Remembering those who gave all

Remembering those who gave all

By Dave Smith
Lead Street Survival Seminar Instructor


Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.-- Last Stanza of the Star Spangled Banner


The last week of May each year is a time to remember those who have served in the military and fallen to defend our Nation. Earlier this month we paused to remember those who wore the badge and stood between evil and innocence in our neighborhoods. We are free because of the following numbers. I pray we never stop remembering and that in our hearts each of us acknowledges each digit represents a brother or sister of ours who gave us all.

Writing the numbers and trying to visualize the faces, the lives, the families, the pain, the cost, is overwhelming. Read these numbers to your children, your nieces, your nephews, and anyone you care about, for if they are to stay free the sacrifice must have meaning; and the courage, the honor, the duty, and love of Country must be sustained. It is not the duty of our schools, our newspapers, or television to instill this in our people...it is ours.


United States Military Deaths 2007 as of May 26, 2007 (Iraq and Afghanistan): 374

America's Wars: U.S. Casualties and Veterans

American Revolution (1775-1783)
Total service members: 217,000
Battle deaths: 4,435
Non-mortal woundings: 6,188

War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Total service members: 286,730
Battle deaths: 2,260
Non-mortal woundings: 4,505

Indian Wars (approx. 1817-1898)
Total service members: 106,0001
Battle deaths: 1,0001

Mexican War (1846-1848)
Total service members: 78,718
Battle deaths: 1,733
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 11,550
Non-mortal woundings: 4,152

Civil War (1861-1865)
Total service members (Union) : 2,213,363
Battle deaths (Union) : 140,414
Other deaths in service (non-theater) (Union) : 224,097
Non-mortal woundings (Union) : 281,881
Total service members (Conf.) : 1,050,000
Battle deaths (Conf.) : 74,524
Other deaths in service (non-theater) (Conf.) : 59,2972
Non-mortal woundings (Conf.) : unknown

Spanish-American War (1898-1902)
Total service members: 306,760
Battle deaths: 385
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 2,061
Non-mortal woundings: 1,662

World War I (1917-1918)3
Total service members: 4,734,991
Battle deaths: 53,402
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 63,114
Non-mortal woundings: 204,002
Living veterans: fewer than 251

World War II (1940-1945)3
Total service members: 16,112,566
Battle deaths: 291,557
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 113,842
Non-mortal woundings: 671,846
Living veterans: 3,242,0001

Korean War (1950-1953)
Total service members: 5,720,000
Serving in-theater: 1,789,000
Battle deaths: 33,741
Other deaths in service (theater) : 2,833
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 17,672
Non-mortal woundings: 103,284
Living veterans: 3,086,4001

Vietnam War (1964-1975)
Total service members: 8,744,000
Serving in-theater: 3,403,000
Battle deaths: 47,424
Other deaths in service (theater) : 10,785
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 32,000
Non-mortal woundings: 153,303
Living veterans: 7,286,5001

Gulf War (1990-1991)
Total service members: 2,225,000
Serving in-theater: 665,476
Battle deaths: 147
Other deaths in service (theater) : 382
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 1,565
Non-mortal woundings: 467
Living veterans: 1,852,0001

America's Wars Total
Military service during war: 43,185,893
Battle deaths: 653,708
Other deaths in service (theater) : 14,560
Other deaths in service (non-theater) : 525,930
Non-mortal woundings: 1,447,281
Living war veterans: 17,835,0004
Living veterans: 23,976,000

Global War on Terror (as of Sept. 30, 2006)
Total Service members (Worldwide) : 1,384,968
Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan: 165,000
Battle Deaths: 2,333
Other Deaths (In Theater) : 707
Non-mortal Woundings: 21,649
Living Veterans: 588,9235

1. Veterans Administration estimate as of Sept. 30, 2006.
2. Estimated figure. Does not include 26,000-31,000 who died in Union prisons.
3. Years of U.S. involvement in war.
4. Approximately 1,065,000 veterans had service in multiple conflicts. They are counted under each conflict, but only once in the total.
5. VA estimate does not include those still on active duty and may include veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.Source: Department of Defense and Veterans Administration.

Law Enforcement Deaths 2007 to as of May 26, 2007

Total Line of Duty Deaths: 76

Accidental: 1
Aircraft accident: 2
Automobile accident: 24
Boating accident: 1
Drowned: 2
Exposure to toxins: 1
Gunfire: 30
Gunfire (Accidental): 3
Heart attack: 2
Motorcycle accident: 1
Struck by vehicle: 2
Vehicle pursuit: 2
Vehicular assault: 4
Weather/Natural disaster: 1

By Month:

January: 10
February: 12
March: 16
April: 19
May: 19

By State:

Alabama: 2
Arizona: 2
Arkansas: 1
California: 3
Colorado: 1
District of Columbia: 1
Florida: 4
Georgia: 4
Hawaii: 1
Idaho: 1
Indiana: 1
Iowa: 1
Kansas: 1
Kentucky: 1
Louisiana: 2
Maryland: 2
Massachusetts: 1
Missouri: 1
New Hampshire: 1
New Jersey: 3
New York: 5
North Carolina: 8
Ohio: 2
Puerto Rico: 2
South Carolina: 5
Tennessee: 1
Texas: 9
U.S. Government: 7
Virginia: 1
Washington: 1
Wisconsin: 1

Average tour: 10 years

Average age: 37

By Gender:

Female: 1
Male: 75
From www.odmp.org

Police line of duty deaths in America's history: 18,690


The sum of all of the above equals...Freedom