Alex Pizzigoni

Venereal Diseases in Vietnam

Thesis: Venereal diseases posed a large threat on American troops in Vietnam.

Vietnamese women would follow the men's platoons and make a camp around the men's base camp. Terry said that theses women would provide "entertainment.“ (qtd. In Vietnam: A Life Experience Terry Jackson)

This is how the men would contract STDs

Some soldiers would hire prostitutes on a leave during port calls

Many soldiers had to face consequences for their actions.

The average risk of soldiers getting a venereal disease was 261.9 for every 1,000 troops per year(Greenburg 1972, p. 1095)

Venereal disease was the number one diagnosis from 1965 to the end of the war (Office Of Medical History)

Rates per 1,000 average strength per year of different venereal diseases.

About 90% of cases reported were those of Gonorrhea

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Gonorrhea was the first most frequently reported STD and chancroid was the second (Korzeniewski Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Army Personnel in the Military environment)

Only about 1% of cases of venereal diseases reported had to be hospitalized for treatment (Office of Medical History)

In attempt to avoid punishment from the company, some troops went to local villages to seek treatment (SGM Herbert A. Friedman In Venereal Disease Propaganda)

March 1967 in Air Force Times article entitled "High Viet VD Rate Revealed” says, "The venereal disease rate among American servicemen in Vietnam is 10 times as high as the stateside rate, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Earle Wheeler told Congress recently." (qtd. SGM Herbert A. Friedman In Venereal Disease Propaganda)

This could potentially be dangerous for America when the troops return home

“I too was told the story of contracting the "Black Syph" and the consequences. Man, it was a scary thing to tell an 18 year old. We heard many stories of what hell it was from Drill instructors...and we believed that they always told the truth.”- A Vietnam Marine (qtd. In SGM Herbert J. Freidman Venereal Disease Propaganda)

Young troops were told that men who contracted untreatable STDs were sent to an exiled island to die in isolation

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Officers would try their best to scare young soldiers going to war with horrible tales about STD’s

If a soldier had an STD he wouldn’t be able to go home until he was cured

Some of the STDs would cause great pain to the soldiers and impair their fighting ability

A substantial number of STD’s lead to the foundation of the Venereal Disease Control Branch of the U.S. Public Health Service (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1962) (qtd. in Korzeniewski Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Army Personnel in the Military environment)

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Works Cited Deller, John J., Dallas E. Smith, David T. English, and Edward G.

Southwick. "Office of Medical History." Office of Medical History. U.S. Army Medical Department, n.d. Web. 10 June 2012. <http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/vietnam/GenMedVN/CH09.html>.

Friedman, SGM Herb. "VENEREAL DISEASE PROPAGANDA." Venereal Disease Propaganda. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2012. <http://www.psywarrior.com/PSYOPVD.html>.

Korzeniewski, Kryzsztof. "Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Army Personnel in the Military Environment." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/33072/InTech-Sexually_transmitted_infections_among_army_personnel_in_the_military_environment.pdf>.