The Vietnam-Era Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Database
Subject: Vietnam-Era Unaccounted for Statistical Report
CURRENT AS OF: April 3, 2001
BACKGROUND: The Department of Defense, Washington
Headquarters Service, and the Department of State report the current
numbers of Americans who are unaccounted for in Southeast Asia:
AMERICANS UNACCOUNTED FOR IN SOUTHEAST
ASIA
COMPONENT
|
COUNTRY OF LOSS |
|
|
VN |
VS |
LA |
CB |
CH |
TOTALS |
|
ARMY |
10 |
479 |
105 |
35 |
0 |
629 |
|
NAVY |
276 |
92 |
28 |
1 |
8 |
405 |
|
MARINE CORPS |
24 |
202 |
18 |
8 |
0 |
252 |
|
AIR FORCE |
218 |
165 |
255 |
18 |
0 |
656 |
|
COAST GUARD |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
CIVILIANS |
1 |
21 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
39 |
|
TOTALS |
529 |
960 |
418 |
67 |
8 |
1,982 |
* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FURTHER PURSUIT |
226 |
487 |
364 |
49 |
4 |
1,130 |
DEFERRED |
60 |
116 |
28 |
3 |
1 |
208 |
NO FURTHER PURSUIT |
243 |
357 |
26 |
15 |
3 |
644 |
TOTALS |
529 |
960 |
418 |
67 |
8 |
1,982 |
VN = VIETNAM, NORTH VS = VIETNAM, SOUTH CB = CAMBODIA
CH = CHINA LA = LAOS
* INCLUDES 459 AT SEA/OVER WATER LOSSES
ACCOUNTING FOR U.S. PERSONNEL: The Central Identification
Laboratory, Hawaii reports that since 1973, the U.S. has accounted
for 589 Americans from Southeast Asia.
AMERICANS ACCOUNTED FOR POST-1973
REPATRIATED BY:
VIETNAM |
436
|
* |
CHINA |
2 |
** |
LAOS |
149 |
|
CAMBODIA |
16 |
|
TOTAL |
603 |
*** |
NOTES:
* 34 remains from the Official Died in Captivity Lists provided
by the Vietnamese in 1973.
** 2 ashes returned from China.
*** 4 remains were recovered and turned over to the U.S. by indigenous
personnel; 1 from North Vietnam and 3 from Laos. They are included
in the country count.
U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS: Since the fall of Saigon
in 1975, the U.S. Government has acquired 21,765 reports possibly
pertaining to Americans in Southeast Asia:
SUMMARY OF REPORTS
FIRSTHAND LIVE SIGHTINGS |
1,910
|
HEARSAY SIGHTINGS REPORTS |
4,846 |
CRASH/GRAVE SITES |
5,257 |
DOGTAGS |
9,752 |
TOTAL |
21,765 |
Of the 1,910 firsthand reports received since 1975, 1896 (99.27%)
reports are resolved.
- 1,318 (69.01%) reports were equated to Americans who are accounted
for (i.e., PW returnees, missionaries, civilians jailed at various
times for violation of Vietnamese codes).
- 45 (2.36%) reports were correlated to wartime sightings of
military personnel or pre-1975 sighting of civilians who remain
unaccounted for.
- 533 (27.91%) reports were determined to be fabrications.
The remaining 14 (0.73%) unresolved firsthand reports represent
the focus of the U.S. Government analytical and collection efforts:
- 13 (0.68%) pertain to Americans reported in a captive environment.
- 1 (0.05%) reported sighting of an American in a non-captive
environment (i.e. working as truck drivers; married with Vietnamese
family).
The following timeline presents an overview of unresolved firsthand
sightings by the year of the sighting:
TIMELINE: UNRESOLVED LIVE SIGHTING REPORTS
Pre-76
|
76-80
|
81-85
|
86-90
|
91
|
92
|
93
|
94
|
95
|
96
|
97
|
98
|
99
|
Total
|
13
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|