I'm a huge fan of Five Finger Death Punch, especially their song 'Bad Company.' I've always wanted to create a fishing video with it playing in the background, and I hope this one does it justice. More importantly, I want to dedicate this to all those serving in the military. We are forever thankful for your service. It's because of your sacrifices that we can enjoy the freedom to pursue our passions, like competitive bass fishing. This one's for you!
Many of my relatives served and protected our country.
My great-grandpa was a Pearl Harbor Survivor serving on the Arizona (Dick Werner). He was instrumental and spear-headed bringing the JR. ROTC to St. George, UT- He loved family, God and Community. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Glenn Whicker, the JROTC program’s director and senior instructor, said Werner and a couple of other veterans spent 12 years trying to overcome hurdles to the youth leadership training program before finally succeeding in getting it launched a decade ago during school district Superintendent Max Rose’s tenure.
“He just kept on it,” Whicker said. “I remember (a former Dixie High principal) telling me Dick would just come in and plop down and say, ‘We’ve got to get a JROTC.’”
U.S. Navy veteran Dick Werner, was friends with renowned Berlin Airlift "Candy Bomber" Gail Halvorsen. During the years since, Werner continued to support the program and was a regular at the JROTC’s end-of-year award presentations on behalf of the American Legion. The program’s cadets will participate in an honor guard ceremony during graveside services Saturday, Whicker said. The American Legion will also provide a gun salute.
We must remember that the freedom to go outdoors, enjoy day's on the lakes, was paid for in blood. Please take a minute, like this video and share it. If anything it will hopefully allow people to pause and think of the people that make up the numbers below:
World War II (1941 -1945)
Total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide) 16,112,566
Battle Deaths 291,557
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 113,842
Non-mortal woundings 670,846
Living Veterans 5 389,000
Korean War (1950-1953)
Total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide) 5,720,000
Total Serving (In Theater) 1,789,000
Battle Deaths 33,739
Other Deaths (In Theater) 2,835
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 17,672
Non-mortal Woundings 103,284
Living Veterans 1,165,000
Vietnam War (1964-1975)
Total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide) 6 8,744,000
Deployed to Southeast Asia 7 3,403,000
Battle Deaths 8 47,434
Other Deaths (In Theater) 8 10,786
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 8 32,000
Non-mortal Woundings 9 153,303
Living Veterans 5, 10 6,262,000
Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990-1991)
Total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide) 2,225,000
Deployed to Gulf 694,550
Battle Deaths 148
Other Deaths (In Theater)
235 Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 1,565
Non-mortal Woundings 467
Living Veterans 5, 10 1,680,000
America’s Wars Total (1775 -1991)
U.S. Military Service during Wartime 41,892,128
Battle Deaths 651,031
Other Deaths (In Theater) 308,800
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 230,254
Non-mortal woundings 1,430,290
Living War Veterans11 14,918,000
Living Veterans (Periods of War & Peace) 19,210,000
Global War on Terror (Oct 2001 - Sept 2021)
The Global War on Terror (GWOT), including Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)
and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), were ongoing conflicts. The GWPT ended
September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the attacks. For the most
current GWOT statistics visit the following Department of Defense Website:
www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/casualties.xhtml