Another reason to be thankful

As we take time to give thanks for the many blessing we enjoy, I was reminded of the sacrifice so many have made in order for us to enjoy our freedom. This freedom is so precious and has been bought a such a high price.

I received a note from a good friend who lives in Texas, Richard Thompson, regarding an entry I posted on Nov 2 concerning abortion and the number of babies lost each year (app. 1 million)compared to the number of lives lost in major wars in the United States (657,892 according to that posting).

The figures on lives lost from war came from another blogger. I listed them without checking the facts (my bad!). Ricks much appreciated research shared this:

"I went to a favorite military history website, and here, in descending order, are the numbers of Americans killed in just the seven deadliest conflicts:

Civil War: 623, 026
WW II: 407, 316
WW I: 116, 708
Vietnam: 58, 169
Korean Conflict: 36914
Am. Revolution: 25,000 (approx., given to poor records)
War of 1812: 20,000 (same disclaimer as for the Revolution)

So, as you can see, the total number of fatalities in just the Civil War almost equalled the number you cited. The total for the seven I listed is 1,287,133, and that doesn't include the numerous "minor" wars."

This is a staggering number of men and women who died defending our freedom. Even as we give thanks for all the other blessings we have received, let's remember the lives lost and the sacrifice of so many more who came home wounded or maimed after fighting for our country.