Wwii vets how many

Individual units involved in the invasion, of course, had rosters at the time, but no one ever compiled them into an overall listing of D-Day participants. Therefore, there is no checklist from which to remove veterans as they pass away. Mere Eglise is obviously in that category. But recall that there were also sailors and coastguardsmen serving in the Channel, there were pilots and crewmen flying overhead, and many men in reserve who may not have landed until the 7 th or 8 th.

Then there are support troops—loading LSTs, treating wounded who return to England, fueling airplanes, etc. The best we can do is make a series of estimates. The generally accepted estimate of Americans who served in uniform during World War II is 16 million. By September , the estimate is that , will still be with us. That number, however, may not take into account the pandemic and the inevitable fact that WWII vets are among the most vulnerable. For the sake of argument today March 5, let us round off and say that , WWII vets are still living.

That is approximately 1. Assume a rounded-off number of , Americans were D-Day participants. That gives us an estimate of 2, D-Day veterans still living in If we assume the number of , American D-Day participants on June 6, , that would represent about.

Then further assuming that , WWII vets are still with us possibly an optimistic number, as noted above , we can extrapolate a very similar number of D-Day veterans survive: 2, All of this is, of course, guesswork. But in the absence of a real count, it might be the best we can do to answer the question above. A range of 2, to 2, D-Day veterans is enough, however, to move us to a moment of reflection. We have been most fortunate to have lived during the same years as these American heroes, and most regretful to have said farewell to so many.

One of them, Capt. Arthur D. Gallupe, was a Pearl Harbor survivor who perished in southern France shortly before Allied forces liberated it from German control. Speaking to the Bangor Daily News in , Gallupe said he had thought a lot about how the war had changed him. George Newhall, 93, who grew up in Bangor, enlisted in the U. Marine Corps in and was stationed in the Washington, D. More recently, he served as a troop greeter to returning soldiers who flew into Bangor International Airport.

Newhall enlisted after the war ended with the surrender of Japan on Sept. He has trouble remembering his phone number, but still clearly recalls his service number: Pecorelli also served in the Korean War and Vietnam War. World War II, Pecorelli said, was a defensive war against aggressive powers. The memorial has the names of all states. There are 4, gold stars with every star representing American lives lost.

Following World War II, 79, Americans were missing in action or unaccounted for from various locations such as on battlefields, in temporary graves, lost at sea or at the sites of aircraft crashes. The U. They then assisted in burial according to the requests of their next of kin. Over , remains of World War II individuals were either confirmed or identified through this program from to This number includes the 72, Americans that still remain unaccounted for.

They continue to search for those still missing from World War II. To find information on how to request an individual deceased personnel file IDPF of an individual who never made it home, or an individual who did make it home after World War II, click here. Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran?

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