More men and women served in World War II than in any other war in American history, and the numbers speak of the huge sacrifice they made. There were 16,112,566 U.S. serviceman in World War II. Of that number, 670,846 were wounded, and 405,399 gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for our freedom.
Every day, we lose more and more of our surviving World War II veterans, with less than 2,000,000 alive today. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that by 2036 there will no longer be any living veterans from World War II. The last World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, died in 2011.
During this month of Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, show thanks to the veterans you know. My husband’s stepfather is a veteran from the Vietnam War. It means so much to him when someone stops to say thank you or pays for a meal. We have much to be thankful for this holiday season. Be sure to show it to the veterans from all American conflicts in your life!