By the Numbers - June 12, 2017

By the Numbers - June 12, 2017

82,708

The number of Americans "missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the Iraq and other conflicts," according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) -- American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics. The Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Accounting Agency has a list of those who have been “Recently Accounted For."

This CRS report is a comprehensive roundup of U.S. war casualty statistics.

It includes data tables containing the number of casualties among American military personnel who served in principal wars and combat operations from 1775 to the present. It also includes data on those wounded in action and information such as race and ethnicity, gender, branch of service, and cause of death. The tables are compiled from various Department of Defense (DOD) sources. 

Wars covered include the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Military operations covered include the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission; Lebanon Peacekeeping; Urgent Fury in Grenada; Just Cause in Panama; Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Restore Hope in Somalia; Uphold Democracy in Haiti; Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Operation New Dawn (OND); Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR); and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS). 

Starting with the Korean War and the more recent conflicts, this report includes additional detailed information on types of casualties and, when available, demographics. It also cites a number of resources for further information, including sources of historical statistics on active duty military deaths, published lists of military personnel killed in combat actions, data on demographic indicators among U.S. military personnel, related websites, and relevant Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports.

The Congressional Research Service, which is part of the Library of Congress, does not make its reports directly available to the public. But several organizations collect these and place them online for public access; a comprehensive, regularly updated collection is available via the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.