The dead and wounded in the events of September 11, 2001 are apt to range over ten thousand. There are already on Thursday, September 13, 2001 over 4700 reports of missing persons. By comparison, New York State armed forces personnel suffered 4121 deaths in the whole Vietnam War.(1) In 1966 and 1970 total American deaths in Vietnam were over 6000; there were 11,000 to 16,000 annual deaths in the years in between.

American soldiers died faster in the great battles of World War Two. In the original "date which live infamy", "only" 2,388 soldiers and sailors were killed in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.(2) Almost 7 thousand Americans were killed at Iwo Jima (6825), over a period of 36 days.(3)

New York State soldiers, sailors and airmen suffered 1,564 killed during the three years of the Korean War, out of 33,741 U.S. fatalities in that conflict.(4) At the Battle of Belleau Woods, in 1918, the U.S. Marines fought gallantly, stopping the last German offensive of that war, and taking 55% casualties. These included 1,062 killed and 3,615 wounded.(5)

Another comparison may be to the largest battle of the American Civil War. In three days of fighting in the most lethal engagement of the Civil War, 3,155 Union soldiers were killed at Gettysburg.(6) The total war dead of the Revolutionary War was 4,435.(7)

1. http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic/vnstat.html#state, at the National Archives and Records Administration, Center for Electronic Records

2. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/18arizona/18charts1.htm: Pearl Harbor Casualties, December 7, 1941 (USS Arizona Memorial, National Park Service)

3. http://www.iwojima.com/battle/battled.htm: Iwo Jima.com

4. See http://web1.whs.osd.mil/mmid/CASUALTY/STATE-CASUALTY.PDF, and http://web1.whs.osd.mil/mmid/CASUALTY/KOREA.xls: Military Casualty Information (U.S. Department of Defense)

5. http://www.navy.mil/homepages/lha3/battle.html: "The Battle Of Belleau Wood", USS Belleau Wood.

6. Military History Online: http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/gettysburg/day3/getty4.asp

7. http://web1.whs.osd.mil/mmid/casualty/SMS223R.pdf : Military Casualty Information (U.S. Department of Defense)

Robert J.S. Ross, Ph.D
Professor of Sociology
Director, International Studies Stream
Clark University
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
508 793 7376
fax: 508 793 8816
http://Www.clarku.edu/~rross
Rjsross@clarku.edu