This post originally appeared at https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/world-war-ii-veterans-wisconsin/

 

wisconsin social security disabilityWisconsin has only 3,700 World War II veterans still alive, the 17th highest number in the United States.

With over 50 countries involved, and fighting that spanned three continents, World War II was the most devastating and consequential conflict in human history. When the United States was drawn into the war in December 1941, two years after it began in Europe, the country put every resource it could spare into the effort. The American contribution to the victory over the Axis powers was not only in its industrial scale weapons and material production, but also in manpower.

Dubbed the great arsenal of democracy, the U.S. manufactured more than 96,000 bombers, 86,000 tanks, 2.4 million trucks, 6.5 million rifles, and billions of dollars’ worth of supplies in the Second World War. The U.S. also mobilized more troops during the conflict than any other Allied power other than the Soviet Union. In the final year of the war, the number of active-duty American military personnel totaled 12.2 million, up from less than 500,000 in 1940.

Of the 16.3 million Americans who are estimated to have served in WWII, more than 400,000 were killed in action. Today, only 167,284 American veterans who returned home are still alive.

According to The National WWII Museum, there are still 3,700 World War II veterans living in Wisconsin, the 17th most of all states. WWII veterans comprise 1.2% of the state’s total veteran population of 303,641. Nationwide, WWII vets account for 1.0% of the total veteran population.

Nearly 80 years have passed since the war’s end, and currently, an average of 180 veterans of the conflict die each day in the United States. Over the next year, the number of WWII veterans is expected to fall by roughly half, and by 2034, a little more than 1,000 are likely to still be alive, according to projections from The National WWII Museum.

Data on the number of World War II veterans living in each state is from The National WWII Museum and is current as of 2022. Data on the total number of veterans in each state is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.

Rank State Living WWII veterans, 2022 All veterans, 2021 Share of veterans who served in WWII (%)
1 California 15,946 1,342,337 1.2
2 Florida 14,823 1,356,882 1.1
3 Pennsylvania 9,675 641,525 1.5
4 New York 9,635 614,289 1.6
5 Texas 8,200 1,408,464 0.6
6 Ohio 6,919 621,890 1.1
7 Illinois 6,114 496,352 1.2
8 Michigan 5,989 474,645 1.3
9 North Carolina 5,061 615,452 0.8
10 Massachusetts 5,006 238,039 2.1
11 New Jersey 4,712 283,485 1.7
12 Indiana 4,583 335,248 1.4
13 Washington 4,176 490,717 0.9
14 Arizona 3,986 454,375 0.9
15 Virginia 3,914 641,144 0.6
16 Minnesota 3,845 265,920 1.4
17 Wisconsin 3,700 303,641 1.2
18 Missouri 3,406 355,424 1.0
19 Georgia 3,299 595,743 0.6
20 Maryland 2,876 332,591 0.9
21 Connecticut 2,810 140,684 2.0
22 Oregon 2,769 259,207 1.1
23 Colorado 2,699 348,485 0.8
24 Kentucky 2,478 237,597 1.0
25 Tennessee 2,372 394,604 0.6
26 Oklahoma 2,301 240,146 1.0
27 South Carolina 2,142 353,056 0.6
28 Nevada 1,791 193,340 0.9
29 Iowa 1,767 162,358 1.1
30 Louisiana 1,600 221,316 0.7
31 Kansas 1,596 147,721 1.1
32 Alabama 1,576 315,142 0.5
33 Mississippi 1,259 155,272 0.8
34 Utah 1,230 114,803 1.1
35 Maine 1,181 98,703 1.2
36 Arkansas 1,144 177,176 0.6
37 New Mexico 1,131 128,924 0.9
38 Nebraska 1,086 109,225 1.0
39 Rhode Island 1,033 49,206 2.1
40 West Virginia 1,021 107,271 1.0
41 New Hampshire 1,004 87,604 1.1
42 Idaho 788 122,331 0.6
43 Montana 758 80,953 0.9
44 Hawaii 672 87,357 0.8
45 Delaware 648 55,516 1.2
46 South Dakota 463 54,403 0.9
47 North Dakota 307 40,250 0.8
48 Wyoming 136 40,910 0.3
49 Vermont 133 31,971 0.4
50 Alaska 99 58,431 0.2

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