Faces of the fallen: U.S. deaths in Iraq near 4,000

[babylonsister]

Faces of the fallen: U.S. deaths in Iraq near 4,000



By Rick Hampson and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY

One in six were too young to buy a beer. About two dozen were old enough for an AARP card. Eleven died on Thanksgiving Day, 11 on Christmas, and at least five on their birthdays. One percent were named Smith.

As the nation approaches its 4,000th Iraq war fatality — on Thursday the toll stood at 3,983 servicemembers plus eight Defense Department civilians — a USA TODAY analysis shows who gave their lives, where they came from and how they fell:

• Ninety-eight percent were male (compared with 99.9% of those lost in Vietnam). Three-quarters were non-Hispanic white (compared with 86% in Vietnam). The most common age was 21 (20 in Vietnam).

• Nine percent were officers, including 24 lieutenant colonels and six colonels.

• More of the fallen were based at Fort Hood in Texas than at any other military installation.

• New York City, which has lost 62 residents, had more deaths than any other hometown.

• More than half of the nearly 4,000 (52%) were killed by bombs, 16% by enemy gunfire. Five percent died in aircraft crashes. Fifty-five people drowned, and 15 were electrocuted. Almost one in five died from what the military terms "non-hostile" causes.

• Since the war began in March 2003, the Pentagon has reported double-digit U.S. fatalities on 35 days. The bloodiest was Jan. 26, 2005, when a Marine helicopter crashed in a sandstorm, killing all 31 aboard, and six other servicemembers died in combat. The bloodiest month was November 2004, when 137 died; the least bloody was February 2004, when 21 were lost. On 460 days of the war, no servicemember died.

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-20-iraq-4000-deaths_N.htm?csp=34

[barbtries]

1. if this was on the front page of every paper, every day,

if every newscast, every day, began with the death toll and some information about these murder victims, the war could end.

again and again i come back to vietnam. i will try to research it. but my understanding has been that popular opinion did not turn against that war - that WRONG war - until 30,000 americans had died there. i don't want to live to see such a toll exacted in this WRONG war. one was too many, 4,000 makes my heart feel so heavy i don't want to move. and there is no end in sight.

peace

[Vickers]

2. Dick Cheney: "So?"

:mad:

[tuckessee]

3. They haven't "fallen".

As Pat Tillman's brother Rich would say, "They're just f*cking dead."

http://uncivillitigator.blogspot.com/2004/05/rich-tillman-on-pat-tillman.html

[babylonsister]

4. Yup, and for what? nt

[JohnnyLib2]

5. Recommended, with great sadness.

And anger.

[Peace Teacher]

6. God help the families of our fallen.

[Summer93]

7. Another aspect is suicides

The other day I saw a statistic (senior moment on the numbers) and I was surprised that so many both people serving in this WRONG occupation and those who have come home are committing suicide. Of course, we don't hear of these numbers because .....

They lost their lives as a direct cause of being in a war zone.

I think the number was higher than 2000. Does somebody have it handy?

[babylonsister]

8. Here's the article about suicide you might have read...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/20/cbsnews_investigates/main3956210.shtml

Now, CBS News has obtained never-before seen patient data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, detailing the growing number of suicide attempts among vets recently treated by the VA.

The data reveals a marked overall increase - from 462 attempts in 2000 to 790 in 2007.

"This is highly statistically significant," said Dr. Bruce Levin, head of the biostatistics department at Columbia University. Levin is one of three experts who analyzed the data for CBS News.

"I'd characterize it as something that deserves further attention," Levin said. "Overall the data suggests about a 44 percent increase and that is not due to chance."

According to the experts, two age groups stood out between 2000 and 2007. First, ages 20-24 - those likely to have served during the Iraq-Afghan wars. Suicide attempts rose from 11 to 47.

And for vets ages 55 to 59, suicide attempts jumped from 19 to 117.

In both age groups, the attempted suicides grew at a rate much faster than the VA patient population as a whole.