Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”

America has carried the distinct privilege of being the only nation in the world where freedom has reigned since our inception. For over 200 years, we have enjoyed freedom’s sweet embrace. The word itself is synonymous with America — so much so that sometimes we forget it hasn’t come to us free of charge.

The price paid for our liberty down through the ages of our existence is humbling, to say the least. Once again, as I studied the cost of freedom in preparation for this post, I was left with tears in my eyes and a deep gratitude that cannot be expressed in words.

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WAR/CONFLICT TOTAL DEATHS

Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783) 4,435

Franco-American Naval War (1798 – 1800) 20

Barbary Wars (1801 – 1815) 35

USS Chesapeake VS HMS Leopard (1807 – 1807) 3

War of 1812 (1812 – 1815) 2,260

Indian Wars (1817 – 1898) 1,000

Marquesas Islands (1814 – 1814) 4

Peru (1820 – 1820) 2

West Indies (1822 – 1825) 3

Sumatra (1832 – 1832) 2

Mexican War (1846 – 1848) 13,283

Japan (1853 – 1853) 5

Fiji (1855 – 1855) 1

Paraguay (1855 – 1855) 1

China (1855 – 1855) 14

Texas Border Cortina War (1859 – 1860) 5

Vera Cruz, Mexico (1860 – 1860) 1

Civil War North (1861 – 1865) 364,511

Civil War South (1861 – 1865) 199,110

Formosa (1867 – 1867) 1

Mexico (1870 – 1870) 1

Korea (1871 – 1871) 4

Chile (1891 – 1891) 2

Spanish – American War (1898 – 1899) 2,446

Somoa (1899 – 1899) 4

Philippines Insurrection (1899 – 1902) 4,273

China Boxer Rebellion (1900 – 1900) 53

Moro Campaigns (1902 – 1913) 130

Dominican Republic (1904 – 1904) 1

Mexico Campaign (1911 – 1919) 19

Nicaragua (1912 – 1912) 5

Vera Cruz, Mexico (1914 – 1914) 19

Haiti (1915 – 1920) 146

Dominican Republic (1916 – 1922) 144

World War I (1917 – 1918) 116,516

Russia North Expedition (1918 – 1919) 246

Russia Siberia Expedition (1918 – 1920) 170

China Yangtze Service (1921 – 1932) 5

Nicaragua (1927 – 1932) 136

North Atlantic Naval Conflict (1941 – 1941) 141

World War II (1941 – 1946) 405,399

Italy Trieste (1945 – 1947) 6

China Civil War (1945 – 1947) 12

Korean War (1950 – 1953) 36,574

Matsu and Quemoy (1954 – 1954) 3

Cuba Bay of Pigs (1962 – 1962) 9

Panama Canal Riots (1964 – 1964) 4

Dominican Republic (1965 – 1966) 59

Vietnam (1965 – 1975) 58,209

South Korea Border Incidents (1966 – 1969) 89

USS Liberty – Israel (1967 – 1967) 34

USS Mayaguez – Cambodia (1975 – 1975) 18

Iran Operation Desert One (1980 – 1980) 8

Lebanon Peacekeeping (1982 – 1984) 265

Urgent Fury, Grenada (1983 – 1983) 16

El Salvador (1983 – 1991) 20

Honduras (1984 – 1989) 1

Libya (1986 – 1986) 2

USS Stark – Persian Gulf (1987 – 1987) 37

Persian Gulf (1987 – 1987) 148

Just Cause, Panama (1989 – 1990) 22

Persian Gulf War (1990 – 1991) 382

Restore Hope, Somalia (1992 – 1994) 31

Uphold Democracy, Haiti (1994 – 1996) 3

Khobar Towers / Saudi Arabia (1996 – 1996) 19

U.S. Embassy – Kenya (1998 – 1998) 3

Kosovo (1999 – 1999) 1

USS Cole – Yemen (2000 – 2000) 17

Operation Endure Freedom – Afghanistan (2001 – 2014) 2,352

Operation Endure Freedom -Philippines (2002 – 2002) 64

Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003 – 2010) 4,425

Operation New Dawn (2010 – 2011) 74

Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (January 1, 2015 – present) 94

Operation Inherent Resolve (September 22, 2015) 99

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After doing some research on Americans who sacrificed their lives for their country, I came across a shocking statistic. Out of the 248 years since our inception, America has only been at peace for around twenty years. The other years were spent fighting to keep the freedom we hold so dear. Over 1,500,000 American soldiers have died in combat down through the ages of our history.

This information resonated in my mind as I contemplated how freedom does indeed come with a terrible cost. It is defended and protected with the lives of our soldiers.

Today, remember that someone died so that you can live in peace. Don’t let their sacrifice be in vain. Live worthy of the freedom that has been granted to us.

If you missed the memorial videos from the previous two years, you can find them here.

A. M. Watson

Hebrews 13:8