Posted on 09/07/2004 5:27:17 PM PDT by XRdsRev
Much has been said and written today about the fact that we have reached a dubious milestone (1000 US dead) in the Iraq War. The deaths of so many American service personnel has energized anti-war activists and pundits and again we are hearing the words like quagmire and bloodbath bandied about carelessly. While I do not intend to demean the bravery and sacrifice of US soldiers in Iraq or minimize the tragedy that every death or injury entails, I do think that it might be helpful to put the current casualty figures in some type of historical perspective.
The last 19 months have given us the following casualty figures in Iraq....KILLED - 1001, WOUNDED - 6497, TOTAL - 7498
The following are some casualty figures for US forces in SINGLE battles during previous wars. Some of the engagements may be familiar, others however are largely forgotten.
When viewed in the cold context of American military history, the casualty figures for the war in Iraq are tragic but relatively light.
Battle of Long Island, New York, August 27, 1776 - 500+ killed & wounded, 1097 prisoners
Battle of Brandywine, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1777 - 200+ killed, 500+ wounded, 400 prisoners
Battle of Camden, South Carolina, August 16, 1780 - 1000+ killed & wounded
Battle near the Miami Village, Ohio, November 4, 1791 - 631 killed, 263 wounded
Battle of Lundy's Lane, Canada, July 25, 1814 - 860 killed & wounded
Battle of Buena Vista, Mexico, February 22-23, 1847 - 267 killed, 456 wounded
Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6-7, 1862 13,047 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (1,754 killed)
Battle of Second Manassas, Virginia, August 29-30, 1862 - 16, 054 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (1.747 killed)
Battle of Antietam, Maryland, September 17, 1862 - 12,410 Killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (2,108 killed)
Battle of Stone's River, Tennessee, December 31, 1862 - 12,906 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (1,730 killed)
Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1-4, 1863 - 17,278 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (1,606 killed)
Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1-4, 1863 - 23,049 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (3,155 killed)
Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, September 19-20, 1863 16,170 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (1,657 killed)
Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, May 5-7, 1864 - 17,666 killed, wounded & missing (Federal only) (2,246 killed)
Battle of Spotsylvania, Virginia, May 8-19, 1864 - 18,399 killed wounded & missing (Federal only) (2,725 killed)
Santiago, Cuba (including Las Guasimas, San Juan, El Caney) June 22 - July 11, 1898 1.475 killed, wounded & missing
Battle of Belleau Wood, France, June 6-26, 1918 - 1,811 killed, 7966 wounded
Second Battle of the Marne, France, July 15 - August 5, 1918 - 12,000 killed, wounded & missing
D-Day, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944 1,465 killed, 3,184 wounded, 1928 missing
Battle of the Bulge, Germany/Belgium, December 1944 - January 1945 81,000 killed, wounded, missing & captured (19,000 killed, 23, 554 captured)
I wonder what the NY Slimes was writing about around January 1945
No discussion needed. It hits the nail on the head.
USA was a fraction the size of today yet something like 1 million men died in the Civil War. And the battle deaths tends to undercount the fact that injured meant often horribly crippled or awaiting death on a future day.
But to me the 'small' battles are even more telling of how war has changed. Cold Harbor, when Grant achieved nothing, cost more than 16 months of holding a country of 25 million.
Tawara, a tiny atoll, cost more too, in 1943. Not even sure why we bothered taking it.
The battle of Najaf in August cost the US perhaps a dozen to two dozen lives. The real issue is making those gains stick, and not letting the diplomats and politicians throw away in catering to the extremists what our marines paid for in blood. we saw that in Fallujah and we ought not make that mistake twice.
http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com
Kerry's "Goat-song" calls 1000 deaths "Tragic"
Tragedy is a form of drama which can be traced as far back as the Greek theatre. The Greek tragedies were originally written and produced for theatrical competitions, and the winning team in the tragic competition would receive a goat to feast on. The word "tragedy" is thus derived from the Greek language word "tragodiai," meaning "goat-songs". Greek tragedy rose out of religious rites and dramatic enactment of tales of the gods in the early Greek religion and mythology. Aristotle theorized that catharsis (emotional cleansing) results from viewing a tragedy and explains why humans enjoy seeing dramatized pain.
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HEY GUYS AND GALS YOU GOT TO GET THIS STORY RIGHT.
WE PASSED THE 1000 DEAD IN THIS WAR THREE YEARS AGO THIS COMING SATURDAY.
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