Did you ever wonder about how many Americans have lost their lives in our wars?

By David McClelland

As a retired United States Air Force officer, I subscribe to the Air Force Times which is a weekly publication that provides current information on everything to do with the Air Force. There are frequent articles on: the development of new planes, the latest status of our military bases at home and abroad, the latest physical conditioning requirements, weekly casualty reports and much more. It is always sad to read the casualty reports and doing so made me wonder about current military deaths in our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To give us some perspective on our current losses, we will first look at American losses from wars in the 20th century: World War I - 116,516. World War II - 405,399, Korean War – 53,686 and Vietnam War - 58,209. A total of 633,810 Americans were killed in wars during the last century.

Now, let's look at our current wars. Since 2001, in Afghanistan in "Operation Enduring Freedom," 1,135 Americans have been killed. Since 2003, in Iraq in "Operation Iraqi Freedom," 4,413 Americans were killed. So far, in the 21st century, 5,548 Americans have made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our country in those two wars.

Additionally, many thousands more Americans were left disabled from our wars which made their transitions back into civilian life that much more difficult. When you see a Veteran, disabled or not, please thank him or her for their service to our country.

Someone close to you may be among those who have given their lives or become disabled for our country. We need to be reminded of all of these brave American service men and women, not just on Veterans Day, but all throughout the year and thank God for their huge sacrifice.