bigpigeon.us webpage WWII US > Personnel > WWII Casualties, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 11 Jan 2023.
World War II United Sates Military Casualties
(mostly complete as of April 2022)
World War II United Sates Military Casualties
(mostly complete as of April 2022)
This webpage consists of seven tables, arranged in three parts, showing WWII US military casualties:
- Part 1 - Total United States casualties.
- Part 2 - US Casualties as reported by the War and Navy Departments.
- Part 3 - US Casualties by service branch: Army; Air Force; Navy; Marine Corps.
About casualties:
- WWII records included four categories of casualties: killed; wounded or injured; taken prisoner; missing.
- Major casualty category codes used by the War Department: KIA - Killed in Action; WIA - Wounded in Action; POW - Prisoner of War; MIA - Missing in Action.
- The Navy Department used different codes.
- Navy Department data does not single out the missing in action.
- The US Navy wounded count does not include all the navy wounded.
- Columns: first - casualty count; second - casualty survival count; third - casualty dead count.
- For the Army and Army Air Force, I use Source 1 in the list of sources at the end of this webpage.
- For the Navy and Marine Corps, there is no standard reliable source. Different sources would produce different numbers in my tables.
==> Part 2 - US Casualties as reported by the War and Navy Departments <==
Part 1 - Total United States Military Casualties 1941-1946
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Part 1 - Total United States Military Casualties 1941-1946
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 241,679 Wounded in Action (WIA) 697,155
Prisoner of War (POW) 130,272 Missing in Action (MIA) ------------ US Casualty Total |
WIA - Survived 668,192 POW - Survived 115,900 MIA - Survived ------------ US Casualty Survivals |
Killed in Action 241,679
WIA - Died of Wounds 28,963 POW - Died while prisoner 14,072 MIA - Died while missing ------------ US Casualty Deaths |
War Department - US Army Casualties 1941-1946 (including Army Air Force)
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 189,696
Wounded in Action (WIA) 592,170 Prisoner of War (POW) 124,079 Missing in Action (MIA) 30,314 ------------ Casualty Total 936,259 War Department |
WIA - Survived 565,861 POW - Survived 111,426 MIA - Survived 24,098 ------------ Casualty Survivals 701,385 War Department |
Killed in Action 189,696
WIA - Died of Wounds 26,309 POW - Died while prisoner 12,653 MIA - Died while missing 6,216 ------------ Casualty Deaths 234,874 War Department |
Navy Department - US Navy, Marine Corps & Coast Guard Casualties 1941-1946
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 51,983
Wounded in Action (WIA) 104,985 Prisoner of War (POW) 6,193 Missing in Action (MIA) ------------ Casualty Total Navy Department |
WIA - Survived 102,331 POW - Survived 4,774 MIA - Survived ------------ Casualty Survivals Navy Department |
Killed in Action 51,983
WIA - Died of Wounds 2,654 POW - Died while prisoner 1,419 MIA - Died while missing ------------ Casualty Deaths Navy Department |
==> Part 3 - US Casualties by service branch: Army; Air Force; Navy; Marine Corps <==
US Army Casualties (less Army Air Force) 1941-1946
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 144,911
Wounded in Action (WIA) 573,806 Prisoner of War (POW) 83,022 Missing in Action (MIA) 19,138 ------------ US Army Casualty Total 820,877 |
WIA - Survived 548,502 POW - Survived 73,132 MIA - Survived 16,542 ------------ Army Casualty Survivals 638,176 |
Killed in Action 144,911
WIA - Died of Wounds 25,304 POW - Died while prisoner 9,890 MIA - Died while missing 2,596 ----------- Army Casualty Deaths 182,701 |
US Army Air Force Casualties 1941-1946
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US Army Air Force Casualties 1941-1946
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 44,785
Wounded in Action (WIA) 18,364 Prisoner of War (POW) 41,057 Missing in Action (MIA) 11,176 ------------ USAAF Casualty Total 115,382 |
WIA - Survived 17,359 POW - Survived 38,294 MIA - Survived 7,556 ------------ USAAF Casualty Survivals 63,209 |
Killed in Action 44,785
WIA - Died of Wounds 1,005 POW - Died while prisoner 2,763 MIA - Died while missing 3,620 ------------ USAAF Casualty Deaths 52,173 |
US Navy Casualties 1941-1946
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 34,014
Wounded in Action (WIA) 37,778 Prisoner of War (POW) 3,379 Missing in Action (MIA) unknown ------------ US Navy Casualty Total 75,171 |
WIA - Survived 35,941 POW - Survived 2,640 MIA - Survived unknown ------------ Navy Casualty Survivals 38,581 |
Killed in Action 34,014
WIA - Died of Wounds 1,837 POW - Died while prisoner 739 MIA - Died while missing 190 ------------ Navy Casualty Deaths |
US Navy casualty notes:
- Source 3 below gives a killed in action figure of 34,004, a died while prisoner figure of 919, and an other deaths due to enemy action, which I use, of 190.
US Marine Corps Casualties 1941-1946
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|
Killed in Action (KIA) 17,376
Wounded in Action (WIA) 68,207 Prisoner of War (POW) 2,274 Missing in Action (MIA) unknown ------------ USMC Casualty Total 87,857 |
WIA - Survived 67,207 POW - Survived 1,756 MIA - Survived unknown ------------ USMC Casualty Survivals 68,963 |
Killed in Action 17,376
WIA - Died of Wounds 1,000 POW - Died while prisoner 518 MIA - Died while missing unknown ------------ USMC Casualty Deaths 18,904 |
US Marine Corps casualty notes:
- The right two columns total to 87,871 rather than 87,857.
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII US > WWII Casualties webpage:
- http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/Casualties/Casualties-Intro.html - Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report, 7 December 1941 - 31 December 1946, p. 5 - for the above US Army and US Army Air Force data.
- https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/w/world-war-ii-casualties.html - World War II Casualties, Navy Heritage and History Command - used for the following US Navy and US Marine Corps data: Killed in Action; Died of Wounds; Died as Prisoner.
- https://www.naval-history.net/WW2UScasaaDB-USNaNOTEonTOTALS.htm - World War 2 - United States Navy at War, UNITED STATES NAVY CASUALTIES - INTERIM NOTE ON NUMBERS, 2017 - This is death and not casualty data.
- https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/History%20of%20the%20U.S.%20Marine%20Corps%20in%20WWII%20Vol%20V%20-%20Victory%20and%20Occupation%20%20PCN%2019000262800_5.pdf - Marine POWs.
- http://www.indianarollingthunder.com/nationalpowstatistics.html - National POW Statistics.