May 23, 2005
Monday

As the nation pauses for the third Memorial Day since the war in Iraq began, a statistical portrait of the fallen U.S. troops brings life to their numbers.

Of the 1,578 men and women in uniform who have died in the war through the end of April, most by far were fulltime troops killed by enemy acts. Most wore an Army uniform, were males and came from the country's largest states.

Nearly half were married or engaged. About a third were parents. All told, at least 1,095 children have lost a father or mother to war.

What follows is a detailed look at the American troops who have died in Iraq, based on a Scripps Howard News Service database of casualty data culled from Pentagon reports, obituaries, stories in hometown newspapers and other sources. Percentage totals may not add up, due to rounding.

.................. Total Deaths ... % of deaths

Officer ............. 142 ........... 9%

Non-comm. officer ... 649 .... 41%

Enlisted ............ 784 .......... 49%

Not ascertained ....... 3 ........... --

Army .............. 1,071 .......... 68%

Marines ............. 463 .......... 30%

Navy ................. 28 ........... 2%

Air Force ............ 15 ........... --

Coast Guard ........... 1 ........... --

Active Duty ....... 1,253 .......... 79%

Guard/Reserves ...... 323 .......... 21%

Undetermined .......... 2 ........... --

Men ............... 1,543 .......... 98%

Women ................ 35 ........... 2%

White ............. 1,100 .......... 70%

Hispanic ............ 191 .......... 12%

Black ............... 186 .......... 12%

Asian ................ 34 ........... 2%

American Indian/ Pacific Islander ..... 31 ........... 2%

Other ................ 36 ........... 2%

18 to 21 ............ 486 .......... 31%

22 to 25 ............ 458 .......... 29%

26 to 30 ............ 290 .......... 18%

31 to 39 ............ 255 .......... 16%

40 to 49 ............. 76 ........... 5%

50 and older ......... 13 ........... 1%

Married ............. 674 .......... 43%

Engaged .............. 91 ........... 6%

Divorced ............. 30 ........... 2%

Single .............. 774 .......... 49%

Undetermined ......... 10 ........... --

Had children ......... 492 ......... 31%

Spouse pregnant ....... 40 .......... 3%

No children ........ 1,017 ......... 64%

Unknown ............... 29 .......... 2%

Cause of death

Enemy action ....... 1,150 ......... 73%

Vehicle accident ..... 171 ......... 11%

Aircraft accident ..... 67 .......... 4%

Weapons accident ...... 54 ...... 3%

Illness ............... 42 .......... 3%

Suicide ............... 35 .......... 2%

Other/Unknown ......... 59 .......... 4%

Combat deaths

Explosives ................ 466 .... 40%

Small arms ................ 263 .... 23%

Rocket-propelled grenade .. 144 .... 13%

Suicide bomber ............. 84 ..... 7%

Mortar ..................... 74 ..... 6%

Other ...................... 91 ..... 8%

Unknown .................... 28 ..... 2%

States with most deaths

California ......................... 183

Texas .............................. 143

New York ............................ 79

Florida ............................... 70

Illinois ............................... 70

Pennsylvania ...................... 70

States with fewest deaths

Alaska ............................... 1

Washington, D.C. ..................... 3

Hawaii ............................... 4

Rhode Island ......................... 5

Montana .............................. 6

Wyoming .............................. 6

Deadliest, least deadly months

November 2004 ...................... 138

February 2004 ....................... 20

For comparison, April 2005 .......... 52

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