The American Civil War is the conflict with the largest number of American military fatalities in history. In fact, the Civil War's death toll is comparable to all other major wars combined, the deadliest of which were the World Wars, which have a combined death toll of more than 520,000 American fatalities. The ongoing series of conflicts and interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, collectively referred to as the War on Terror in the west, has a combined death toll of more than 7,000 for the U.S. military since 2001. Other records In terms of the number of deaths per day, the American Civil War is still at the top, with an average of 425 deaths per day, while the First and Second World Wars have averages of roughly 100 and 200 fatalities per day respectively. Technically, the costliest battle in U.S. military history was the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, which was a part of the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War, and saw upwards of 5,000 deaths over 10 days. However, the Battle of Gettysburg had more military fatalities of American soldiers, with almost 3,200 Union deaths and over 3,900 Confederate deaths, giving a combined total of more than 7,000. The Battle of Antietam is viewed as the bloodiest day in American military history, with over 3,600 combined fatalities and almost 23,000 total casualties on September 17, 1862. Revised Civil War figures For more than a century, the total death toll of the American Civil War was generally accepted to be around 620,000, a number which was first proposed by Union historians William F. Fox and Thomas L. Livermore in 1888. This number was calculated by using enlistment figures, battle reports, and census data, however many prominent historians since then have thought the number should be higher. In 2011, historian J. David Hacker conducted further investigations and claimed that the number was closer to 750,000 (and possibly as high as 850,000). While many Civil War historians agree that this is possible, and even likely, obtaining consistently accurate figures has proven to be impossible until now; both sides were poor at keeping detailed records throughout the war, and much of the Confederacy's records were lost by the war's end. Many Confederate widows also did not register their husbands death with the authorities, as they would have then been ineligible for benefits.

The United States military entered the Korean War in July 1950 and fought on the side of South Korea against the communist forces of North Korea and the People's Republic of China until August 1953. In total, the United States military would suffer almost 37,000 deaths through hostilities. Of these, servicemembers in the Army made up the vast majority of deaths (82.19 percent), with most of these being the result of soldiers being killed in action. A smaller number of marines and navy servicemembers were killed in Korea, with the majority also having been killed in action for these groups. For the United States Air Force, the composition of total deaths is quite different, as the majority of pilots killed during the conflict were declared dead after going missing in action. This likely reflects the fact that when an airplane was shot from the sky in battle, the remains of the pilots are not recoverable.

The Korean War was an international military conflict which lasted from June 1950 until July 1953, which pitted the communist forces of North Korea, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China against South Korea and a U.S.-led UN force comprised of troops from over 20 additional countries. The war was the United States' first major military engagement of the Cold War, the period of rivalry and heightened tension between the world's two superpowers, the U.S. and Soviet Union. While the war was one of the deadliest in the Cold War and the 20th century in general, it resulted in a stalemate between the North and South, with the boundary between the two countries remaining to this day at the 38th parallel line. The two countries remain technically at war to the present day, as the South's dictator, Syngman Rhee, refused to sign the peace agreement which in practice ended the fighting in the war.

U.S. military deaths in Korea

The majority of U.S. military fatalities during the Korean War were battle deaths (63 percent), with a smaller number of deaths while missing (12 percent), deaths while captured (eight percent), or deaths from battle wounds (seven percent). In addition, around three percent of deaths were from airplane crashes which were not caused by hostile forces, with another seven percent dying of other causes unrelated to battle. In total around 36,000 U.S. military servicemembers were killed in Korea, out of a total of around 40,000 deaths for the UN forces combined. The war was the United States' second deadliest conflict of the Cold War, as well as its fifth deadliest ever, after the Vietnam War, World War I, World War II, and the Civil War.

As of March 2021, 11 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq in 2020. This is a decrease from a peak of 904 casualties in 2007.

Additional information on fatalities in the Iraq War

The invasion of Iraq by the United States and coalition forces in March 2003 saw the beginning of the Iraq War, a conflict that would continue beyond the end of the decade. Fatalities of American forces were highest in the first five years of conflict as soldiers grappled with the Al Qaeda as well as civil war between those groups seeking to fill the power vacuum left by the removal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Casualties progressively decreased from 2008, in part due to attempts by Barack Obama who made the removal of troops from Iraq a central promise of this successful campaign to succeed George W. Bush. In 2013, the majority of Americans considered sending troops to fight in Iraq to be a mistake.

While the number of civilian deaths in the Iraq War was much higher, the trend of numbers decreasing from 2008 onward was in line with the trend for American solider losses. However, civilian deaths rose again from 2013 onward as Iraq returned to heavy conflict with Islamic State.

The high number of American fatalities in the first five years of the Iraq War could be seen as influencing the reluctance of the United States to commit ground troop support in the battle against Islamic State when the issue was discussed in 2015. Not only is the loss of life a tragedy in itself, but the political discourse in the United States surrounding the involvement of their troops in Middle Eastern conflicts has made further involvement unattractive to elected officials. However calls for further ground support are likely to continue as Iraq remained in the top five countries with the most terrorist attacks as of 2019.

Detailed listing of all U.S. Military Active Duty deaths since 1/1/2001 giving branch of service, age at death, military occupational code, location of death, and casualty category

Estimates for the total death count of the Second World War generally range somewhere between 70 and 85 million people. The Soviet Union suffered the highest number of fatalities of any single nation, with estimates mostly falling between 22 and 27 million deaths. China then suffered the second greatest, at around 20 million, although these figures are less certain and often overlap with the Chinese Civil War. Over 80 percent of all deaths were of those from Allied countries, and the majority of these were civilians. In contrast, 15 to 20 percent were among the Axis powers, and the majority of these were military deaths, as shown in the death ratios of Germany and Japan. Civilian deaths and atrocities It is believed that 60 to 67 percent of all deaths were civilian fatalities, largely resulting from war-related famine or disease, and war crimes or atrocities. Systematic genocide, extermination campaigns, and forced labor, particularly by the Germans, Japanese, and Soviets, led to the deaths of millions. In this regard, Nazi activities alone resulted in 17 million deaths, including six million Jews in what is now known as The Holocaust. Not only was the scale of the conflict larger than any that had come before, but the nature of and reasoning behind this loss make the Second World War stand out as one of the most devastating and cruelest conflicts in history. Problems with these statistics Although the war is considered by many to be the defining event of the 20th century, exact figures for death tolls have proven impossible to determine, for a variety of reasons. Countries such as the U.S. have fairly consistent estimates due to preserved military records and comparatively few civilian casualties, although figures still vary by source. For most of Europe, records are less accurate. Border fluctuations and the upheaval of the interwar period mean that pre-war records were already poor or non-existent for many regions. The rapid and chaotic nature of the war then meant that deaths could not be accurately recorded at the time, and mass displacement or forced relocation resulted in the deaths of many civilians outside of their homeland, which makes country-specific figures more difficult to find. Early estimates of the war’s fatalities were also taken at face value and formed the basis of many historical works; these were often very inaccurate, but the validity of the source means that the figures continue to be cited today, despite contrary evidence.

In comparison to Europe, estimate ranges are often greater across Asia, where populations were larger but pre-war data was in short supply. Many of the Asian countries with high death tolls were European colonies, and the actions of authorities in the metropoles, such as the diversion of resources from Asia to Europe, led to millions of deaths through famine and disease. Additionally, over one million African soldiers were drafted into Europe’s armies during the war, yet individual statistics are unavailable for most of these colonies or successor states (notably Algeria and Libya). Thousands of Asian and African military deaths went unrecorded or are included with European or Japanese figures, and there are no reliable figures for deaths of millions from countries across North Africa or East Asia. Additionally, many concentration camp records were destroyed, and such records in Africa and Asia were even sparser than in Europe. While the Second World War is one of the most studied academic topics of the past century, it is unlikely that we will ever have a clear number for the lives lost in the conflict.

This special topic poll, conducted April 3, 2003, was undertaken to assess public opinion on the war against Iraq. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way President George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether they supported or opposed the war, how the war was going, how long the war would last, the chances that the United States would become bogged down in a drawn-out war in Iraq, and whether Bush, his advisors, and military leaders underestimated the difficulty of the war. Views were sought on whether the number of United States military casualties had been acceptable, whether additional military casualties were anticipated, whether the Iraqi resistance had been tougher or weaker than expected, whether efforts to avoid civilian casualties had been adequate, and whether the battle for control of Baghdad would be difficult or easy. Those polled were asked whether weapons of mass destruction must be found for the war to be justified. A series of questions addressed the illness known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Topics covered whether respondents were concerned that they or someone in their family might catch SARS and whether they were more concerned that they or someone in their family might catch SARS or be a victim of a terrorist attack. Background information on respondents includes gender, and political party.

Detailed listing of all U.S. Military Active Duty deaths for 2007

This statistic shows the fatalities of the United States' military in Iraq and Afghanistan as of October 1 2021, by state. As of October 1, 2021, the United States had lost a total of 7,054 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, with 759 coming from California.

The First World War saw the mobilization of more than 65 million soldiers, and the deaths of almost 15 million soldiers and civilians combined. Approximately 8.8 million of these deaths were of military personnel, while six million civilians died as a direct result of the war; mostly through hunger, disease and genocide. The German army suffered the highest number of military losses, totaling at more than two million men. Turkey had the highest civilian death count, largely due to the mass extermination of Armenians, as well as Greeks and Assyrians. Varying estimates suggest that Russia may have suffered the highest number of military and total fatalities in the First World War. However, this is complicated by the subsequent Russian Civil War and Russia's total specific to the First World War remains unclear to this day.

Proportional deaths In 1914, Central and Eastern Europe was largely divided between the empires of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia, while the smaller Balkan states had only emerged in prior decades with the decline of the Ottoman Empire. For these reasons, the major powers in the east were able to mobilize millions of men from across their territories, as Britain and France did with their own overseas colonies, and were able to utilize their superior manpower to rotate and replace soldiers, whereas smaller nations did not have this luxury. For example, total military losses for Romania and Serbia are around 12 percent of Germany's total military losses; however, as a share of their total mobilized forces these countries lost roughly 33 percent of their armies, compared to Germany's 15 percent mortality rate. The average mortality rate of all deployed soldiers in the war was around 14 percent.

Unclarity in the totals Despite ending over a century ago, the total number of deaths resulting from the First World War remains unclear. The impact of the Influenza pandemic of 1918, as well as various classifications of when or why fatalities occurred, has resulted in varying totals with differences ranging in the millions. Parallel conflicts, particularly the Russian Civil War, have also made it extremely difficult to define which conflicts the fatalities should be attributed to. Since 2012, the totals given by Hirschfeld et al in Brill's Encyclopedia of the First World War have been viewed by many in the historical community as the most reliable figures on the subject.

Dramatic improvements in US military medicine have produced an equally dramatic shift in the kinds of battle casualties the US military has sustained in its most recent wars. Specifically, there has been a notable increase in the ratio of nonfatal to fatal casualties. Most studies of casualty aversion in the United States, however, have focused on fatal casualties. Using a series of survey experiments, I investigate whether respondents are equally sensitive to fatal and nonfatal casualties, differences between populations with and without close military ties, and whether views on casualties are conditioned by respondents’ level of knowledge about casualties or the individual costs of war they expect to incur. I find that, while the general public is generally insensitive to different types of casualties, respondents with close ties to the military are better able to distinguish among kinds of casualties. This advantage, however, is not due to respondents with close military ties being better informed about war casualties. Instead, those who bear the costs of war directly appear better able to distinguish among those costs.

This dataset is about book subjects and is filtered where the books is Burying America's World War dead, featuring 10 columns including authors, average publication date, book publishers, book subject, and books. The preview is ordered by number of books (descending).

This poll, conducted April 2-3, 2003, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on President George W. Bush and his overall job performance, his handling of military action against Iraq, his administration's expectations of the outcome of military action against Iraq, and whether he was the primary decision- and policymaker concerning military action in Iraq. Respondents were also asked whether they thought Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was alive or dead, whether they thought the benefits of removing Saddam Hussein outweighed the economic and human costs, and whether he was involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC. Questions were asked about the likelihood of another terrorist attack in the United States, whether military action against Iraq was part of the war on terrorism, and whether the chances of another terrorist attack had been affected by military action in Iraq. Respondents were asked whether they approved of military action against Iraq, whether they were following the news coverage concerning Iraq, how they viewed media coverage of military action in Iraq, what their personal expectations of the outcome of military action were, how long they thought United States military personnel would be in Iraq, whether an appropriate amount of force was being used, what the probability of military and civilian casualties in Iraq was, how military action against Iraq would affect current and future relations with other Arab countries, and whether they or an immediate family member was a member of the United States military. Background variables include age, sex, ethnicity, political orientation, marital status, religious preference, and household income.

Throughout the period in which the United States was in an armed conflict with the Communist-led government and insurgency in Vietnam (referred to as the "Vietnam War" in the U.S. and the "Resistance War against the United States" in Vietnam), around 40 percent of the 8.7 million U.S. military service personnel were stationed in South-East Asia. Of these personnel in the theatre of war, around two percent were killed during the conflict.

This war was part of the wider Cold War of the second half of the 20th century, where the rivalry between the superpowers of the United States and Soviet Union dominated the post-World War II era. During this period the U.S. stationed much of its remaining five million service personnel outside of active conflict zones, especially in strategically important countries such as (West) Germany, South Korea, and Japan, in addition to those stationed at home.

This poll, conducted October 25-28, 2001, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, the economy, the war on terrorism, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the anthrax outbreaks, as well as their views on Congress and its handling of the anthrax outbreaks. Respondents were asked for their opinions on the direction the nation was headed, the state of the economy, the size of the federal government, whether the government wasted money, and whether they felt they could trust the federal government. A series of questions addressed the ongoing war on terrorism. Topics covered the goal of the war, whether the Bush administration had adequately explained the United States mission, and what the main goal should be, as well as whether respondents approved of the military attacks on Afghanistan. Those queried were asked whether they were confident that the United States government could capture/kill Osama bin Laden while maintaining the international alliance currently supporting their military efforts, how long they expected the attacks to last, whether this war was worth losing several thousand American troops, whether the United States should provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan, whether the military action would become more widespread, and whether those who opposed the operation should be permitted to hold protest marches and rallies. Respondent views were also sought on the political situation in the Middle East. Opinions were elicited on Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the reasons for the United States' problems in the region, whether respondents supported the establishment of a Palestinian homeland, whether their sympathies lay with Israel or the Arab nations, whether the United States had explained the war on terrorism to the Arab world, and whether Saudi Arabia was considered an ally of the United States. Regarding the anthrax attacks, respondents were asked how closely they had followed the news about the anthrax outbreaks, whether the government would be able to catch the people responsible, whether the government was sharing the right amount of information with the public, whether public health officials were right to discourage doctors from prescribing the drug Cipro unnecessarily, whether respondents were concerned about a biological/chemical attack where they lived, and whether they were confident in the government's ability to protect its citizens from such attacks. Respondents also described their reactions to the recent terrorist attacks, including whether they had experienced nervousness and/or sleeplessness, lost a substantial portion of their income and/or their job, canceled any scheduled trips, and whether they were now spending more time with family and friends. Additional questions addressed the topic of airline safety. Survey items focused on whether the federal government and the airline industry had done enough to improve airline safety and exactly who should be responsible for airport security personnel. In addition, respondents indicated whether they were rooting for the New York Yankees or the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, marital status, political party, religion, employment status, children in household, education, race, Hispanic descent, and household income.

The United States military has a long history of ethnic minorities serving in its ranks, with black Americans having served as far back as the Revolutionary War. The Vietnam War took place during a period of changing race relations in the United States, with the Civil Rights Movement reaching its peak in the mid-1960s, and this too was reflected in the military. The Vietnam War was the first major conflict in which black and white troops were not formally segregated, however, discrimination did still occur with black soldiers reporting being subject to overt racism, being unjustly punished, and having fewer promotion opportunities than their white counterparts.

In the early phases of the war, black casualty rates were much higher than for other races and ethnicities, with some reports showing that black soldiers accounted for 25 percent of the casualties recorded in 1965. This declined substantially as the war progressed, however, the proportion of black service personnel among those fallen during the war was still disproportionately high, as black personnel comprised only 11 percent of the military during this era. A smaller number of other ethnic minorities were killed during the war, comprising two percent of the total.

Afghanistan Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data was reported at 230.000 Person in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 917.000 Person for 2023. Afghanistan Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data is updated yearly, averaging 5,552.000 Person from Mar 1990 (Median) to 2024, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35,787.000 Person in 2022 and a record low of 230.000 Person in 2024. Afghanistan Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Afghanistan – Table AF.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Battle-related deaths are deaths in battle-related conflicts between warring parties in the conflict dyad (two conflict units that are parties to a conflict). Typically, battle-related deaths occur in warfare involving the armed forces of the warring parties. This includes traditional battlefield fighting, guerrilla activities, and all kinds of bombardments of military units, cities, and villages, etc. The targets are usually the military itself and its installations or state institutions and state representatives, but there is often substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in crossfire, in indiscriminate bombings, etc. All deaths--military as well as civilian--incurred in such situations, are counted as battle-related deaths.;Uppsala Conflict Data Program, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/.;Sum;

The purpose of the Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM) is to recognize and keep alive the memory of the achievements and sacrifices made by those who served Canada in the defence of freedom and so have contributed to the development of Canada as a nation.

The virtual memorial also contains images of individual Canadians and their experiences. You are invited to send us digital images of photographs and memorabilia relevant to Canada's war dead.

The names found in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial are those found in the Books of Remembrance. They contain the names of Canadians who fought in wars and died either during or after them. Together, they commemorate the lives of more than 118,000 Canadians who, since Confederation, have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country in uniform.

This special topic poll, conducted September 13, 2001, was undertaken to assess respondents' reactions to and feelings about the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers in New York City, damaged the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and resulted in a plane crash in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency and the terrorist attacks. Respondents were asked whether they believed that the United States government did all it reasonably could do to try to prevent the attacks, and whether they were confident in the ability of the United States government to prevent future terrorist attacks against America. Assuming that the United States is able to identify the groups and/or nations responsible for the attacks, those queried were asked whether they would support taking military action in response. Respondents were asked whether they would feel the same way if military action meant that innocent civilians in other countries might be injured or killed and if military action resulted in a long war with large numbers of troops injured or killed. Those queried were asked whether they believed that the United States would go to war as a result of Tuesday's attacks. Respondents' opinions were elicited on Osama bin Laden, a suspect in the recent attacks, who reportedly lived in Afghanistan and was indicted for directing previous terrorist attacks. They were asked whether they would support attacking Afghanistan militarily if Afghanistan did not turn bin Laden over to the United States. Respondents were also asked whether they would support new laws that would make it easier for the FBI and other authorities to investigate suspected terrorists, giving up some of their personal liberties and privacy as a result of such laws, and whether they would support new airport security measures that might cause long delays in air travel. Those surveyed were asked about their personal safety concerns regarding upcoming air travel and whether they had cancelled or were planning to cancel future travel plans. Additional topics covered whether the attacks had made respondents more suspicious of people of Arab descent, how their children were reacting to the acts of terrorism, and whether the economy was heading into a recession. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, children in household, and frequency of air travel.

Between 2003 and 2024, the annual number of civilian deaths due to the Iraq war has fluctuated significantly. As of July, there were 210 deaths in 2024. Civilian Deaths in the Iraq WarCivilian casualties are the deaths of non-military individuals as a result of military operations. The number of documented civilian deaths in the Iraq war peaked in 2006 at 29,526 casualties. Since then, the number had fallen to 4,162 casualties documented in the year 2011, and the number of casualties has been decreasing again since 2014. Due to the nature of the Iraq war and of war reporting, data cannot be considered exact. Many civilian deaths that occurred during the war in Iraq may remain unaccounted for. The Iraq war was launched in March 2003 upon the invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces. Eight years later, in December 2011, the U.S. formally declared an end to the Iraq war. From the start of the war in 2003 until September 30, 2015, it is estimated that the United States spent a total of over 819 billion US dollars on war costs in Iraq. This number includes funding requested by the President and appropriated by Congress, and accounts for both military and non-military spending. Spending was highest in 2008, that year over 142 billion US dollars were spent in Iraq by the United States government. As of 2022, around 6,561 U.S. active-duty military personnel were deployed in North Africa, the Near East, and South Asia. The number of US American soldiers killed in Iraq peaked in 2007 with just over nine hundred causalities. In the same year, there were over 25,000 civilian deaths in Iraq.