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A M E R I C A S W A R S -
F A C T S / S T A T I S T I C S
Dept. of VA Resource Information -
Fact Sheet:
November 2007
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American Revolution
(1775-1783)
Total Servicemembers
..................................217,000
Battle
Deaths
..................................................4,435
Non-mortal Woundings......................................6,188
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War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Total Servicemembers...................................286,730
Battle
Deaths..................................................2,260
Non-mortal Woundings.....................................4,505
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Indian Wars (approx.
1817-1898)
Total Servicemembers...................................106,000
Battle
Deaths...................................................1,000
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Mexican War (1846-1848)
Total Servicemembers.....................................78,718
Battle
Deaths...................................................1,733
Other Deaths in
Service...................................11,550
Non-mortal Woundings......................................4,152
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Civil War (1861-1865)
Total U.S. Servicemembers
(Union)..............2,213,363
Battle Deaths
(Union)....................................140,414
Other Deaths (In Theater) (Union)....................224,097
Non-mortal Woundings (Union).......................281,881
Total Servicemembers (Conf.) (note
2) ...........1,050,000
Battle Deaths (Confederate) (note 3) ..................74,524
Other Deaths (In Theater) (Confed.)
(note 3, 4)......59,297
Non-mortal Woundings (Confed.) .................Unknown
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Spanish-American War
(1898-1902)
Total Servicemembers
(Worldwide).................306,760
Battle
Deaths......................................................385
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)................2,061
Non-mortal Woundings......................................1,662
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World War I (1917-1918)
Total Servicemembers
(Worldwide)...............4,734,991
Battle
Deaths.................................................53,402
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)..............63,114
Non-mortal Woundings..................................204,002
Living
Veterans.......................................................3
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World War II (1941-1945)
Total Servicemembers
(Worldwide).............16,112,566
Battle
Deaths................................................291,557
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater).............113,842
Non-mortal Woundings..................................671,846
Living Veterans (note
5)................................2,498,000
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Korean War
(1950-1953)
Total Servicemembers
(Worldwide)..............5,720,000
Battle
Deaths.................................................33,741
Other Deaths (In
Theater)..................................2,833
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)..............17,672
Non-mortal Woundings..................................103,284
Living
Veterans..........................................2,400,000
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Vietnam War (1964-1975)
Total Servicemembers (Worldwide)
(note 6)....8,744,000
Deployed to Southeast Asia (note 7) .............3,403,000
Battle Deaths (note 8).......................................47,424
Other Deaths (In Theater) (note 8) .....................10,785
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)
(note 8) ...32,000
Non-mortal Woundings (note 9)........................153,303
Living Veterans (note 5, 10)............................7,203,600
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Desert Shield/Desert
Storm
(1990-1991)
Total Servicemembers
(Worldwide)..............2,322,000
Deployed to
Gulf...........................................694,550
Battle
Deaths......................................................147
Other Deaths (In
Theater).....................................235
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)................1,590
Non-mortal Woundings.........................................467
Living Veterans (note 5, 10)............................2,269,000
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America's
Wars Total
U.S. Military
Service During War................41,891,368
Battle
Deaths................................................651,022
Other Deaths (In
Theater)...............................308,797
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater).............230,279
Non-mortal Woundings................................1,431,290
Living War
Veterans..................................17,484,000
Living Veterans (War & Peacetime)............23,532,000
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Source: Department of Defense (DoD), except living
veterans, which are VA estimates as of September 30, 2007.
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NOTES:
1. Exact number is unknown. Posted figure is
the median of estimated
range from
184,000 – 250,000.
2. Exact number is
unknown. Posted figure is median of estimated
range from
600,000 – 1,500,000.
3. Death figures
are based on incomplete returns.
4. Does not
include 26,000 to 31,000 who died in Union prisons.
5. Estimate based
upon new population projection methodology.
6. Covers the
period 8/5/64 - 1/27/73 (date of cease fire)
7. Department of
Defense estimate
8. Covers period
11/1/55 – 5/15/75
9. Excludes
150,332 not requiring hospital care
10.VA estimate
does not include those still on active duty and may
include
veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| American
Revolution |
Last veteran, Daniel F. Bakeman, died
4/5/1869, age 109
Last widow, Catherine S. Damon, died 11/11/06, age 92
Last dependent, Phoebe M. Palmeter, died 4/25/11, age 90 |
| War
of 1812 |
Last veteran, Hiram Cronk, died 5/13/05,
age 105
Last widow, Carolina King, died 6/28/36, age unknown
Last dependent, Esther A.H. Morgan, died 3/12/46, age 89 |
| Indian
Wars |
Last veteran, Fredrak Fraske, died
6/18/73, age 101 |
| Mexican
War |
Last veteran, Owen Thomas Edgar, died
9/3/29, age 98
Last widow, Lena James Theobald, died 6/20/63, age 89
Last dependent, Jesse G. Bivens, died 11/1/62, age 94 |
| Civil
War |
Last Union veteran, Albert Woolson, died
8/2/56, age 109
Last Confederate Veteran, John Salling, died 3/16/58, age
112
Last Union widow, Gertrude Janeway, died
1/17/2003, age 93 |
| Spanish-American
War |
Last veteran, Nathan E. Cook, died
9/10/92, age 106 |
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It is estimated that the number
of living World War II U.S. veterans will be:
|
9/30/07.....2,795,000 |
9/30/08.....2,457,000 |
9/30/09.....2,143,000 |
9/30/10.....1,850,000 |
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9/30/11.....1,581,000 |
9/30/12.....1,336,000 |
9/30/13.....1,117,000 |
9/30/14........921,000 |
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9/30/15........750,000 |
9/30/16........602,000 |
9/30/17........477,000 |
9/30/18........371,000 |
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9/30/19........285,000 |
9/30/20........214,000 |
9/30/21........158,000 |
9/30/22........115,000 |
Veterans and Dependents on the
Compensation and Pension Rolls as of
September, 2007
| |
VETERANS |
CHILDREN |
PARENTS |
SURVIVING SPOUSES |
|
Civil War |
- |
3 |
- |
- |
|
Indian Wars |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Spanish-American War |
- |
108 |
- |
108 |
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Mexican Border |
- |
15 |
- |
62 |
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World War I |
|
3,500 |
- |
6,059 |
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World War II |
396,944 |
15,006 |
167 |
225,908 |
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Korean Conflict |
223,499 |
3,278 |
335 |
60,885 |
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Vietnam Era |
1,141,946 |
9,227 |
3,252 |
158,127 |
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Gulf War (1) |
802,381 |
13,189 |
859 |
14,471 |
|
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|
Nonservice-connected |
322,875 |
19,176 |
- |
180,664 |
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Service-connected |
2,844,354 |
28,176 |
6,133 |
317,385 |
(1) For compensation and pension
purposes, the Persian Gulf War period has not yet been
terminated and includes veterans of Operations Iraqi and
Enduring Freedom.
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The War on Terrorism at Home and Abroad
Iraq, Iran & Syria: A Fact Comparison
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2002
- The Population of Iraq 24,001,816 (July 2002 est.)
The Population of Iran 66,622,704 (July 2002 est.)
The Population of Syria by comparison is 17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about
20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.)
- Iraq - Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%),
Christian or other 3%
Iran - Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian,
Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%
Syria - Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim
sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in
Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
- Iraq - Ethnic Groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman,
Assyrian or other 5%
Iran - Ethnic Groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%,
Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%......
Syria - Ethnic Groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
The CIA World Factbook
The European Rapid Reaction
Force
|
GERMANY |
BRITAIN |
FRANCE |
ITALY |
SPAIN |
NETHERLANDS |
GREECE |
| 13,500 |
12,500 |
12,000 |
6,000 |
6,000 |
5,000 |
3,000 |
|
FINLAND |
SWEDEN |
BELGIUM |
IRELAND |
PORTUGAL |
LUXEMBOURG |
TOTAL |
| 2,000 |
2,000 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
500 |
65,500 |
(Troop
Contribution Chart)
U.S. Troop Deployment in
Europe
-
The Defense
Dept. reports that as of June 2000; More than 120,000 uniformed Americans
were deployed to 37 countries in Europe and the continents surrounding
waters. Here is a list of the top 10 European Troop Station.
|
GERMANY |
69,572 |
|
ITALY |
11,564 |
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UNITED KINGDOM |
11,274 |
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BOSNIA |
7,169 |
|
KOSOVO |
5,423 |
|
AFLOAT |
4,562 |
|
SPAIN |
2,123 |
|
TURKEY |
2,105 |
|
ICELAND |
1,677 |
|
BELGIUM |
1,598 |
____________________________________________________
Arlington National Cemetery
Almost four
million people a year visit the national cemetery across the Potomac River
from Washington, D.C., where a constant vigil is maintained at the Tomb of
the Unknowns. Arlington National Cemetery is the site of the changing of a
military guard around the clock daily. A stone coffin bearing the body of an
unidentified soldier of World War I — entombed on Veterans Day 1921 — is the
visible part of the tomb, while crypts next to it under the terrace bear the
unknown American service members of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam
Wars (the remains from Vietnam were exhumed May 14, 1998, identified as Air
Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, and removed for burial). Each Memorial
Day and Veterans Day, a presidential wreath is laid at the tomb.
This may explain
why Arlington is America’s most well-known national cemetery, even though it
is not the largest or the oldest. Some 230,000 veterans and dependents are
buried on the cemetery’s 612 acres. From Pierre L’Enfant, George
Washington’s aide during the American Revolution, to American service
members killed during Operation Desert Storm, Arlington holds the remains of
veterans representing every military action the United States has fought.
Union Seized Lee’s Property
The cemetery’s
origins go back to just before the Civil War. George Washington Parke Custis,
adopted son of the first president, owned a 1,100-acre plantation and
constructed on it a memorial to Washington named Arlington House, which held
the world’s largest collection of memorabilia related to the president.
Ownership of his estate passed to Custis’ daughter, who had married Robert
E. Lee, and they lived in Arlington House for more than 30 years. The Lee
family fled when the Civil War was imminent. The Union seized the property
because of its strategic location overlooking Washington. Because of the
bitter grudge against the South that Union Brig. Gen. Montgomery Meigs bore,
and the need for burial space for the Union dead, this commander of forces
at Arlington urged the federal government to convert 200 acres of Lee’s
property to a cemetery. Meigs ordered burials near the house to make the
grounds uninhabitable after the war.
The first soldier
was buried in Arlington in May 1864. By war’s end, 16,000 graves filled the
spaces close to Arlington House. Though the Supreme Court ruled finally in
favor of the heir to the property, the eldest Lee son ceded title to the
government for $150,000 and renounced any thought of living in Arlington
House. From the portico of the mansion, the first official Memorial Day was
proclaimed in 1868.
Burials Restricted
Whereas after the
Civil War, only the poor or unidentified were entombed at Arlington, now it
is a burial site particularly coveted by veterans and their families. Space
for in-ground burials is restricted to those who die on active duty, have
had 20 years of service, or earned certain military decorations, and their
spouses and dependents. Any honorably discharged veterans and dependents
may have their cremated remains inurned in Arlington’s columbarium. Honors
are rendered daily by military units bearing a flag-draped coffin, firing a
rifle volley and performing taps.
Numerous veterans
and civic groups hold memorial services in the cemetery’s marble
amphitheater. Monuments have been erected from time to time to memorialize
specific groups of military members or veterans buried there.
Prominent Americans buried at Arlington include:
Presidents John
F. Kennedy and William H. Taft;
World War I General of the Armies John J. Pershing;
Generals Omar Bradley and George C. Marshall of
World War II;
Generals Daniel “Chappie” James
and Maxwell Taylor of the Vietnam War.
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