Reply #6: This idea gets posted and debunked fairly regularly here.

[Silverhair]

Lots of people with a conspiracy theory turn of mind like to thing that the military is hiding casualties to keep the public number low. But such CTists fail to come up with a single person who is a "hidden casualty". Each serviceman has family and friends in the states that would ask why they suddenly aren't getting mail from him.

It is simply impossible for the military to get away with a lie about casualties, therefore the reports of the numbers are truthful.

If you think that the military is actually hiding casualties, then you have an easy way to prove it - provide a name of a person killed who is not on the list. The list is not maintained by the military, but by various peace organizations, so it includes the ones who die later of their wounds.