Ladies and Gentlemen,
Memorial Day isn’t
just
a day for parades and fun and festivities. It’s a day to remember those who have
died while defending our Stars and Stripes.
Before Memorial Day became the day to compare notes about beach traffic, to open
the pool, to catch the first summer sales, it was the day to remember those who
died while in the nation's service. It was originally called
Decoration
Day.
And while the origins of customs like this are always disputed, it seems pretty
clear that the custom of setting aside a day to honor the nation's war dead
started in the 1860s, around the time of the Civil War.
Maybe the families started it. Maybe it was those once-removed, who wanted to
find a way to show their respect and gratitude for the sacrifice made by the few
for the sake of the many. Interesting that this day of commemoration is rooted
in a time of such division. Even now there is the inevitable tension and
distance between the two meanings of the day: on the one hand, those who just
want and need a day to relax, and those who want and need a day to mourn.
There's a human need for both – for refreshment and celebration, for pause and
remembrance.
But it seems fitting that those who are not carrying the burden of grief should
pause to remember those who do.
So, to the men and women who are serving around the world, to the families who
support them, I thank you.
The real meaning of Memorial Day is to remember those who have paid the ultimate
price in defense of their country.
As normal, I'm going to give you some Intel:
The following is a listing of US casualties in the various conflicts that have
been a part of the country's history. The numbers reflect only reported war
deaths and exclude those wounded and/or missing. The Civil War still maintains
the highest American casualty total of any conflict. Interesting to note the
staggering number of losses in World War 2 when compared to that of World War 1
- the former being the so-called "War to End All Wars". Then there's the
"Forgotten War" in Korea - this nickname despite the near-37,000 reported
casualties in the conflict.
In it's first 100 years of existence, over 683,000 Americans lost their lives,
with the Civil War accounting for 623,026 of that total 91.2%. Comparatively,
in the next 100 years, a further 626,000 Americans died through two grand World
Wars and several more localized conflicts World War 2 representing 65% of that
total. Using this comparison, the Civil War might very well be the most
important war that America has ever fought.
To date, over 1,322,046 Americans have died when answering The Call at all four
corners of the world.
CONFLICT
SPAN
TOTALS
Revolutionary War
1775-1783
25,000
Northwest Indian War
1785-1795
~1,056
Quasi-War
1798-1800
512
Barbary Wars
1801-1815
35
Other actions against pirates
1800-1900
194
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
1807
3
War of 1812
1812-1815
20,000
Marquesas Expedition
1813-1814
4
Second Barbary War
1815
4
1st Seminole War
1817-1818
36
First Sumatran Expedition
1832
2
Black Hawk War
1832
305
2nd Seminole War
1835-1842
1,535
Mexican-American War
1846-1848
13,283
Cayuse War
1847-1856
41
Rogue River Wars
1851-1856
196
Yakima War
1855-1856
34
3rd
Seminole War
1855-1858
26
Coeru d'Alene War
1858
36
Civil War
1861-1865
~625,000
Dakota
War of 1862
1862
70-113
Shimonoseki Straits
1863
4-5
Snake
Indian War
1864-1868
30
Indian
Wars
1865-1898
919
Red
Cloud's War
1866-1868
126
Korea Shinmiyangyo
1871
3
Modoc War
1872-1873
56
Great Sioux War
1875-1877
314
Nez Perce War
1877
134
Bannock War
1878
12
Ute War
1879
15
Sheepeater Indian War
1879
1
Samoan Crisis
1887-1889
62
Ghost Dance War
1890-1891
35
Sugar Point Pillager Band of Chippewa
1898
7
Spanish-American War
1898
2,446
Philippine War
1898-1902
4,196
Boxer Rebellion
1900-1901
131
Santo Domingo Affair
1904
1
Mexican Revolution
1914-1919
35
Haiti Occupation
1915-1934
148
World War 1
1917-1918
116,708
North Russia Campaign
1918-1920
424
American Exp. Force Siberia
1918-1920
328
Nicaragua Occupation
1927-1933
48
World War 2
1941-1945
407,316
Greek Civil War
1944-1949
6
Chinese Civil War
1945-1950
164
Berlin Blockade
1947-1991
32
USSR Cold War
1948-1949
31
China Cold War
1950-1972
16
Korean War
1950-1953
36,914
1958 Lebanon Crisis
1958
6
Bay of Pigs Invasion
1961
4
Vietnam War
1964-1975
58,209
Dominican Republic
1965-1966
47
USS Liberty incident
1967
34
Iran
1980
8
El Salvador
1980-1992
37
Beirut
1982-1984
266
Invasion of
Grenada
1983
19
1986 Bombing of Libya
1986
2
Persian Gulf Support
1987-1988
39
Invasion of Panama
1989
40
Persian Gulf War
1991
269
Operation Provide Comfort
1991-1996
19
Somalia
1992-1993
43
Haiti
1994-1995
4
Colombia
1994-Present
8
Bosnia-Herzegovina
1995
12
NATO Air Campaign
Yugoslavia
1999
20
Afghanistan
2001-Present
1,893
Iraqi
2003-Present
4,501