Costs of Major US Wars Equivalent to Present Day

Brian E, Ian L.

We are amazed at the cost of World War II. We thought that the war in the Middle East was the most expensive, and we are glad that the United States didn’t spend that much money on this most recent war in the Middle East.



Break Down of Major US Wars: Cost and Soldiers

American Revolution 1775-1783

Current Year $101 million

Current Year Equivalency $2.407 billion
Number Serving: 36,000

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World War I 1917-1921

Current Year $20 billion

Current Year Equivalency $334 billion
Number Serving: 4,743,826
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World War II 1941-1945

Current Year $296 billion

Current Year Equivalency $4,104 billion (4.104 trillion)
Number Serving: 16,353,659
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Vietnam 1965-1975

Current Year $111 billion

Current Year Equivalency $738 billion
Number Serving: 8,744,000
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Post-9/11—Iraq, Afghanistan/Other 2001-2010

Current Year  $1,046 billion

Current Year Equivalency $1,147 billion (1.147 trillion)

Number Serving: 150,000

Opinion: War has evolved since the creation of this country. From the musket to the nuclear bomb, war has become more deadly and more expensive. With the evolution of arms, the need for personnel has gone down, and the cost of arms has increased. For every other war before the 1960’s, the deadliness of the average soldier was less, therefore, the need for more soldiers has decreased, and the cost to train a soldier has increased. We don’t need as many soldiers as before because of the innovations in technology.

Capaccio, Tony. "U.S. Wars Cost $11.6 Billion a Month in Current Fiscal Year."Bloomberg Businessweek. N.p., 30 Sept. 2011. Web. <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-30/u-s-wars-cost-11-6-billion-a-month-in-current-fiscal-year.html>. Daggett, Stephen. "Costs of Major U.S. Wars." Costs of Major U.S. Wars. N.p., 24 July 2008. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/costs_of_major_us_wars.htm>.

Dagget, Stephen. "Costs of Major U.S. Wars." Http://www.fas.org/. United States Government, 29 June 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22926.pdf>.

"Iraq by The Numbers." Democratic Policy and Communications Center, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-112-1-36.pdf>.

"Troop Numbers: Foreign Soldiers in Iraq - Iraq's Challenge - Al Jazeera English." Troop Numbers: Foreign Soldiers in Iraq - Iraq's Challenge - Al Jazeera English. Aljazeera, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/iraqschallenge/2011/06/201162864733970544.html>.

"WWI Casualty and Death Tables." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html>.