Something To Think About On This Memorial Day

 

As you enjoy your day off, spending time with friends and family, please take a moment to remember why you have the day off in the first place.

 

It is a day to celebrate our heroes, those who are serving or have served in the past our United States of America. Some of them are no longer with us because they made the ultimate sacrifice . . . they gave their lives to defend our country. All of our servicemen and servicewomen make daily sacrifices, and so do their families. And I think that it is important that we let each one know how grateful we are for their dedication.

 

Not all of us choose to serve our country in this manner. That is why we should be so appreciative to these men and women who do. They, too, could have chosen another path. But they stepped forward to defend us and keep us from harm. That, many times, means leaving their families and loved ones for long periods of time. Often we forget about the ongoing war as we get distracted by stories of out-of-control movie stars, political bad boys, and whatever else is on the television. But these brave souls don’t have the luxury of becoming distracted because taking their eyes off the situation could cause great harm to come to themselves, their comrades and the citizens of the world.

 

Here are some figures thus far to ponder:

 

Revolutionary War (1775-1783) Served: No data 
Deaths: 4,435 
Wounded 6,188

War of 1812 (1812-1815) Served: 286,730 
Battle Deaths: 2,260 
Wounded: 4,505

Mexican War (1846-1848) Served: 78,718 
Battle Deaths: 1,733 
Other Deaths: 11,550 
Wounded: 4,152

Civil War (1861-1865) Served: 2,213,363 
Battle Deaths: 140,414 
Other Deaths: 224,097 
Wounded: 281,881

Spanish-American War (1895-1902) Served: 306,760 
Battle Deaths: 385 
Other Deaths: 2,061 
Wounded: 1,662

World War I (1917-1918) Served: 4,734,991 
Battle Deaths: 53,402 
Other Deaths: 63,114 
Wounded: 204,002

World War II (1941-1946) Served: 16,112,566 
Battle Deaths: 291,557 
Other Deaths: 113,842 
Wounded: 671,846

Korean War (1950-1953) Served: 5,720,000 
Battle Deaths: 33,651 
Other Deaths: 3,262 
Wounded: 103,284

Vietnam War (1964-1973) Served: 8,744,000 
Battle Deaths: 47,378 
Other Deaths: 10,799 
Wounded: 153,303

Gulf War (1991) Served: 24,100 
Deaths: 162

Afghanistan War (2002-present) Deaths: 2,449 (as of May 20, 2011)

Iraq War (2003-present) Deaths: 4,771 (as of May 20, 2011) 
Wounded in action: 29,978

(Source: Department of Defense, United States Central Command, and Iraq Coalition Casualty Count)

 

So as you light your barbeque this year and fly your American flag, give some thought to those who have given so much to us without asking for anything in return. And if you are lucky enough to be in their presence, be sure to give them a hearty handshake and a warm, sincere “Thank You!”

 

God bless our troops. God bless America.

Comments

[Bruin]

Great stats Susan.