Posted on 09/25/2017 8:29:11 PM PDT by TigerClaws
Myth: American vs. Enemy dead.
Myth that Americans got beat on the battlefield.
Fact: 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were killed - by estimate of the current Vietnamese government. So the actual numbers likely even higher than that.
American dead numbered under 60,000.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War
Myth Blacks suffered deaths disproportionately. This myth persists in school history books and was repeated in the PBS documentary.
Here are the facts:
During the Vietnam War era (draft era to be precise) blacks of military age made up 13.5 percent of the total population, but only 9.7 percent of the Vietnam era military forces were black.
88.4 percent of the men who actually served in Vietnam were white.
10.6 percent of the men who actually served in Vietnam were black.
86.3 percent of the men who died in Vietnam were white.
12.5 percent of the men who died in Vietnam were black.
86.8 percent of the men who were killed in actual battle were white.
12.1 percent of the men who were killed in actual battle were black.
In sum, while the percentage of blacks of military age was 13.5 percent of the population, they accounted for 12.1percent of the deaths in Vietnam.
The black soldiers who gave their lives for freedom in Vietnam should be honored by all of us. But we should all remember to honor the country - America - which is the only country in the world - black nations included - where an ethnic minority is guaranteed protection against being sent to be slaughtered for the color of their skin or their ethnic background.
I hereby open the pages of Notepad to all those - black and white - who have slandered this country over the death rates in Vietnam, should they wish to apologize.
Sources for these figures are based on: Department of Defense, US Casualties in Southeast "Asia by Grade and Military Service, Hostile and Non-Hostile Deaths from 1 January 1961 through 31 December 1978 by Race (unpublished).
http://rense.com/general17/thetruththenumber.htm
Feel free to add others.
Myth: John Kerry was a “hero”
Why am I not surprised?
Is there a link to this News/Activism Story?
A guy I work with was raving about this series....the same guy is the only person I know who still subscribes to TIME magazine. Get a clue bud.
And no he’s not a dentist.
He doesn’t do links. He’s of the opinion that his opinion is news worthy. FR has gotten really sloppy in that respect, viz. endless vanities in hard news sections.
Yeah, and some white man and black man gave their life so John Kerry could lie about being a hero for 50 years.
This is a VANITY and I did not indicate it was breaking news in the topic selection.
Within my VANITY post I have provided two links for sources.
The topic is relevant as there is currently airing a series on PBS about Vietnam which is receiving widespread national attention.
I thought it a good time to discuss the series and enjoy our First Amendment freedoms - which I celebrate every day.
Thank you for visiting my thread and you are welcome to engage our conversation.
-TC
I am on episode 9 I think they did a good job with casualties during Tet. The offensive when `120,000 NK came down the trail in russian tanks after U*S ready to pull out. The portray Yet as a big loss for NV. They do the same with Hue and a few other battles. i disagree your portrayal; of the presentation on casualties.
Knew ahead of time it would be a waste of time to watch. Too much revisionism of history.
What myth did they tell abut blacks?
Here’s a new story about the PBS series I reference:
Please consider that the thread topic - from a RECENT NEWS STORY.
http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2017/09/the_vietnam_war_episode_6_preview_pbs_sunday.html
Now, feel free to comment on the CONTENT of my thread.
This is a Jane Fonda version of history in that it glorifies Ho Chi Minh. At times it has to quickly gloss over the fact that kindly Uncle Ho had to liquidate a bunch of bourgeoisie but as the saying goes you have to break a few eggs ....
Do you dispute the faking of some numbers. i remember specifically the initiative to clear the Cong out of the area south of Saigon. Looks like they phoned up and didn’t care. The information didn’t come from the producer, it came from people who were there.
See above re myth about blacks.
The MYTH is that blacks died in large numbers compared to their population.
For example, instead of the 12% of the population, the typical myth is they died 2-3 times that percentage in proportion to other races. “We did the dying over there and you (white folks) started the war and sent us there.”
You’ve never heard this myth?
Specially in the series they repeated that myth. I’d have to dig up the episode to quote directly, but it’s there. I saw and heard it and yelled, “No!” at the TV screen.
They portray as a great spokesperson for the vets against the war. No mention he interjected himself into the Paris process an actor of treason. I don’t remember much about them going over his war record.
“Blacks suffered deaths disproportionately. This myth persists in school history books and was repeated in the PBS documentary.”
In your list you say that 10.6 percent of people that served were black, while 12.5% that died were black. I wouldn’t say that those percentages are “disproportionate” - but that may be the statistic they are making their claim on. (”Lies, damned lies, and statistics”).
But the big anti-war protests only got going in earnest once more whites started getting drafted. Nobody cared when it was mostly blacks getting drafted.
I don’t dispute the faking of some numbers by our side.
I do, however, believe the Vietnamese government would give us accurate to low numbers as it was their (from their perspective) ‘war of independence.’
Democrats got us in Vietnam knowing full well there was no way to win, no way to get out, and we’ve repeated the same mistakes in other countries. It was true that letting Vietnam fall would lead to further Communist takeovers and slaughter in other countries and that happened in Cambodia.
This wound up a proxy war with China specifically and to some extent the Soviets. We weren’t willing to fight it to win it and we let our boys die there for too many years.
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