Oregon Service in the U.S. Military
(By Major War or Conflict)*
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR (1861-1865)
U.S. Total:
2,100,000 served
411,000 died
Oregonians:
1,812 served
48 died
SPANISH/AMERICAN WAR (1898)
U.S. Total:
280,000 served
2,446 died
Oregonians:
1,020 served
none died
PHILIPPINE/AMERICAN WAR (1899-1902)
U.S. Total:
125,000 served
4,196 died
Oregonians:
1,600 served
63 died
World War I (1917-1918)
U.S. Total:
4,700,000 served
116,516 died/
4,422 MIA
Oregonians:
44,166 served
1,030 died/
19 MIA
World War II (1941-1945)
U.S. Total:
16,112,566 served
407,316 died/
71,996 MIA
Oregonians:
150,000 served
3,832 died/
1,073 MIA
Korean WAR (1950-1953)
U.S. Total:
1,789,000 served
36,914 died/
7,481 MIA
Oregonians:
74,000 served
283 died/
55 MIA
Viet Nam WAR (1955-1975)
U.S. Total:
3,000,000 served
58,318 died/
1,574 MIA/
19 LKA**
Oregonians:
57,000 served
777 died/
28 MIA
FIRST GULF (IRAQ) WAR (1990-91)
U.S. Total:
700,000 served
148 died/
1 MIA
Oregonians:
54,000 served
4 died
IRAQ WAR (2003-11); WAR IN IRAQ (2013-17)
U.S. Total:
1,500,000+ served
4,586 died
Oregonians:
6,000 served
74 died
WAR IN AFGHANISTAN (2001-2021)
U.S. Total:
800,000+ served
2,459 died
Oregonians:
30,000+ served
34 died
It is very difficult to pin down exact numbers for U.S. military casualties related to particular conflicts. Reliable information about military operations–which often occur over large areas and periods of time–is widely scattered and/or otherwise hard to obtain. The U.S. military does not even disclose data on its intelligence and special operations missions. The United States may also sometimes declare a war or major conflict over, withdraw combat troops, but maintain a small military presence to deal with residual hostility within the war/conflict zone.
Unless otherwise indicated, above statistics represent U.S. military personnel who served in the theater/region where the war occurred (as opposed to anywhere worldwide) during the period of the indicated war/conflict and either died or are MIA as a direct result of that service. MIA numbers exclude those service members who have been “accounted for” with ID and notification to next of kin.
* Research to complete this post is ongoing…please stay tuned!
** “Last Known Alive” active cases.
References:
CIVIL WAR
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_in_the_American_Civil_War
– Oregon Civil War History
SPANISH/AMERICAN WAR
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Oregon_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment
PHILIPPINE/AMERICAN WAR
– www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_unit_in_the_phillipines/
WORLD WAR I
– https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/ww1/Pages/active-overview.aspx
– Military History Now-Lost-Doughboys-hunt-continues-for-american-mias-from-WW1
– Doughboy-mia-database-1917-1920.html
– sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/ww1/Pages/active-mia.aspx
WORLD WAR II
– Oregon Capital Insider – Final-victory-world-war-ii-75-years-later
– https://news.va.gov/87303/veteranoftheday-world-war-ii-war-kia-mia/
KOREAN WAR
– U.S. Census Bureau History: The Korean War
– https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-many-americans-died-in-korea/
VIETNAM WAR
– DPAA Progress in Vietnam
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_POW/MIA_issue
FIRST GULF WAR and IRAQ WARS
– https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna48415369
– Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
– Governing.com – Military-civilian-active-duty-employee-workforce-numbers-by-state
WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
– https://www.weareremembering.com/afghanistan/
– content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORDVA/bulletins/7ec35d
MIA/LKA
– https://www.history.com/news/missing-in-action-mia-vietnam-war
– https://iowastatedaily.com/102478/news/pow-mia-statistics-from-all-u-s-wars/
– defense.gov/Multimedia/Experience/POW-MIA/
– Defense.gov – DOD-wont-stop-looking-until-all-pow-mias-are-home/
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_in_action
– Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency FAQs
– https://www.govinfo.gov/features/national-powmia-recognition-day
–
So the Viet Nam War is the only war that had MIA’S ?
Hi Mike and thanks for your post. I sincerely appreciate it.
Today, I have spent several hours updating the page to show the (approximately 81,000) MIAs from other wars, besides Vietnam that you reference that I had not yet included. I have about 12 different citations (to the articles I used to compile the MIA numbers), which I am in the process of adding to the page, so that other interested folks will also be able to have those as a resource.
It is reassuring to me that the DOD continues to diligently pursue the MIA cases, with a budget, in an agonizing but vital effort to winnow the numbers (e.g. the Vietnam cases have gone from 1,719 (2014) to 1,621 (2016) to 1,587 (2020) to 1,582 (2022), then 1,579, three fewer, as of today). For perspective, about 1/3 of the Vietnam MIAs are classified as “non-recoverable” but they are mandated, by the law (and honor) of the “fullest possible accounting” standard, to re-open those cases whenever science and technology changes.
Thanks again for your help, Mike.
Kind regards,
-Marc