In total approximately 60,000 Australians—ground troops, air-force and naval personnel—served in South Vietnam between 1962 and 1972. 521 died as a result of the war and over 3,000 were wounded.
From the time of the arrival of the first members of the Team in 1962 over 60,000 Australians, including ground troops and air force and navy personnel, served in Vietnam; 523 died as a result of the war and almost 2,400 were wounded.
In Australia, 15,300 men were conscripted into the Australian Army during the Vietnam conflict. More than 200 died and at least 1,200 were wounded on active duty. Most 20-year-old Australian men had to register for national service between 1965 and 1972.
All told, some 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1973. 521 died and over 3,000 were wounded. Controversially, 15,381 of these troops were conscripted national servicemen, of whom 202 were killed and 1,279 wounded.
As a branch of the US forces, however, the Marine Corps lost the highest percentage of its own men (5.0%) which in turn accounted for 25.5% of all casualties.
More than 3000 New Zealand military and civilian personnel served in Vietnam between 1963 and 1975. In contrast to the world wars, New Zealand's contribution was modest. At its peak in 1968, New Zealand's military force numbered only 548. Thirty-seven men died while on active service and 187 were wounded.
More than 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples served in the First World War, and more than 4000 in the Second World War. At least 300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples served in the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam conflict the standard helmet issued to both American and Australian troops was the Second World War vintage United States pattern M1 helmet, with minor modifications.
"The Battle of Coral/Balmoral during the 12th of May to the 6th of June, 1968, was by far Australia's largest, longest, bloodiest battle involving more soldiers of both forces, Australian and enemy, and suffering more casualties than any other battle of the Vietnam War."
There were Australians whose morality was so eroded that they murdered villagers, raped women, tortured and killed wounded enemy soldiers and mutilated corpses (Rintoul 1987:xiv). About eighteen such acts are described in the book (several of them are alleged against New Zealand troops).
The wooden honour roll commemorates the 16 Tasmanians who died in service or were killed in action during the Vietnam War. Australia's military involvement in the Vietnam War began with the arrival of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) in South Vietnam during July and August 1962.
1st Place: Adelbert Waldron — 109 confirmed kills
Marines got all the press and the glory, but an Army guy was the top sniper shot of the Vietnam War. Waldron had served in the United States Navy for 12 years before going to civilian life. In 1968, he enlisted in the Army.
Approximately 300,000 African Americans served in the Vietnam War. In 1965, African Americans filled 31% of the ground combat battalions in Vietnam, while the percentage of African Americans as a minority in the general population was 12%.
Between 11,000 and 14,000 Aboriginal people died, compared with only 399 to 440 colonisers. The tallies of the dead are not the only measure of what took place, according to Dr Bill Pascoe, a digital humanities specialist and key researcher on the project. “We are always using conservative estimates,” Pascoe said.
'Aboriginal men were exempt from conscription, which was one form of recruitment of the day,' said Michael Bell, lead researcher and Indigenous Liaison Officer at the Memorial.
During the battle, 17 Australians were killed and a further 25 were wounded, one of whom later died of wounds. This was the highest number of Australian casualties incurred in any one engagement of the Vietnam War. The losses on the Vietnamese side were at least 245 dead, an estimated 350 wounded, and three captured.
Though other soldiers died after the cease-fire prior to the American withdrawal in 1975, Bill Nolde is considered to be the last American combat casualty of the war in Vietnam.
It's known that 29 Irish people – 28 men and one woman – lost their lives in the war, including some serving with the Australian armed forces. Michael, now 69, tells me: "In the cavalry and tanks regiments, at least 75pc were Irish in some way."
Bruno Arthur Hochmuth (May 10, 1911 – November 14, 1967) was a United States Marine Corps major general who was killed in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was the first and only Marine Corps division commander to be killed in any war.
The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people during the war, including 8.7 million military and 19 million civilians. This represents the most military deaths of any nation by a large margin.