%. Adjusted down 9%, we
can expect that this percentage for the duration of the war was
around 0.7%.
Using 9.7% and 0.7% for the KIA rates of combat and non-combat
units respectively and applying them to the ratios in Table 15,
we can now derive the mortality rates of Canadians serving in
Vietnam according to career status.
Table 16
Expected Mortality Rates of Canadians Serving in Vietnam
|
Career Soldiers |
Volunteers |
Draftee/Enlistees |
| With US Citizenship |
|
|
|
| Non-combat (X .007) |
(88%) 0.62% |
(67%) 0.47% |
(75%) 0.53% |
| Combat (X .097) |
(22%) 2.1% |
(33%) 3.2% |
(25%) 2.4% |
| Total (rounded) |
2.7% |
3.7% |
2.9% |
| Without US Citizenship |
|
|
|
| Non-combat (X .007) |
(70%) 0.49% |
(25%) 0.18% |
(50%) 0.35% |
| Combat (X .097) |
(30%) 2.9% |
(75%) 7.3% |
(50%) 4.8% |
| Total (rounded) |
3.4% |
7.5% |
5.2% |
If we take the service status percentages of Canadian Vietnam
veterans with and without US citizenship in Table 1 and multiply
them by 2,500 and 1,000 respectively, we can estimate how many
were in each service status. We can then multiply these amounts
by the expected mortality rates in Table 16 and derive the number
of expected KIAs and MIAs.
Table 17
Estimated Number of Canadians in Vietnam According to Service
Status
|
Career Soldiers |
Volunteers |
Draftee/Enlistees |
| With US Citizenship |
|
|
|
| Total Serving |
825 |
975 |
700 |
| KIAs/MIAs |
22 |
36 |
20 |
| Without US Citizenship |
|
|
|
| Total Serving |
360 |
520 |
120 |
| KIAs/MIAs |
12 |
39 |
6 |
According to this calculation, the number of Canadian
KIAs and MIAs in Vietnam was 135.
There is a discrepancy in the various percentages given for Canadians
who served as career soldiers, however.
Table 18
Percentage of Canadians Serving as Career Soldiers in Vietnam
|
Estimate from Mortality Rates
(Table 17) |
Known KIAs/MIAs |
Veterans' Lists
(Table 1) |
|
(1,185/2,500) 30% |
(34/80) 42% |
(18/51) 35% |
The estimate from mortality rates should be 1.4
times higher to be in accord with the data from known Canadian
KIAs and MIAs. (One possibility for this discrepancy is that the
sample used from Unknown Warriors and the VVIC membership list
may not be fully representative.) If the number of career soldiers
in Table 17 is increased by 1.4 to agree with the KIA and MIA
data, the total number of Canadian KIAs and MIAs
in Vietnam would then be 149.
Applying the expected Mortality Rates from Table 16, the number
of Canadians who served as career soldiers would rise from 1,185
to 1,648. This would increase the total number
of Canadians who served in Vietnam from 3,500 to around
4,000.
Appendix B - Factoring in Post Service
Mortality
A percentage of Canadian Vietnam veterans with US citizenship
would have died before the studies were undertaken and thus are
missing from the total. The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam
Experience Study compared 9,324 US Army veterans who served in
Vietnam with 8,989 Vietnam-era Army veterans who served in Korea,
Germany, or the United States.
"Over the entire follow-up period, total mortality in Vietnam
veterans was 17% higher than for other veterans.
The excess mortality occurred mainly in the first five years after
discharge from active duty and involved motor vehicle accidents,
suicide, homicide, and accidental poisonings. Thereafter, mortality
among Vietnam veterans was similar to that of other Vietnam-era
veterans, except for drug-related deaths, which continued to be
elevated. An unexpected finding was a deficit in deaths from diseases
of the circulatory system among Vietnam veterans. The excess in
postservice mortality due to external causes among Vietnam veterans
is similar to that found among men returning from combat areas
after World War II and the Korean War."
- "Postservice Mortality Among Vietnam Veterans, Journal
of the American Medical Asssociation, Feb. 13, 1987
By 1983, 246 or 2.6% of the Vietnam veterans
had died since discharge from active duty (compared with 200 or
2.2% of the non-Vietnam veterans.) "Both groups of veterans
had a significantly lower overall mortality rate for 'natural
causes' than the general US male population." The expected
percentage, based on the mortality rates among US men, standardized
for age, calendar year, and race, is 2.8%.
1.4% of Vietnam veterans died 6 years or more
after discharge from active duty to the date of the study in 1983..
If we use this percentage and allow for a slight increase in the
mortality rate as the veteran population ages, I would estimate
that, at most, an additional 7% of the Vietnam veterans have died
since 1983. The raises the total percentage of Vietnam veterans
who have died since discharge to just under 10%.
