Draft, Debt, and Dollars: 20 Lesser Known Facts About the Vietnam War

One of the most devastating conflicts the United States has ever taken part in, this 20-year war was fought in the area around Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia as both North and South Vietnam faced off. With North Vietnam supported by the Soviet Union, the US entered the war on behalf of the South. 

When President Kennedy assumed office in 1960, the US presence in the Vietnam region was limited to around 900 military advisors, a number that increased to 16,300 in just three years. However, it wasn’t until President Lyndon Johnson approved the beginning of a full-scale conflict that the US would be engulfed in the region for over a decade. 

20. End The Draft

• Source: OCVVM.com 

Due to the lack of support around the Vietnam War and the draft, the US ended its draft policy during the war. President Ronald Reagan would end the draft while ensuring that the Selective Service System is a last resort should the United States ever need a troop boost. 

19. First Televised War

• Source: OCVVM.com

Unlike World War I and World War II and the conflicts that predated them, the Vietnam War is considered the first “televised war.” For this reason, many of the protests grew in size as reports and video captured by the mass media in Vietnam made their way onto the evening news. 

18. Average Age

• Source: USWings.com

One of the many reasons the US conflict with Vietnam is largely viewed negatively is that the average age of a dead American soldier in the conflict was 23.1 years old. This conflict undoubtedly took the lives of tens of thousands of young Americans who still had their whole lives ahead of them. 

17. Missing Americans

• Source: USWings.com

A sad reality of the conflict in Vietnam is that there are reportedly over 1,600 American soldiers that have yet to return home. While it’s likely that all of these troops are long deceased, the families of these soldiers have never been able to bury their relatives properly. 

16. AK-47s

• Source: Holidify.com

The Vietnam War was the first time the United States provided the M-16 rifle to troops, which would become the standard battle rifle for decades. However, during the conflict, US troops were well-known for picking the AK-47 over the M-16 when they could find dead Vietnamese soldiers. The M-16 would frequently jam and cost the lives of American forces as a result. 

15. Lots of Bombs

• Source: PBS.org

It’s a crazy statistic to learn that the United States dropped 7.5 million tons of bombs across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Even more surprising is that this number surpasses the total number of bombs dropped by both the Allied and Axis powers in World War II. 

14. $1 Trillion

• Source: Department of Defense

At the time, it’s largely believed the Vietnam conflict cost the United States over $168 billion, which would be well over $1 trillion in today’s dollars. For perspective, the global war on terror the US has enacted over the last 24 years since September 11 has only cost $8 trillion. 

13. Refugee Crisis

• Source: UNHCR

To avoid the conflict, close to 2 million Vietnamese citizens fled the country according to the United Nations. Unfortunately, many of those who left their home died at sea attempting to find a better life. However, those who reached the US and other countries were eventually resettled. 

12. Anti-War Movement

• Source: History.com

While the US had been involved in military conflict previously, it wasn’t until the Vietnam War that the anti-war movement, which is a staple protest in the US today, began to take place. Today, the anti-war movement can largely influence foreign policy, and during this time, demonstrations and sit-ins would grow in popularity. 

11. Few Strategic Wins

• Source: Wikipedia

Even with the United States winning many of the ground battles it participated in, it failed to weaken the resolve of North Vietnamese forces. Looking back on the war, the US completely misjudged North Vietnamese goals with the conflict, which is what is mainly responsible for the US defeat. 

10. My Lai Massacre

• Source: PBS.org

Taking place on March 16, 1968, an angry Charlie Company 11th Brigade entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai and were ordered by their supervising officers to “search and destroy” the village. Of course, news broke out about the massacre which enraged both the public and the military chain of command after 400 residents of the town were discovered. 

9. American Drug Use

• Source: History.com

According to a Department of Defense report in 1971, approximately 51% of US armed forces in Vietnam smoked marijuana, 31% used LSD or mushrooms, and another 28% had taken drugs such as cocaine and heroin. This number includes military commanders who were responsible for supervising ground forces. 

8. Agent Orange

• Source: US National Archives

A truly awful fact involving the war was just how much Agent Orange the US used as a chemical weapon. Spraying over 20 million gallons between 1961 and 1971, this chemical caused birth defects among young Vietnamese and even US veterans who were present when this chemical was used. Sadly, the US government has long downplayed any lasting effects of the poison. 

7. No Declared War

• Source: Congressional Records

One issue that has long been a sore point for war protestors is that the US never formally declared war in Vietnam. Unlike what the US had done for World War II, the war bypassed constitutional checks by calling it a “police action” and not a traditional war. 

6. Unconventional Equipment

• Source: Holidify.com

During an unpopular war that saw the US lacking supplies when in-country, troops had to get creative. This meant using superglue to control bleeding or slinky kids’ toys to help extend radio signals. 

5. Battle Victories

• Source: Holidify.com

One fascinating fact about the Vietnam War is that the United States never indeed lost any major conflict in the region. However, the will of the North Vietnamese people who were willing to fight at any cost versus an unpopular war in the US eventually forced the country to sign a truce with North Vietnam. 

4. Young Americans

• Source: History.com

To avoid the draft in the United States, more than 125,000 eligible-aged men fled to Canada to avoid being sent overseas. What’s less known is that President Carter granted amnesty to these individuals after the war ended. 

3. Gulf of Tonkin

• Source: Holidify.com

The Gulf of Tonkin events are widely considered the catalyst that gave President Johnson Congressional support to enter the war. However, the second incident in the Gulf of Tonkin, which supposedly took place on August 3, 1964, never actually took place and was a distortion of events to rally support for the war. 

2. Volunteer Fighting

• Source: Holidify.com

A common misconception about the United States troop levels in the war is that many came from the draft. The reality is that of the 8.7 million troops that served in the military between 1965 and 1973, only 1.8 million were drafted, and only 2.7 million saw action in Vietnam. Of the 2.7 million served, only 25% were brought into the military as part of the draft. 

1. Not Just the US

• Source: Holidify.com

Contrary to popular opinion, the Vietnam War didn’t just involve the United States and Vietnam. Other countries involved in the conflict, including Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, the latter of which committed as many as 300,000 troops to fight.

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