'I KNOW IT'S BEEN HARD'
How many Americans died in World War I, World War II, and Vietnam?
PRESIDENT Joe Biden spoke of war casualties during his address to the nation on March 11, 2021.
talked extensively about the coronavirus pandemic - and said by July 4.
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What did Joe Biden say about American war casualties?
Biden mourned the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost during the during his national address.
"I know it’s been hard. I truly know," he said.
"As I’ve told you before, I carry a card in my pocket with the number of Americans who have died from Covid to date.
"It’s on the back of my schedule. As of now, the total deaths in America: 527,726.
"That’s more deaths than in World War One, World War Two, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined.
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"They were husbands, wives, sons and daughters, grandparents, friends, neighbors - young and old.
"They leave behind loved ones unable to truly grieve or to heal, even to have a funeral.
"But I’m also thinking about everyone else who lost this past year to natural causes, by cruel fate of accident, or other diseases.
"They, too, died alone. They, too, leave loved ones behind who are hurting badly."
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Biden spoke one year after the countrry was hit with the virus.
"Denials for days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress and more loneliness," Biden said during his speech.
"Photos and videos from 2019 feel like they were taken in another era. The last vacation. The last birthday with friends. The last holiday with the extended family.
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"While it was different for everyone, we all lost something.
"A collective suffering. A collective sacrifice. A year filled with the loss of life - and the loss of living for all of us.
"But, in the loss, we saw how much there was to gain in appreciation, respect and gratitude."
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How many Americans died in World War I, World War II, and Vietnam?
Biden said there have been more coronavirus deaths than there have been in World I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and on 9/11.
The accuracy of his statement depends on how the numbers are examined.
There were more than 116,000 US military casualties during World War I and more than 400,000 American deaths during World War II.
In addition, about 60,000 Americans died during the Vietnam War, and more than 3,000 lives lost during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Taking these figures into account, Biden was not correct in his assertion.
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However, when removing war deaths that did not happen in combat, Biden's claim would be correct.
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A total of about 400,000 Americans were killed in combat in the three wars.
A White House spokesperson told The Washington Post that Biden was referring to combat deaths in his speech.
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