Research Starters: US Military by the Numbers | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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US Military Personnel (1939-1945)

Year
Army
Navy
Marines
Coast Guard
Total
1939
189,839
125,202
19,432

334,473
1940
269,023
160,997
28,345

458,365
1941
1,462,315
284,427
54,359

1,801,101
1942
3,075,608
640,570
142,613
56,716*
3,915,507
1943
6,994,472
1,741,750
308,523
151,167
9,195,912
1944
7,994,750
2,981,365
475,604
171,749
11,623,468
1945
8,267,958
3,380,817
474,680
85,783
12,209,238

*Coast Guard listed only as wartime strength

Profile of US Servicemen (1941-1945)

38.8% (6,332,000) of U.S. servicemen and all servicewomen were volunteers
61.2% (11,535,000) were draftees
Average duration of service: 33 months
Overseas service: 73% served overseas, with an average of 16 months abroad
Combat survivability (out of 1,000): 8.6 were killed in action, 3 died from other causes, and 17.7 received non-fatal combat wounds
Non-combat jobs: 38.8% of enlisted personnel had rear echelon assignments—administrative, support, or manual labor.
Average base pay: enlisted—$71.33 per month; officer—$203.50 per month

Minority Participation in the Military

African American
901,896
Puerto Rican
51,438*
Japanese American
33,000
American Indian
20,000
Chinese American
13,311
Filipino American
11,506
Hawaiian
1,320

*Full Latino numbers are not known because Latinos, other than Puerto Ricans, did not serve in segregated units, like African Americans.

Women in the US Military

Women’s Army Corps (WAC)
150,000
Navy’s Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES)
100,000
Coast Guard Women’s Reserves (SPARS)
10,000
Marine Corps Women’s Reserve
23,000
Army Nurse Corps
60,000
Navy Nurse Corps
14,000
Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)
1,074

US Military Casualties in World War II

Branch
Killed
Wounded
Army and Air Force
318,274
565,861
Navy
62,614
37,778
Marines
24,511
68,207
Coast Guard
1,917
Unknown
TOTAL
407,316
671,278

Merchant Marine Casualties

Died as POWs
37
Dead
5,662
Missing/Presumed Dead
4,780
Killed at Sea
845