But Green Mountain State has highest war dead/civilian veteran ratio of all 50 states

by Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square

Vermont ranks #46 in the total number of people killed in post 9/11 wars. However, it has the highest percentage of people killed in comparison to the state’s population of veterans who are now civilians. A state-by-state listing can be seen at TheCenterSquare.com.

The United States suffered through the worst terror attack in its history on Sept. 11, 2001. From the Pentagon and the World Trade Center to a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the attacks left 3,400 people dead. The events of that day also spawned a new era in U.S. foreign policy – one that would lead to thousands more American deaths in the coming decades.

Less than one month after the 9/11 attacks, the War on Terror began when the U.S. and NATO allies started military strikes in Afghanistan. Then, in 2003, the War on Terror escalated further, when the U.S. launched an invasion of Iraq.

Though the ongoing War on Terror achieved several goals, including the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and regime change in Iraq, the results came at a steep price. Since the first American was killed in Afghanistan in October 2001, nearly 6,900 Americans – serving in military, intelligence, and civilian capacities – from all 50 states have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A reported 25 people from Vermont died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan of the last two decades, accounting for 0.4% of all deaths among the 50 states. Of those deaths, 21 were connected to the war in Iraq and the remaining four to the war in Afghanistan. Not all those reported as killed in these wars died in combat situations. Some of the deaths listed were caused by accidents like aircraft crashes, as well as friendly fire incidents, illness, and suicide.

The state with the most post-9/11 war dead is California, with 755. But it is home to 332,531 civilians who are veterans of these wars, compard to Vermont with 5,596, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. That figure is by far the lowest number of the 50 states, with Wyoming having the next fewest (9,60`1). Texas (460,461) has by far the most civilian veteran residents.

As a result, Vermont has a .4% ratio of people killed in post 9/11 wars to civilian veterans, compared to California’s .2%.

All fatality data in this story were compiled by iCasualties, a website that tracks the death toll from the post 9/11 wars.