10-013 Garand Picture of the Day - Morsback,Germany

Members of the Ninth Division occupying the high ground overlooking the Urft river near Morsback,Germany fire at Germans attempting to retreat across the river.


https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...2_66_001-1.jpg

9th Infantry division

Casualties

Killed 4,581
Wounded 16,961
Missing 750
Captured 868
Battle Casualties 22,292
Non-Battle Casualties 15,233
Total Casualties 33,864
Percent of T/O Strength 240.4

Campaigns

Algeria-French Morocco
Tunisia
Sicily
Normandy
Northern France
Ardennes
Rhineland
Central Europe


Individual Awards

Medal of Honor 4
Distinguished Service Cross 86
Legion of Merit 6
Silver Star 1,789
Soldier's Medal 55
Bronze Star 5,518
Distinguished Flying Cross 1
Air Medal 124

One thing I always find amazing is the average KIA/day rate of a WWII infantry division. If you do the math it is, to me, staggering...for any givien division it averages about 15 KIA/day plus or minus a couple. For the Ninth it is about 17. Then think of how many infantry divisions were in combat on any given day and it was a lot of good men.

Today IMO the general population agonizes if it hits 15 a month for all forces in Iraq or Afghanistan. I'm not implying that each of one who is KIA today is any less valuable or tragic, but it is amazing what the country sustained then compared to now, took it in stride, and kept right on going to the successful end.

I was having those thoughts too Paul, with casualties being much higher in past wars. I think it's just the media hype and the mentality change due to "being there" with modern visuals on the evening news. Not even like Vietnam, the media coverage was rougher then. Now it's like they look through the window and see it. They forget things like Hurtgen Forest and how many were lost without the world finding out until MUCH later!

Our KIA's during the "War on Terror in now what just under 4000? We've been there 8 years now. After 8 years of Viet Nam we were over 40,000? Any one got the numbers?

You're right. That's what I mean.

American casualties Viet Nam
Wounded 153,303
KIA 58,209
MIA 2,489
A heavy price to pay.....Frank