- Korean War 1950-1953Â – This was the so-called Forgotten War, which killed 33,739 U.S. service members over its course. It lasted three years, and the conflict started on June 25, 1950, when communist North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea. The U.S. mingled with their business the next month when the North Korean nearly won the South. American-led forces succeded to drive the North Koreans away from the South and even advanced into the communist North, close to the border with China. As you could imagine, it was this moment when the Chinese forces decided to enter the war, and push the U.S. forces out of North Korea and invade the South. The war ended when Korea was divided into the communist North and democratic South.
- Vietnam War 1954-1975Â – The U.S. involvement in Vietnam started in 1954. Our leaders at the time feared that a Western-backed South Vietnam might fall into the communist North, and other countries of the region might also fall under communism. This was also known as the Domino Theory. However, as the casualties in the U.S. army mounted, the war became more and more unpopular among American citizens. In fact, it provoked a mass anti-war movement, which increasingly gained strength around the country. Why do all these matter? Because it led to a certain atmosphere of civil disobedience where young Americans simply refused to be drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces to fight that Southeast Asian conflict. Under the pressure caused by this phenomenon, the U.S. started a policy known as Vietnamization, where the responsibility of protecting South Vietnam would be left entirely to South Vietnamese forces. The Vietnam War remained in the American collective mind as a devastating and humiliating defeat for America, because it lost a total of 47,434 service members during this war.
- War on Terror 2001-2021 – It all started with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, where nearly three thousand people were killed. It was at that point that our country started the so-called War on Terror. It all began with the invasion of Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime was hiding the Al-Qaeda mastermind, Osama Bin Laden, who was the one who planned the 9/11 attacks. The U.S.-led coalition of allied countries managed to overthrow the Taliban, but the conflict in Afghanistan lasted until 2021. In 2003, the U.S. launched a new conflict in Iraq, deposing Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. The total amount of U.S. troops that were killed in action in this conflict is beyond five thousand.
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