Casualties From The Iraq And Afgan Wars (INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC)

Since the inception of U.S. military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than lives have been lost in battle. The infographic below illustrates the demographic information of those killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Hover over the pie charts for details.

INTERACT:

Comments

[Aroddo]

12:20 PM on 10/18/2011

The tree of neo-libera­lism must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patridiots­.

Give republicans some time and this will be what thomas jefferson said.

[No Longer Amused 25]

10:51 AM on 10/18/2011

Notice the age and rank of the largest group of casualties. Speaking from personal experience from my time in Vietnam, most young men (and now more and more young women too) do not really grasp the reality of combat. I know I didn't. Once you are in it, it's too late. My father was in the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-45 and this jovial, earnest young man who always had a smile and a good attitude came back to America changed beyond recognition. Mentally troubled throughout his life he kept having what they called "nervous breakdowns," which were in fact PTSD. They had no word for it then. He had alcohol addiction and was abusive to his family. He received no help from the government who sent him to war. I am a Vietnam combat veteran and for the first 20 years after I got back, I received no help from the Department of Veterans Affairs. None! Twenty years of PTSD untreated. My dad thought his mental illness was his own weakness and he was ashamed. Imagine that? A man who withstood daily shelling, tank assaults, snipers and leading men into the teeth of machine gun nests -- and he came home ashamed of himself for not somehow measuring up to the John Wayne image of how an American man should be.

Today Americans would rather watch Dancing With the Stars than think about a horribly wounded veteran. Not much has changed in 70 years.