Veterans Don’t Always Talk About the Rough Times
There are more than 23 million veterans in U.S. and men make up the vast majority. Around nine out of ten vets are men–only one in ten is a woman. The largest living cohort of male Veterans served during the Vietnam Era (August 1964 to April 1975) while the largest living cohort of female Veterans served during Gulf War II (September 2001 or later) and peacetime periods.
My dad, Bob Stock, is a veteran of WWII and doesn’t talk much about the things he experienced during his service. We always imagined the worst and were thankful that he survived the horrific experience that apparently was painful to discuss. It turns out that my dad is not alone. Since he didn’t talk much about the war, however, we spent years having to repeat our sentences and questions, talking louder than normal so he could hear us, unaware that his hearing became impaired as a result of his service.
Here’s a breakdown of surviving veterans in the U.S.
WORLD WAR I (1917-18)
Served: 4,734,991
Living veterans: 0
WORLD WAR II (1941-45)
Served 16 million (approx.)
Living Veterans 1,711,000
KOREAN WAR (1950-53)
Served 5,720,000
Living veterans 2,275,000
VIETNAM WAR (1964-1975)
Served 8,744,000
Living vets 7,391,000
GULF WAR (1990-91)
Served 2,322,000
Living vets 2,244,583
GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR (2001-Present)
2,226,056 Total Service Members Deployed as of 2011
Living 2,117,082
