As of 2021, there were over 200,000 living United States veterans who served in the Second World War. The Department of Veteran Affairs projects that the number of living veterans will decline rapidly in the fifteen years until 2036, at which point just a few hundred Americans who served in the war will be still alive. The passing of the "Greatest Generation" is seen as symbolic by some, as for many people they represented the era when the United States' power on the world stage was at its greatest. The Second World war is particularly remembered as a "just" war in the U.S., as the United States was seen as fighting for democracy and self-determination, and against the tyrannies of Fascism, Nazism, and Japanese Imperialism.

The United States' involvement in the Second World War

World War II marked the peak in military enlistments in U.S. history, with over 16 million service members serving worldwide during the conflict. The U.S. joined the war in 1941 due to Imperial Japan's attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before joining the European theater of the war in 1944 during the Invasion of Normandy. The U.S. military played a vital role in the defeat of Nazi Germany on the Western Front in May 1945, while the Soviet Red Army defeated the Wehrmacht in the East. The U.S. was also vital in the defeat of Fascist Italy, as they had led an allied invasion force onto the Italian peninsula from Northern Africa in September 1943. The final action of the war took place in the Asian theater of war, as Imperial Japan was the last of the Axis powers to concede defeat to the Allies. The United States effectively ended the war with the dropping of two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, leading to as many as a quarter of a million deaths. It remains to this day the sole use of atomic weapons in an active conflict.

Notes: "Total Number of Veterans" represents FY 2021 projected Veteran counts from VA's Veteran Population Projection Model 2020 (VetPop20). These projections represent living Veterans as of 9/30/2021 and are made with the assumption that Veterans are not missing information (e.g., sex, age, etc.). "Veteran VA Users" represents historical Veteran VA user counts from VA's United States Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics 2021 (USVETS 2021). These counts represent Veterans who used any VA benefit or service during FY 2021 (includes both living and deceased Veterans as of end of FY 2021). "Veteran VA Healthcare Users" represents historical Veteran VA healthcare user counts from VA's United States Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics 2021 (USVETS 2021). These counts represent Veterans who used VA healthcare during FY 2021 (includes both living and deceased Veterans as of end of FY 2021). "Veteran VA Users" includes Veteran users of VA healthcare or any other VA benefit or service. There are 1,458 Veteran VA Users not shown in the table below whose sex is missing. Of these, 1,360 are missing age. There are 1,387 Veteran VA Healthcare Users not shown in the table below whose sex is missing. Of these, 1,360 are missing age. Sources: USVETS 2021 and VetPop20 Effective Date: 9/30/2021

Notes: "Total Number of Veterans" represents FY 2021 projected Veteran counts from VA's Veteran Population Projection Model 2020 (VetPop20). These projections represent living Veterans as of 9/30/2021 and are made with the assumption that Veterans are not missing information (e.g., race, etc.). "Veteran VA Users" represents historical Veteran VA user counts from VA's United States Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics 2021 (USVETS 2021). These counts represent Veterans who used any VA benefit or service during FY 2021 (includes both living and deceased Veterans as of end of FY 2021). "Veteran VA Healthcare Users" represents historical Veteran VA healthcare user counts from VA's United States Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics 2021 (USVETS 2021). These counts represent Veterans who used VA healthcare during FY 2021 (includes both living and deceased Veterans as of end of FY 2021). "Veteran VA Users" includes Veteran users of VA healthcare or any other VA benefit or service. Sources: USVETS 2021 and VetPop20 Effective Date: 9/30/2021

The 2010 National Survey of Veterans (NSV) is the sixth in a series of comprehensive nationwide surveys designed to help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plan its future programs and services for Veterans. It also provides a snapshot profile of the Veteran population. Data collected through the NSV enables VA to: follow changing trends in the Veteran population; compare characteristics of Veterans who use VA benefits and services with those of Veterans who do not; study VA�s role in the delivery of all benefits and services that Veterans receive; and update information about Veterans to help the Department develop its policies.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides official estimates and projections of the Veteran population using the Veteran Population Projection Model (VetPop). Based on the available information through September 30, 2020, the latest model VetPop2020 estimated the Veteran population for the period from 2000 to 2020. This data table shows the number of living Veterans at the end of each fiscal year from 2000 to 2020 by race, ethnicity, gender, and age group for Veterans residing in the U.S. (50 states and D.C.).

This map shows the percent of population who are veterans. This pattern is shown by states, counties, and tracts. The data is from the most current American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Veterans are men and women who have served (even for a short time), but are not currently serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. People who served in the National Guard or Reserves are classified as veterans only if they were ever called or ordered to active duty.The pop-up highlights the breakdown of veterans by gender.Zoom to any area in the country to see a local or regional pattern, or use one of the bookmarks to see distinct patterns of poverty through the US. Data is available for the 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.The data comes from this ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World layer, which is part of a wider collection of layers that contain the most up-to-date ACS data from the Census. The layers are updated annually when the ACS releases their most current 5-year estimates. Visit the layer for more information about the data source, vintage, and download date for the data.

Charactertics of the veteran population such as age, period of service, educational attainment, income, disability, etc. as reported by the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey five-year estimates. The year shown in the dataset refers to the final year of the five-year reporting period (ie "2010" refers to the 2006-2010 ACS).

This comprehensive report chronicles the history of women in the military and as Veterans, profiles the characteristics of women Veterans in 2009, illustrates how women Veterans in 2009 utilized some of the major benefits and services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and discusses the future of women Veterans in relation to VA. The goal of this report is to gain an understanding of who our women Veterans are, how their military service affects their post-military lives, and how they can be better served based on these insights.

Graph and download economic data for Population Level - Veterans, Vietnam-Era and Earlier Wartime Periods, 18 Years and over (LNU00077884) from Sep 2008 to Jun 2025 about korean war, Vietnam Era, World War, 18 years +, veterans, civilian, population, and USA.

The Office of Data Governance and Analysis (DGA) creates statistical data for various Veteran related projects. This table displays the count and percent, by county, of Veterans who are farmers and/or dairymen comparative for the entire state's population of Veteran farmers or dairymen in California for 2015. The data was created from our administrative database U.S. Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics (USVETS), for the recent event Apps for Ag Hackathon. The U.S. Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics (USVETS) is the single integrated dataset of Veteran demographic and socioeconomic data. It provides the most comprehensive picture of the Veteran population possible to support statistical, trend and longitudinal analysis. USVETS has both a static dataset, represents a single authoritative record of all living and deceased Veterans, and fiscal year datasets, represents a snapshot of a Veteran for each fiscal year. USVETS consists mainly of data sources from the Veterans Benefit Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower Data Center, and other data sources including commercial data sources. This dataset contains information about individual Veterans including demographics, details of military service, VA benefit usage, and more. The dataset contains one record per Veteran. It includes all living and deceased Veterans. USVETS data includes Veterans residing in states, US territories and foreign countries. VA uses this database to conduct statistical analytics, predictive modeling, and other data reporting. USVETS includes the software, hardware, and the associated processes that produce various VA work products and related files for Veteran analytics.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides official estimates and projections of the Veteran population using the Veteran Population Projection Model (VetPop). Based on the latest model VetPop2023 and the most recent national survey estimates from the 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year (ACS) data, the projected number of Veterans living in the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico for fiscal years, 2023 to 2025, are allocated to Urban and Rural areas. As defined by the Census Bureau, Rural encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an Urban area (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural.html). This table contains the Veteran estimates by urban/rural, sex and age group. Note: rounding to the nearest 1,000 is always appropriate for VetPop estimates.

VetPop2020 projection of living Veterans by gender and 5-year age group at the state level. Note: Rounding to the nearest 1,000 is always appropriate for VetPop estimates.

In 2023, in the United States, almost 2.3 million veterans had a service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or higher. About 10.9 million veterans had no service-connected disability rating at that time.

This data set consists of one row per federal fiscal year (FY) from FY 2005 - FY 2019, and reports the number and percent of users each of seven VA programs for Veterans who were in service at any time between August 2, 1990, and September 10, 2001, the dates of the Pre-9/11 Gulf War era. The denominator of percent is the number of living Veterans in the FY. The number and percent of users is cumulative since FY 2005. Thus, for example FY 2006 data includes all Veterans who served in the era, were alive at some time during FY 2006 and participated in the program at any time during FY 2005 and FY 2006.

To show count of Post 9/11 Veterans (Living only) by County for the creation of a heat map to align with Wounded Warrior Projects’ programming.

Data from America's War factsheet with only those who served and living

Population and household data for North Carolina, counties, and municipalities. Most data derived from from the US Census Bureau. decennial censuses. Also includes annual population estimates (US Bureau of Economic Analysis/US Census Bureau) and estimated historical and projected (through 2045) veteran populations from US Veterans Administration.

This speadsheet contains data from the 2014 American Community Survey and shows the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Veterans who live in rural and urban areas. The spreadsheet includes variables like: raw numbers, umemployment rate, disability rate, median personal income, age groups, period of service and other variables.

Abstract (en): This dataset provides information on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. Comprehensive data are available on the employment status, occupation, and industry of persons 14 years old and over. Also included are personal characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, veteran status, household relationships, educational background, and Spanish origin. In addition, the supplement provides information on military service and veteran disability for males 18 years and older. Data include veteran status, period of service, Vietnam theater status, service-connected disability rating, and receipt of disability income. The universe consists of all persons in the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States living in households. The probability sample selected to represent the universe consists of approximately 71,000 households.

A dataset to advance the study of life-cycle interactions of biomedical and socioeconomic factors in the aging process. The EI project has assembled a variety of large datasets covering the life histories of approximately 39,616 white male volunteers (drawn from a random sample of 331 companies) who served in the Union Army (UA), and of about 6,000 African-American veterans from 51 randomly selected United States Colored Troops companies (USCT). Their military records were linked to pension and medical records that detailed the soldiers������?? health status and socioeconomic and family characteristics. Each soldier was searched for in the US decennial census for the years in which they were most likely to be found alive (1850, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910). In addition, a sample consisting of 70,000 men examined for service in the Union Army between September 1864 and April 1865 has been assembled and linked only to census records. These records will be useful for life-cycle comparisons of those accepted and rejected for service. Military Data: The military service and wartime medical histories of the UA and USCT men were collected from the Union Army and United States Colored Troops military service records, carded medical records, and other wartime documents. Pension Data: Wherever possible, the UA and USCT samples have been linked to pension records, including surgeon''''s certificates. About 70% of men in the Union Army sample have a pension. These records provide the bulk of the socioeconomic and demographic information on these men from the late 1800s through the early 1900s, including family structure and employment information. In addition, the surgeon''''s certificates provide rich medical histories, with an average of 5 examinations per linked recruit for the UA, and about 2.5 exams per USCT recruit. Census Data: Both early and late-age familial and socioeconomic information is collected from the manuscript schedules of the federal censuses of 1850, 1860, 1870 (incomplete), 1880, 1900, and 1910. Data Availability: All of the datasets (Military Union Army; linked Census; Surgeon''''s Certificates; Examination Records, and supporting ecological and environmental variables) are publicly available from ICPSR. In addition, copies on CD-ROM may be obtained from the CPE, which also maintains an interactive Internet Data Archive and Documentation Library, which can be accessed on the Project Website. * Dates of Study: 1850-1910 * Study Features: Longitudinal, Minority Oversamples * Sample Size: ** Union Army: 35,747 ** Colored Troops: 6,187 ** Examination Sample: 70,800 ICPSR Link: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06836