Veterans Day and the U.S.

As you all know, I am big on everyone voting. Last Tuesday, I'm proud to say that Red Willow County registered voters did an outstanding job of living up to the privilege that our veterans have defended for us in the last 260 plus years. You all responded to that honor with an over 70 percent voter turnout and each of you deserves a pat on the back for doing so. Congratulations for being involved in the process!

Today, Friday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day and I thought I might just step away from genealogical history to remind people how many men and women of our country have given their lives to ensure we could all slip that piece of paper into that ballot box Tuesday.

During the Revolutionary War which lasted from 1775-1783, the tiny emerging nation of America boasted only around 2.5 million people in population. Those people suffered the loss of nearly 8,000 soldiers and 17,000 others to the war with an approximate additional 25,000 being wounded. The hidden cost of course was in the division of families, some of whom wished to remain under English rule. Many "Tories" returned to England to escape persecution.

While many small skirmishes were fought between Native Americans, pirates, and Barbary Coast countries, the next large war took us back against England in the war of 1812. Lasting nearly three years, that conflict cost us 2,260 military casualties and nearly 13,000 non-combat deaths and left some 4,500 people wounded. This war left an interesting little island of American soil in Canada proper.

So the United States marched on westward and the resulting Mexican-American War, 1846-48, which came to head when President Polk offered to purchase disputed lands around the Rio Grande river. When that offer was turned away, President Polk sent Major General Zachary Taylor into that territory. By the time the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the United States had lost over 1,700 troops to combat, 11,000 plus other casualties and over 4,000 wounded but had gained recognized possession of Texas and the agreement of the Rio Grande River being the border between Mexico and the U.S.

There was to be no peace for our country though because in 1861, the Civil War would command an inestimable price from our citizens. The death toll was so enormous that it couldn't even be accurately counted for either side leaving an estimate of between 210,000-225,000 combat casualties, 400-500,000 other deaths and an estimated 282,000 wounded. This death rate was comparable only to the 1918 Flu pandemic which claimed around 675,000 Americans.

In 1898 a united nation was again involved in war, two to be exact, The Spanish American War and the The Philippine American War. Those two claimed over 1,400 combat troops plus nearly 5,300 other deaths and 4,500 wounded.

It was in 1917 that we entered into World War I and in approximately 24 months paid the price of 53,402 combat deaths, 63,114 others (several related to the flu pandemic), 204,002 returned wounded and 3,350 were listed as missing in action.

World War II exacted an even larger price from our country, namely 1,076,245 total U.S. casualties which included over 405,000 deaths. Missing in action totaled over 30,000.

The wars of my era, Korean and Vietnam, averaged 45 and 11 deaths per day respectively, and took nearly 94,000 lives and left over 245,000 wounded.

My children's wars, Gulf, Iraq & Afghanistan, are pushing 8,000+ casualties and 60,000 wounded.....need I go on?

When you do a quick add of these plus all the other skirmishes we have been involved in, we have been given the gift of nearly 2.9 MILLION lives so that we can vote. Say a thank-you to a veteran today or a prayer for the ones still fighting.

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society library remains open on Tuesdays and Thursdays for research: 1:30-4 p.m., 110 West C Street, Suite M-3.