USA Iraq War Casualties Mostly White, Poor, and Southern

[Mike Ellis]

Once again we see that "what everybody knows" ain't true, specifically that the USA uses minorities for cannon fodder.

May God have mercy on all the poor souls who have been lost in this war, and minimize the number who are added to their ranks in the future.

US Death Toll In Iraq Is Mostly White And Poor (from The Herald )

US death toll in Iraq is ‘mostly white and poor’
IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent March 27 2008

The 4000 US soldiers killed in Iraq in the past five years were predominantly white and more than one in three came from poor southern states, according to a casualty analysis carried out by The Herald.

Almost one in 10 of the dead were officers, with a heavy toll of captains and lieutenants leading their men from the front. Overall, 97% of them died after the official end of hostilities in May 2003.

The fatalities included one Briton from Bedford and a Canadian, both of whom had joined the US Army to see action. There were also 40 native American tribesmen and 44 Pacific islanders.

The 36% of southern boys came from small towns such as Bauxite, Arkansas. There were also losses from Glasgow, Kentucky, and Midlothian, Virginia.

Texas was hardest hit of the old Confederate states, losing 371 dead and 2840 wounded, but California suffered 429 deaths, the highest number of fatalities from any home state.

By ethnic group, the dead were 75% white, 11% Latino and 9% black. Between 40% and 55% were killed by roadside bombs, although rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire accounted for many of the 137 who fell during the assault on the insurgent-held city of Falluja in November, 2004.

(snip)

Despite the prohibition on women in combat, there were 98 female deaths, mainly in support units. The mortality rate for women soldiers is 2% of those given Iraq duty.

(snip)