Vietnam War, Casualties Returned Alive, 1962-1979

The Combat Area Casualties Returned Alive File is maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It contains records transferred to the Archives by the U.S. government for U.S. military personnel who were captured or missing as a result of the Vietnam Conflict and were later released or returned to U.S. military control. The date range, May 1, 1962 - March 22, 1979, represents the dates of release or return to the U.S., not the dates in which individuals were captured or missing. This database can be a great source of information for researchers whose relatives served in the Vietnam War. Information contained in this database includes the following:

• Name of individual
  
• Branch of military service (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard)
  
• Country of casualty (North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Laos, or Thailand)
  
• Type of casualty (Missing & Returned, Captured & Returned, or Nonhostile, Missing & Returned)
  
• Reference number (This number is assigned by the military in consecutive order for each country and major casualty series)
  
• Date record processed
  
• Military grade (rank; cross referenced with Pay Grade)
  
• Pay grade (cross referenced with Military Grade)
  
• Date released or returned
  
• Home city
  
• Home state
  
• Service occupation (e.g., Aircraft Engine Repairman)
  
• Date of birth
  
• Reason (Cause of casualty)
  
• Aircraft or Not Aircraft (e.g., Fixed Wing Air Casualty, Ground Casualty, Helicopter Air Casualty, Sea Casualty)
  
• Race (American Indian, Caucasian, Malayan, Mongolian, Negro, Unknown or not reported)
  
• Length of service in years
  
• Marital status (married, single, unknown, or not reported)
  
• Sex (male or female)
  
• Citizen (U.S. or non-U.S.)
  
• Date tour in Southeast Asia began (for individuals returned alive, this date may reflect the date originally captured or missing)
  
• Last record (indicates whether this is a Final Record or a Non Final Record)
  
• Age (age at the time of casualty)
  
• Service component (National Guard, Regular, Reserve, Selective Service, Temporary, Unknown, or Not Reported)
• Comments
  
• Province (a province is given only for casualties occurring in South Vietnam)
  
• Corpcd (indicates the military region or corps in which the individual served)
  
• Procd
  
• Flag
  

Note: All of these items may not be available for each individual in this database.