More than 40 Percent of the 23 Million Honored on
Veterans Day are Senior Citizens
Over 1.8 million veterans are females; $84.4 billion
spent by U.S. on veterans benefits in 2008
Nov.
11, 2009 It is rather amazing that as the U.S. celebrates Veterans Day
2009, almost 40 percent of all U.S. veterans are senior citizens. In the
last count, which was last year, there were 23.2 million military
veterans and 9.2 million of those were age 65 or older. It is also
amazing to learn there are 92,000 veterans who served in three wars -
World War II, Korean War and Vietnam.
Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day on Nov.
11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress
passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became
a national holiday beginning in 1938.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation
in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who
served in all American wars.
The day honors living military veterans with
parades and speeches across the nation. A national ceremony takes place
at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Additionally, 1.1 million veterans were Hispanic;
276,000 were Asian; 160,000 were American Indian or Alaska Native;
27,000 were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and 18.3 million
were non-Hispanic white. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American
Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific
Islanders, and non-Hispanic whites cover only those reporting a single
race.) Source:
2008 American Community Survey
When They Served
9.2
million The number of veterans 65 and older in 2008. At the other end
of the age spectrum, 1.9 million were younger than 35. Source: U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, unpublished data
7.8
million Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2008. Thirty-three percent
of all living veterans served during this time (1964-1975). In addition,
5.2 million served during the Gulf War (representing service from Aug.
2, 1990, to present); 2.6 million in World War II (1941-1945); 2.8
million in the Korean War (1950-1953); and 6 million in peacetime.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, unpublished data
The Way We Get By featured on PBS for Veterans
Day; in some theaters now, on DVD November 3 - Video clip below in
story.
My
life don't mean a hell of a lot to me, but if I can make it mean
something to somebody else, that's my endeavor... Jerry Mundy
Oct. 18, 2009 Too much of the world finds it easy
to ignore senior citizens the has-beens of yesteryear but almost a
million American military personnel will not forget the seniors of
Bangor, Maine. They are the troop greeters of Bangor, an intrepid
group of retired and elderly citizens who have taken it upon themselves
to greet every troop plane arriving or departing Bangor, which is the
last and first piece of U.S. soil many GIs will see before and after
their deployments. Now millions of Americans will know them too, thanks
to a movie on PBS for Veterans Day.
Read
more... see video clip
50,000 Number of living veterans in 2008 who served during the
Vietnam Era and both Gulf War eras.
Other living veterans in 2008 who served during
three wars:
● 92,000 served during World War II, the
Korean War and the Vietnam Era.
Living veterans in 2008 who served during two
wars:
● 740,000 served during both Gulf War eras.
● 245,000 served during both the Korean War
and the Vietnam Era.
● 182,000 served during both World War II and
the Korean War.
5 Number of states with 1 million or more veterans in 2008.
These states were California (2.1 million), Florida (1.7 million), Texas
(1.7 million), New York (1 million) and Pennsylvania (1 million).
Source: Table 508, Upcoming
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010
3.4
million Number of veterans with a service-connected disability
rating. Of this number, 588,000 have a rating of 70 percent or higher.
Source:
2008 American Community Survey
Voting
15.8
million Number of veterans who voted in the 2008 presidential
election. Seventy-one percent of veterans cast a ballot, compared with
63 percent of nonveterans. Source:
Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008
Business Owners
14.5% Percentage of owners of firms responding to the 2002 Survey
of Business Owners who were veterans. Veteran business owners comprised
an estimated 3 million of the 20.5 million owners represented by survey
respondents. Source:
Characteristics of Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2002
68% Percentage of veteran owners of respondent firms who were 55
and older.
This compares with 31 percent of all owners of
respondent firms. Similarly, in 2002, 55 percent of veteran-owned
respondent firms with employees reported that their businesses were
originally established, purchased or acquired before 1990, compared with
36 percent of all employer respondent firms.
Source:
Characteristics Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2002 and Characteristics of
Veteran Business Owners: 2002
2.9
million Number of veterans who received compensation for
service-connected disabilities as of 2008. Their compensation totaled
$36.2 billion.
Source: Tables 511 and 512,
Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010
$84.4 billion Total amount of federal government spending for veterans
benefits programs in fiscal year 2008. Of this total, $40.2 billion went
to compensation and pensions, $37.9 billion for medical programs and the
remainder to other programs, such as vocational rehabilitation and
education.
Source: Table 511, Upcoming
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010
Nov.
11, 2009 It is rather amazing that as the U.S. celebrates Veterans Day
2009, almost 40 percent of all U.S. veterans are senior citizens. In the
last count, which was last year, there were 23.2 million military
veterans and 9.2 million of those were age 65 or older. It is also
amazing to learn there are 92,000 veterans who served in three wars -
World War II, Korean War and Vietnam.
