Perils of soldiering

Veterans Day, the national holiday honoring American military veterans, was just observed on Nov. 11. Across the United States, parades and gatherings were held in honor of those, both living and dead, who have served in some branch of the U.S. military. What, though, is the price that some veterans and their families have had to pay in terms of disabilities and deaths incurred in the course of duty? In August, the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics published the data it compiled on this topic:

Number of veterans rated 100 percent disabled: 273,300

Number of spouses receiving dependency and indemnity compensation (for eligible survivors of deceased vets): 323,189

Number of veterans receiving VA disability compensation (of a total 23,442,000 veterans): 3.03 million

Number of veterans compensated for post-traumatic stress disorder: 354,326

Number of veterans in receipt of IU (Individual Unemployability) benefits (based on service-related injury or disease): 256,879

Number of OEF/OIF (Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom) amputees: 913

Source: www1.va.gov/vetdata/