How many people fought in the Vietnam war?

Question:Not how many were sent but how many actually went there and actually saw a battle. Not including desk jobs and stuff like that.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Not how many were sent but how many actually went there and actually saw a battle. Not including desk jobs and stuff like that.

In 1968, the year of the largest U.S. deployment to Vietnam, there were more than 600,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, although a fairly high percentage of them were behind the front lines. Alltogether, at least several hundred thousand troops saw frontline service during the war.

Like alot.

The Vietnam War was the longest military conflict in U.S. history. The hostilities in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans. Another 304,000 were wounded.

I did.

Impossible to tell; records are not kept that way. Combat was not a place one went to and came back from. Pace of fighting varied greatly year to year, region to region within country.

About 2.6 million troops served in South Vietnam from '65-72.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL3249...

Another 6.2 troops served "in theater" in support of operations; mostly logistical support, but includes sailors on the carriers and their battle groups engaged in air ops, air crews based in Thailand and Guam (B- 52s)

Of the 58 thousand and some causalities, about 10,700 deaths are "non-battle" related, accidents, disease, etc.They served and died nonetheless. There's no meaningful distinction to made between the two causes of death.(All US casualty figures are recorded in this manner.)

It was dangerous where ever one served, not of course as dangerous as being in the boonies humping a pack, but nearly every troop was within range of some weapon at some time.

TIn the US militay, the ratio of combat troops to logistics/support troops runs from 1 to 8-11. Back of the envelope, an estimate by that ratio would be about 300,000 served in combat arms. But that is NOT the combat number.