Military veterans represent about six percent of the American population. And yet, their contribution to national security and our national character cannot be measured by numbers alone. As the country reflects on veterans, their lives, and the meaning of their sacrifice, we spoke with Marine Corps veteran Cole Lyle of Mission Roll Call, a nonprofit that provides advocacy and other services to former servicemembers living across the country. Lyle says, “the purpose of Veteran’s Day is to celebrate and honor America’s veterans for their willingness to serve and sacrifice, borne out of their love of country, in order to protect and defend the United States and our way of life.” The following is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.

Describe our veteran community through current statistics.

According to U.S. census 2022 one-year estimates, there are roughly 16.2 million veterans. Roughly 4.8 million have at least one disability. 26.5 percent of veterans are age 75 and older. At the other end of the age spectrum, 8.5 percent of veterans were younger than age 35. As for where they served: .04 percent served in World War II; 4.1 percent served in the Korean War; 33.6 percent in Vietnam; 24.4 percent in the first Gulf War (August 1990 to August 2001); and 26.3 percent in the second Gulf War (September 2001 or later).

Full Article – https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/11/12/who_are_americas_veterans_992219.html