Civilian loss of life was also very heavy, with the lowest estimates around 415,000. Low estimates calculate 110,000 combat KIA and a half-million wounded. suffered over 47,000 killed in action plus another 11,000 noncombat deaths over 150,000 were wounded and 10,000 missing.Ĭasualties for the Republic of South Vietnam will never be adequately resolved. failed to achieve a military victory and the Republic of South Vietnam was ultimately taken over by North Vietnam, the Vietnam experience became known as “the only war America ever lost.” It remains a very controversial topic that continues to affect political and military decisions today.Įxcerpts Their Existence Was Denied by the US Government. The war was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and elsewhere.
history until the Afghanistan War (2002-2014). It ended with communist victory in April 1975. In 1973 a “third” Vietnam war began-a continuation, actually-between North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (1946–1954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. The U.S., possessing the largest foreign military presence, essentially directed the war from 1965 to 1968.
Usually it refers to the period when the United States and other members of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) joined the forces with the Republic of South Vietnam to contest communist forces, comprised of South Vietnamese guerrillas and regular-force units, generally known as Viet Cong (VC), and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The Vietnam War is the commonly used name for the Second Indochina War, 1954–1975.
The Vietnam War: Facts & Info About the Most Controversial US Conflict Close