American values are founded upon the notion of human dignity and the sanctity of the individual.
This blog is dedicated to the millions killed during the US conflict in Vietnam from 1957 to 1975. Our goal is not to diminish the loss of American lives but instead to recognize the Vietnamese as equals.
The exact number of Americans killed in Vietnam is known and well documented; 58,318 names are engraved on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. However, as the war was waged from air, land, and sea, against cities, villages, and hamlets, the number of Vietnamese killed is not known, and will never be known. All we have are rough estimates that put the loss of Vietnamese lives between 1.5 to 3.5 million.* That equates to between 25 to 60 times the number of Americans killed, or about 3.1 to 6.2 percent of Vietnam’s total population of 48 million as of 1975. Putting this into perspective, consider that the US lost about 2% of its population during the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in our history.
No monuments exist bearing the names of the Vietnamese. They are the forgotten victims of a war that should never have happened.
Our goal is to remember the Vietnamese and to memorialize them as we memorialize our fellow Americans. Their names may have vanished but their spirit remains.
* In the Fog of War documentary, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said Vietnamese losses “totaled 3.4 million.”
A Vietnam Memorial of One 