BY THE NUMBERS: THE US MILITARY:

US Military Personnel (1939-1945)

	Army	Navy	Marines	Coast Guard	Total
1939	189,839	125,202	19,432		334,473
1940	269,023	160,997	28,345		458,365
1941	1,462,315	284,427	54,359		1,801,101
1942	3,075,608	640,570	142,613	56,716*	3,915,507
1943	6,994,472	1,741,750	308,523	151,167	9,195,912
1944	7,994,750	2,981,365	475,604	171,749	11,623,468
1945	8,267,958	3,380,817	474,680	85,783	12,209,238

*Coast Guard listed only as wartime strength

Profile of US Servicemen (1941-1945)

38.8% (6,332,000) of U.S. servicemen and all servicewomen were volunteers
61.2% (11,535,000) were draftees
Average duration of service: 33 months
Overseas service: 73% served overseas, with an average of 16 months abroad
Combat survivability (out of 1,000): 8.6 were killed in action, 3 died from other causes, and 17.7 received non-fatal combat wounds
Non-combat jobs: 38.8% of enlisted personnel had rear echelon assignments—administrative, support, or manual labor.
Average base pay: enlisted—$71.33 per month; officer—$203.50 per month

Minority Participation in the Military

African American	901,896
Puerto Rican	51,438*
Japanese American	33,000
American Indian	20,000
Chinese American	13,311
Filipino American	11,506
Hawaiian	1,320

*Full Latino numbers are not known because Latinos, other than Puerto Ricans, did not serve in segregated units, like African Americans.

Women in the US Military

Women's Army Corps (WAC)	150,000
Navy’s Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES)	100,000
Coast Guard Women’s Reserves (SPARS)	10,000
Marine Corps Women’s Reserve	23,000
Army Nurse Corps	60,000
Navy Nurse Corps	14,000
Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)	1,074

US Military Casualties in WWII

	Killed	Wounded
Army and Air Force	318,274	565,861
Navy	62,614	37,778
Marines	24,511	68,207
Coast Guard	1,917	Unknown
TOTAL	407,316	671,278

Merchant Marines Casualties

Died as POWs	37
Dead	5,662
Missing/Presumed Dead	4,780
Killed at Sea	845

TAKE ACTION:

EDUCATION PROJECTS:

Student Travel – WWII Educational Tours
High school and college students, learn the leadership principles that helped win WWII on a trip to France or during a weeklong residential program in New Orleans. College credit is available, and space is limited.

See You Next Year! HS Yearbooks from WWII
Collected from across the United States, the words and pictures of these yearbooks present a new opportunity to experience the many challenges, setbacks and triumphs of the war through the eyes of America’s youth.

The Victory Gardens of WWII
Visit the Classroom Victory Garden Project website to learn about food production during WWII, find lesson plans and activities for elementary students, get tips for starting your own garden and try out simple Victory Garden recipes!

The Science and Technology of WWII
Visit our new interactive website to learn about wartime technical and scientific advances that forever changed our world. Incorporates STEM principles to use in the classroom.

Kids Corner: Fun and Games!
Make your own propaganda posters, test your memory, solve puzzles and more! Learn about World War II and have fun at the same time.