US Military Operations: Casualty Breakdown
PRINCIPAL WARS IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES PARTICIPATED
U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL SERVING AND CASUALTIES A/
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CASUALTIES
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BRANCH OF NUMBER BATTLE OTHER WOUNDS NOT
WAR/CONFLICT SERVICE SERVING DEATHS DEATHS MORTAL B/
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR TOTAL - C/ 4,435 - 6,188
1775-1783 ARMY - 4,044 - 6,004
NAVY - 342 - 114
MARINES - 49 - 70
WAR OF 1812 TOTAL 286,730 D/ 2,260 - 4,505
1812-1815 ARMY - 1,950 - 4,000
NAVY - 265 - 439
MARINES - 45 - 66
MEXICAN WAR TOTAL 78,718 D/ 1,733 11,550 4,152
1846-1848 ARMY - 1,721 11,550 4,102
NAVY - 1 - 3
MARINES - 11 - 47
CIVIL WAR (UNION FORCES ONLY) TOTAL 2,213,363 140,414 224,097 281,881
1861-1865 E/ ARMY 2,128,948 D/ 138,154 221,374 280,040
NAVY - 2,112 2,411 1,710
MARINES 84,415 148 312 131
SPANISH - AMERICAN WAR TOTAL 306,760 385 2,061 1,662
ARMY F/ 280,564 369 2,061 1,594
NAVY 22,875 10 - 47
MARINES 3,321 6 - 21
WORLD WAR I TOTAL 4,734,991 53,402 63,114 204,002
1917-1918 ARMY G/ 4,057,101 50,510 55,868 193,663
NAVY 599,051 431 6,856 819
MARINES 78,839 2,461 390 9,520
WORLD WAR II TOTAL 16,112,566 291,557 113,842 671,846
1941-1946 H/ ARMY I/ 11,260,000 234,874 83,400 565,861
NAVY J/ 4,183,466 36,950 25,664 37,778
MARINES 669,100 19,733 4,778 68,207
KOREAN CONFLICT TOTAL 5,720,000 33,651 3,262 103,284
1950-1953 K/ ARMY 2,834,000 27,709 2,452 L/ 77,596
NAVY 1,177,000 475 173 1,576
MARINES 424,000 4,269 339 23,744
AIR FORC 1,285,000 1,198 298 368
VIETNAM CONFLICT TOTAL 8,744,000 47,378 10,799 153,303
1964-1973 M/ ARMY 4,368,000 30,922 7,273 96,802
NAVY 1,842,000 1,631 931 4,178
MARINES 794,000 13,084 1,753 51,392
AIR FORCE 1,740,000 1,741 842 931
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND NOTES
A. Data prior to World War I are based on incomplete records in many cases. Casualty data are confined to dead and wounded and, therefore, exclude personnel captured or missing in action who were subsequently returned to military control.
B. Marine Corps data for World War II, the Spanish-American War, and prior wars represent the number of individuals wounded, whereas all other data in this column represent the total number (incidence) of wounds.
C. Not known, but estimates range from 184,000 to 250,000.
D. As reported by the Commissioner of Pensions in his annual report for fiscal year 1903.
E. Authoritative statistics for the Confederate forces are not available. Estimates of the number who served range from 600,000 to 1,500,000. The final report of the Provost Marshal General, 1863-1866, indicated 133,821 Confederate deaths (74,524 battle and 59,297 other) based upon incomplete returns. In addition, an estimated 26,000 to 31,000 Confederate personnel died in Union prisons.
F. Number serving covers the period April 21 to August 13, 1898, while dead and wounded data are for the period May 1 to August 31, 1898. Active hostilities ceased on August 13, 1898, but ratifications of the Treaty of Peace were not exchanged between the United States and Spain until April 11, 1899.
G. Includes air service. Battle deaths and wounds not mortal include casualties suffered by American forces in northern Russia to August 25, 1919, and in Siberia to April 1, 1920. Other deaths cover the period April 1, 1917, to December 31, 1918.
H. Data are for the period December 1, 1941, through December 31, 1946, when hostilities were officially terminated by Presidential Proclamation, but a few battle deaths or wounds not mortal were incurred after the Japanese acceptance of the Allied peace terms on August 14, 1945. Number serving from December 1, 1941, through August 31, 1945, were: Total - 14,903,213; Army - 10,420,000; Navy - 3,883,520; and Marine Corps - 599,693.
I. Includes Army air forces.
J. Battle deaths and wounds not mortal include casualties incurred in October 1941 due to hostile action.
K. Tentative final data based on information available as of September 30, 1954, at which time 24 persons were still carried as missing in action.
L. As reported in "Battle Casualties and Medical Statistics: U.S. Army Experience in the Korean War" by Frank Reister, published by the Surgeon General of the Department of the Army in 1973. This figure represents nonbattle admissions in Korea and includes deaths resulting from injuries, suicides, homicides, and disease.
M. Number serving covers the period August 4, 1964, through January 27, 1973, (date of cease-fire). Wounds not mortal exclude 150,332 persons not requiring hospital care. Known status of casualties is as of September 30, 1995.
WORLDWIDE U.S. ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY DEATHS
SELECTED MILITARY OPERATIONS
MILITARY OPERATION/INCIDENT CASUALTY TYPE ARMY NAVY AIR FORCE MARINE CORPS TOTAL
IRANIAN HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION NONHOSTILE 0 0 5 3 8
APRIL 25, 1980
LEBANON PEACEKEEPING, AUGUST 25, 1982 - HOSTILE 3 19 0 234 256
FEBRUARY 26, 1984 * NONHOSTILE 5 2 0 2 9
TOTAL 8 21 0 236 265
URGENT FURY, GRENADA, 1983 HOSTILE 11 4 0 3 18
NONHOSTILE 1 0 0 0 1
TOTAL 12 4 0 3 19
JUST CAUSE, PANAMA, 1989 HOSTILE 18 4 0 1 23
PERSIAN GULF WAR, 1990 - 1991
DESERT SHIELD NONHOSTILE 21 36 9 18 84
DESERT STORM HOSTILE 98 6 20 24 148
NONHOSTILE 105 14 6 26 151
TOTAL 203 20 26 50 299
DESERT SHIELD/STORM TOTAL 224 56 35 68 383
RESTORE HOPE/UNOSOM, SOMALIA, 1992 - 1994 HOSTILE 27 0 0 2 29
NONHOSTILE 4 0 8 2 14
TOTAL 31 0 8 4 43
UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, HAITI, 1994 - 1996 NONHOSTILE 3 0 0 1 4
* PLACE OF CASUALTY, LEBANON
Total US Military Casualties by Operation
| Killed in Action / Died of Wounds |
Wounded in Action | Prisoner of War | Total | |
| Dominican Republic, 1965-1966 | 27 | 172 | 0 | 199 |
| Korean DMZ, 1966-1969 | 43 | 111 | 3 | 157 |
| Israeli Attack on Liberty, 1967 | 33 | 170 | 0 | 203 |
| Mayaguez Rescue, 1975 | 18 | 50 | 0 | 68 |
| El Salvador, 1979-1992 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Iranian Hostage Rescue Attempt, 1980 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
| Lebanon, 1982-1984 | 260 | 159 | 1 | 420 |
| Grenada, 1983 | 19 | 119 | 0 | 138 |
| Libya Bombing Mission, 1986 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Persian Gulf Tanker Escorting, 1987-1988 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 12 |
| Panama | 23 | 320 | 0 | 343 |
| Persian Gulf War, 1991 | 147 | 458 | 23 | 628 |
| Somalia, 1992-1994 | 29 | 153 | 1 | 183 |
| TOTAL | 617 | 1,730 | 28 | 2,375 |
Analysis of all deaths among active duty military, including activated members of the reserve components, between 1 August 1990 and 31 July 1991 reported to the DoD Worldwide Casualty System. Worldwide there were 1769 deaths among active duty military. 372 deaths occurred among servicemembers in the Gulf region. 147 occurred as the direct result of combat, 194 resulted from injuries not incurred in battle, and 30 resulted from illness. Of the 30 illness deaths, none was from cancer, 1 was from infectious disease, 2 were from cardiovascular causes, 21were initially described as unexpected/undefined, and 6 others died from miscellaneous causes. Of the 21unexpected deaths, autopsies were performed on 18 of the deceased. Findings at autopsy were: 13 had serious heart disease; 1 had pulmonary embolism from venous thrombosis in the leg; 1 died of ethanol toxicity and aspiration pneumonia; 1 from unintentional drug overdose; 1from gangrene of the bowel due to mesenteric volvulus; and, 1from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. There was no excess risk for unexpected /undefined death among the deployed. Deaths from unintentional injury among the deployed exceeded the number expected based upon rates that obtained for the non- deployed. Limitations of this study: The databases used are not intended for use in medical research; the accuracy of the personnel data to determine who deployed had not been validated; there was some imprecision in the dates of deployment for many of the servicemembers.
Analysis of deaths among U.S. military personnel during the period of hostilities (17 Jan - 28 Feb 91) of the Persian Gulf War is based upon information from the Department of Defense's Worldwide Casualty System. Two hundred and nineteen personnel died, including 7 women. 154 (6 women) were killed in battle and 65 died as a result of non-battle causes. The author categorizes the deaths by service, gender, race, age, geographic location, and occupational specialty. Battle deaths included 35 from friendly fire and 28 from the SCUD missile which struck Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Rates of both battle and non-battle deaths were highest among the Marine Corps but the Army accounted for the majority of deaths in both categories (58% and 71%, respectively). The causes of the 65 non-battle deaths included accidental injuries (55), illness (6), suicide (2), and homicide (1). Rates for both battle and non-battle deaths were by far the lowest of any U.S. conflict in this century.
Sources:
- PRINCIPAL WARS IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES PARTICIPATED - U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL SERVING AND CASUALTIES
- U.S. ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY DEATHS SELECTED MILITARY OPERATIONS
- U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel killed and wounded in wars, conflicts and incidents with hostile forces 1775-present
- Robert L. Goldich and John C. Schaefer, U.S. Military Operations, 1965-1994 (Not Including Vietnam): Data on Casualties, Decorations, and Personnel Involved (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1994)
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