Small towns struggle with war deaths

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/022007dnnatsmalltowns.15f7a75.html

Across the nation, small towns are quietly bearing the war's burden. Nearly half of the more than 3,100 U.S. military fatalities in Iraq have come from towns like McKeesport, where fewer than 25,000 people live, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. One in five hailed from hometowns of less than 5,000.

Many of those towns aren't just small, they're poor. The AP analysis found that nearly three-quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average.

On a per capita basis, states with mostly rural populations have the highest casualties in Iraq. Vermont, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Delaware, Montana, Louisiana and Oregon top the list, the AP found.

Here is the state-by-state breakdown of U.S. military fatalities in Iraq for each 500,000 residents. The numbers are based on fatalities reported by the Department of Defense through Feb. 3, 2007.

State , Fatalities
Vermont , 14.8
South Dakota, 11.3
Alaska, 10.4
North Dakota, 10.1
Nebraska, 9.3
Wyoming, 9.1
Delaware, 8.9
Montana, 8.3
Louisiana, 7.6
Oregon, 7.3
Arizona, 7.2
Mississippi, 7.2
Arkansas, 7.1
Idaho, 7.0
Oklahoma, 7.0
New Hampshire, 6.9
Iowa, 6.8
Texas, 6.7
Wisconsin, 6.5
Nevada, 6.5
Kentucky, 6.4
New Mexico, 6.3
Maine, 6.3
Pennsylvania, 6.0
Virginia, 6.0
Ohio, 5.9

Tennessee, 5.8
Kansas, 5.8
Alabama, 5.6
West Virginia, 5.5
Georgia, 5.5
Indiana, 5.3
Washington, 5.0
Maryland, 5.0
South Carolina, 5.0
Hawaii, 5.0
Missouri, 4.9
Rhode Island, 4.8
Colorado, 4.8
California, 4.7
Illinois, 4.6
Minnesota, 4.4
North Carolina, 4.3
Florida, 3.9
Massachusetts, 3.7
New York, 3.7
Utah, 3.4
Connecticut, 3.2
New Jersey, 3.0
Dist. of Columbia, 2.6

[Kolesar]

1. similar

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x252317

[Monkeyman]

2. Yep small towns are dying in America

Few choices so Military comes and gets them to join

[partylessinOhio]

3. Yes, they were sitting ducks for Bush/Cheney's war machine - cannon fodder.

An honor guard carries the casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Alexander Fuller outside St. Francis Xavier Parish, in Hyannis, Mass., following the soldier's funeral Mass in the church, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. Fuller's wife, Anastacia Fuller, 19, of Centerville, Mass., background left, departs the church. According to the Department of Defense , Fuller, 21, of Centerville, Mass., died Thursday, Jan. 25, when the Humvee he was riding in struck an improvised explosive device in Baghdad. A burial service followed at Massachusetts Cemetery, in Bourne, Mass. Anastacia is expecting the couple's first child in April.