The Wars of the United States-- Part 3: Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan

**  GULF WAR  (1990-1991)

In January 1990, the United States and its Allies launched Operation Desert Storm, a ground assault to liberate Kuwait which had been occupied the year before by Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein.  The war itself did not last very long.

In this conflict, 2,322,000 Americans served.

There were 1,948 deaths and 467 wounded.

**  IRAQ WAR (2003-2011)

This led to a lengthy engagement, first with soldiers loyal to Hussein and then with various insurgent factions.

During the war, 4,431 Americans died.

******************************************

**  AFGHANISTAN WAR  (2001-2021)

The United States and its Allies launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001, with the aim of overthrowing the Taliban, believed to be protecting members of the al Qaeda terrorist group responsible for 9/11.

U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, and within hours the Taliban had taken back the country.

The U.S. was there for 19 years and ten months.

2,442 Americans died.

--DaCoot

These Are the Wars the U.S. Has Fought-- Part 2: The World Wars, Korea and Vietnam

**  WORLD WAR I (1917-1918)

The U.S. declared war on Germany April 6, 1917.

A total of 4,734,991 Americans served.     There were 116,516 killed and 204,002 wounded.

**  WORLD WAR II   (1941-1945)

16,112,566 Americans were called into service.  

405,339 were killed and 670,846 wounded.

******************************

**  KOREAN WAR   (1950-1953)

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) versus the Democratic  People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).  The United States and United Nations countries supported South Korea and China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea.

The war ended with an armistice that persists to this day.

5,720,000 Americans fought.

54,246 died and 103,284 were wounded.

**  VIETNAM WAR  (1955-1975)

There is some discussion as to when the war began for the United States.

It was North Vietnam (Communists) versus South Vietnam supported by the United States.

It really picked up for the U.S. after what was called the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

In this war, 8,744,000 served and 90,220 died and 153,303 were wounded.

--Cooter

Buckeye Presidents-- Part 1: Easter Egg Roll and the War Room

From the October 9, 2019, Chicago Tribune "Eyeing a Time Buckeye State bred presidents" by Julie Carr Smyth, AP.

Commanders in chief who hail from Ohio star in exhibit.

Lancaster, Ohio

Ohio had a formidable run of early U.S. presidents who established many of the White House's enduring traditions from the frolicsome Easter Egg Roll to the presidential war room.

This is explored in a new exhibit in Lancaster, about 30 miles southeast of Columbus in the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio.  The exhibit is called "The Ohio Presidents Surprising Legacies" which opened in September and ran until the end of the year.  Sorry, you missed it.

The exhibit showcases a roughly 80-year period beginning in 1840.

"We are highlighting some of the things about their lives and careers that are not typically known by the general public," said curator Christine Fowler Sherarer.  "We've tried to find the fun facts and things that aren't common knowledge."

--CootEye

Remembering the Fallen: Jerry Corp, Vietnam War

This was not written yesterday I was just getting home from Indianapolis.

From the May 27, 2019, Chicago Sun-Times "Memorial Day is to the fallen" by Neil Steinberg.

"The Jerry Corp Memorial Highway is not long.  A section of U.S. Highway 160, it runs 2 1/2 miles through Ozark County, Missouri, 250 miles southwest of St. Louis.

"A green highway sign flashes by, the name registers and some drivers may feel a passing curiosity:  Does anybody remember Jerry Corp?"

"Tom Dier remembers him.

""We weren't really close or anything like that, said Dier, 70.  "He wasn't in my platoon."

"A mortar platoon in Company C, First Battalion, 52nd Infantry.  Corp was a radioman attached to the command post in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam."

" 'We got to know each other that way,' said Nier, who grew up in Nortbrook and has returned home to speak at the northwest suburb's Memorial Day commemoration after the parade Monday.  'You didn't really get close to people too much.' "

This will be continued on my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog and will finish in my Down da Road I Go blog of this date.

By the Numbers: U.S. War Veterans-- Part 1: American Revolution and War of 1812

From the June 5, 2013, CNN U.S..

There are still 1.7 million Americans alive today who served in World War II  But, hundreds are dying every day.  The VA estimates that by 2036 there will be none alive.

The last American veteran of World War I was frank Buckles who died in February 2011.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1775-1783)

Service: 184,000 to 250,000 estimated
Deaths:  4,435, Wounded: 6,188
Last veteran: Daniel F. Bakeman, died 1869 at age 104.

WAR OF 1812  (1812-1815)
Service: 286,730
Casualties:  Dead 2,260, Wounded: 4,505
Last veteran:  Hiram Cronk, died 1905 at age

Freedom Isn't Cheap.  --Cooter

Our McHenry Vietnam Deaths

Vietnam casualties on Find the Best site.

McHenry, Illinois.

GLENN PHILLIP DAVIS, Age 22.  Died May 13, 1868. Corporal USMC.  Vietnam Wall:  Panel 59E, Row 020.

JOHN EDWARD GRANATH, Age 20.  Died May 6, 1970, Corporal U.S. Army.  Vietnam Wall: Panel 11 W, Row 111.

CARTER JOHN FREUND, 23, died Feb. 28, 1969, Corporal U.S. Army.  Vietnam Wall: Panel 31 W Row 092.

Did You Know?

From the July 21, 2009, List Universe (Listserve).

** In the last 3,500 years of mankind, there have only been 230 with no wars.

** The model for Uncle Sam on the famous 1917 "I Want You" poster was the face of its painter James Montgomery Flagg who aged his face and added the goatee. He did this so he wouldn't have to look for a model (or pay one).

** There was no U.S. Medal of Honor until 1862, when President Lincoln signed it into law.

** Income taxes were repealed in 1865 because the government did not need the revenue. The major sources of federal income came from tobacco and alcohol at the time. So, there were sin taxes all the way back then.

The Tax Man Neareth. --Cooter

A Short History of US Wars-- Part 3

From the Jan. 6, 2011, Chicago Tribune



VIETNAM WAR-- (Began August 1964)-- After a US warship was allegedly attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, President Johnson ordered air strikes. US troops arrived in South Vietnam the following year. After peace talks failed in 1968, the US began to withdraw, with the last ground troops leaving in 1973. The war sharply divided America.


PERSIAN GULF WAR-- (Began Jan. 17, 1991)-- Iraq invaded Kuwait the previous year, causing a US-led coalition to threaten Iraq if it did not leave. When it did not, the coalition pushed the Iraqi military out of Kuwait and bombed the infrastructure throughout Iraq, which ultimately led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. The operation lasted until Feb. 28.


THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN-- (Began Oct. 7, 2001)-- After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the US demanded that Afghanistans's ruling Taliban arrest members of al-Qaida, which the US blamed for the attacks. When the Taliban refused, US and British troops launched an invasion, culminating in the removal of the Taliban and the installation of a US-friendly government. Conflict between Taliban insurgents and US and coalition forces has continued.

The public initially supported the invasion but has since soured on the operation and its increasing cost to taxpayers.


THE WAR IN IRAQ-- (Began March 20, 2003)-- After President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2002 repeatedly accused Iraq of continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction and plotting with terrorists against the US and its allies, the US launched an invasion. US combat operations ended in August.

Detractors say that the real reason for the invasion had more to do with Bush's interest in obtaining oil-drilling contracts for US firms. Public support for the war was initially high, but it declined as US casualties continued to mount and evidence of the mass destruction weapons never surfaced.

So, Now You Know About the US Wars. --Cooter

Short History of US Wars-- Part 2

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR-- Declared war April 25, 18980-- Fought on water and land mainly for the control of Cuba, this war began shortly after a US battleship exploded near Havana, with tension already high between the US and Spain. Eventually, after the Spanish surrendered, the US gained control over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.


WORLD WAR I-- (US entered April 6, 1917)-- A note from Germany encouraging Mexico to attack America helped persuade President Wilson to enter the 3-year-old war. Europe was split into the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and others) and the Allies (Britain, France, Russia and others) and fighting began in 1914.


WORLD WAR II-- (Declared war December 8, 1941)-- The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the US into the war. Countries were divided into the Axis (primarily Germany, Italy and Japan) and the Allies (primarily Britain, the US, Soviet Union and China). Fighting occurred largely in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.


KOREAN WAR-- (Began June 25, 1950)-- Following an invasion by Communist North Korean troops into South Korea, 16 UN members, led primarily by the US, sent troops and supplies. After millions of casualties, an armistice was signed in 1953 and a Demilitarized Zone was created, dividing the two Koreas. The US still maintains a force in South Korea.

A Nice Summary. --Cooter

Short History of US Wars-- Part 1

From the Jan. 6, 2011, Chicago Tribune.

Along with the other stuff about US wars that I have had earlier this month, the Tribune also gave a short history of US Wars which is useful.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION: (Began April 19, 1775) Tension built between Britain and its 13 colonies in the 1770s as the British government cracked down on laws and taxes. The Americans won key battles, allied with France and eventually won independence.

WAR OF 1812: (War declared June 18, 1812) The cause of this war centered on control of shipping, and there was a large group, both citizens and members of Congress, opposed from the start. A peace treaty signed in 1814 called for everything to be exactly as it was before the war.


MEXICAN WAR: (War declared May 13, 1846) This war was fought for territory, and by the end, the United States gained more than 525,000 square miles in what is now parts of California, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona. The war had its roots in fighting for control over Texas.

CIVIL WAR: (Began April 12, 1861) Before the Civil War, the nation was made up of 19 free states and 15 where slavery was allowed, the conflict at the root of the war. The war began when Southern troops attacker Fort Sumter in South Carolina and ended, essentially, with Lee's Confederate surrender in Virginia. More died from disease than combat.

Short and To the Point. --DaCoot

Tallying the Costs of America's Wars-- Part 4

VIETNAM WAR (1964-1973)

COST: $738 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 8,744,000
BATTLE DEATHS: 47,434


PERSIAN GULF WAR (1991)

COST: $102 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 2,322,000
BATTLE DEATHS: 148


AFGHANISTAN/OTHER (2001 TO PRESENT)

COSTS: $321 billion


IRAQ (2003-2010)

COSTS: $784 billion


COMBINED IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SERVICE MEMBERS: 2.142,719
COMBINED BATTLE DEATHS: 5,859

Even One Battle Death is TOO MANY!

Tallying the Costs of America's Wars-- Part 3

From the January 6, 2011, Chicago Tribune.

WORLD WAR I (1917-1918)

COST: $334 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 4,734,991
BATTLE DEATHS: 53,402

WORLD WAR II (1941-1945)

COST: $4.1 trillion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 16,112,566
BATTLE DEATHS: 291,557


KOREAN WAR (1950-1953)

COST: $341 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 5,720,000
BATTLE DEATHS: 33,739

Just Gets More and More Expensive. --DaCoot

Tallying the Cost of America's Wars-- Part 2

CIVIL WAR: CONFEDERACY (1861-1865)

COST: $20.1 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 1,050,000
BATTLE DEATHS: 74,524


CIVIL WAR: UNION (1861-1865)

COST: $59.6 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 2,213,363
BATTLE DEATHS: 140,414


SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR (1898)

COST: $9 billion
TOTAL SERVICE MEMBERS: 306,760
BATTLE DEATHS: 385

Too Many Lives, Too Much Money. --Cooter

Tallying the Cost of America's Wars-- Part 1

AMERICAN REVOLUTION-- (1775-1783)

COST: $2.4 BILLION
TOTAL IN SERVICE: 217,000
BATTLE DEATHS: 4,435


WAR OF 1812-- (1812-1815)

COST: $1.6 billion
TOTAL IN SERVICE: 286,730
BATTLE DEATHS: 2,260


MEXICAN WAR-- (1846-1848)

COST: $2.4 billion
TOTAL IN SERVICE: 78,718
BATTLE DEATHS: 1,733

More Wars to Come. --Cooter

The Costs of America's Wars-- Part 2

MOST EXPENSIVE:

In today's money I presume.

World War II-- $4.1 trillion
Afghanistan/Iraq-- 1.1 trillion
Vietnam War-- $738 billion
Korean War-- $341 billion
World War I-- $334 billion

Rough On Lives, Rough on the Old Purse. --DaCoot

The Costs of America's Wars-- Part 1

From the Jan. 6, 2011 Chicago Tribune "Tallying the cost of war: How the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq compare with other American wars in human and financial terms."

Last summer, the conflict in Afghanistan became the longest war in US history.


WARS IN WHICH THE MOST US TROOPS SERVED:

World War II-- 16.1 million
Vietnam-- 8.7 million
Korean War-- 5.7 million
World War I-- 4.7 million
Civil War-- 3.3 million

Afghanistan/Iraq 2,142,719


WARS WITH MOST BATTLE DEATHS:

World War II-- 291,557
Civil War-- 214,938 (both Union and Confederate)
World War I-- 53,402
Vietnam War-- 47,434
Korean War-- 33,739

Afghanistan/Iraq-- 5,859

More to Come. --Cooter