The Vietnam War was the nation’s longest and costliest conflict of the Cold War. It officially began on Aug. 5, 1964, and ended on May 7, 1975. Over 8.7 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era from 1964 to 1973.
More than 3.4 million deployed to Southeast Asia and approximately 2.7 million of those served in the Republic of Vietnam. Below are some facts and demographic features of Veterans who served during this time:
Approximately 2.7 million veterans served in the Republic of Vietnam out of the 8.7 million Americans who served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era.
Although segregation in the military officially ended in 1948, the Vietnam War was the first major conflict in which military units were fully integrated.
Approximately 7,500 women were stationed in Vietnam during the war.
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More than 300,000 veterans were wounded during the Vietnam War.
VA’s Veteran Population Projection Model estimates that there are approximately 6.1 million living Vietnam War-era Veterans, as of 2021.
The median age of Vietnam War era veterans is approximately 73 years old.
As of November of 2020, nearly 1.6 million Vietnam veterans were being served by the various programs of the Veterans Benefits Administration. An additional 320,000 surviving spouses, nearly 5,000 children, and 542 parents of Vietnam War veterans were also receiving VA benefits.
Thank you to all our Vietnam veterans who served and for their sacrifices.
As always please see your local County Veterans Service Officer if you have any questions. You can contact the Wadena County VSO at (218) 631-7617 or by email at david.anderson@wcmn.us . In Becker County, call 218-846-7312 and in Otter Tail County call 218-385-5540, and as always – have a great week!
The Trust Project
