How many Oregonians served and died in the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War was a conflict that had its beginnings for Americans in 1955 and lasted until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. The main timeframe of the war was after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964 until the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973.

Detailed stats from the Vietnam Veterans of America website tells us that 2.6 million American military personnel served in the Vietnam War and around 1 to 1.6 million were in combat in some measure. The average age for these soldiers that served was only 19. Out of this number, 57,000 military personnel from Oregon served in the Vietnam War.

An Oregon Live article written on May 27, 2017, highlights the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial located at Washington Park near the Oregon Zoo in Portland; the memorial was dedicated in 1987 to those who died or are MIA in the Vietnam War, which now includes 818 veterans. The total number of those who died and were MIA in Vietnam is 58,156 American veterans.

The total number of wounded in action in the Vietnam war was 303,704 American veterans.

The Oregon Live article has a database of all the names on the memorial and also explains that the years 1968–69 are when Oregonians suffered the heaviest toll with 400 names included.

There is a group of Oregon Vietnam War veterans that has created The Fund for a Vietnam Memorial on the Oregon State Capitol as a way to establish another permanent memorial to honor the veterans and their families who participated in the war. This proposed memorial also includes a memorial stone for the six Oregonians who died in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Let us take the time to visit and support these memorials and remember with gratitude the brave service of our fellow Oregonians and Americans who gave their lives for our freedom in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, as well as those who came back and are still with us.

Originally published at NewsBreak

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