|
Here is the important article in Saturday's Free Press that confirms that
Vermont leads the nation in per capita killed in Iraq. I would add that
Vermont has a wide lead. And its per capita killed is almost 4 times the
national average.
Jimmy
--------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'James M Leas'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 13:25:28 -0500 Subject: RE: "VT continues to lead in per capita casualties." Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Jimmy,
Here is the article that ran in Saturday's Free Press. Jessica Hyman
Community News Editor The Burlington Free Press (802) 660-1849 Burlington Free Press, Saturday, January 29, 2005
Vt. continues to lead in per capita casualties
By Wilson Ring The Associated Press MONTPELIER - One would think that the numbers would start to even out; that, just by random chance, the number of Vermont service members dying in Iraq would slow, putting the state's burden in line with its tiny population. But Vermont service members keep dying, keeping the state at the top of the per-capita ranking of states that have lost sons and daughters to the Iraq war. The latest Vermont death occurred Wednesday when Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong, 24, of Albany died when his vehicle was ambushed near Haditha, a town northwest of Baghdad. Other than their military service there is nothing to connect Strong's death to the Thanksgiving Day death of Jeffrey Holmes of Hartford, a 20-year-old Marine killed in Fallujah, or three National Guardsmen killed in late May and early June. Except their rural heritage. Vermont, one of the most rural states in the country, sends one of the highest proportion of its population to the military, said Vermont National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Veronica Saffo. "People who come from rural communities are people who are very patriotic," Saffo said. "Historically they are the ones ready to step forward for service. There are fewer perceived possibilities as far as employment, the military is that much more appealing to people from small towns." The states and the District of Columbia with the smallest populations top the list of casualties when ranked per capita. After Vermont, whose population ranks 49th, comes North Dakota, ranked 48th; South Dakota, 46, and Wyoming, 51. In a quirk to the statistic, Alaska, whose population ranks 47th, has lost the fewest service members, one. Within Vermont, the deaths are spread across the state in small towns from Albany near the Canadian border to Bennington on the Massachusetts border. Only two of the deaths come from Chittenden County, home to about a quarter of the state's population. "The rest were from mostly rural areas," said Clayton Clark, the state's veterans affairs coordinator. "If you look at the way our population is distributed you would think there would be a couple more from Chittenden County. "That's why the pain we feel for these losses is really poignant here because when someone from a small town dies everyone knows that person, knows the family," Clark said. "The communities affected by this are very deeply affected." A Montpelier man compiled the rankings using casualty figures provided by a Web site that tracks Iraq casualties and the 2003 census figures. A demographic analyst by trade, David Healy said he first ran the numbers in December after reading a story about how hard Texas, which ranks 17th, was being hit by the war. "We've had quite a few here," Healy said. "I didn't know it would turn out this way." Healy's figures include only service members whose homes of record were listed by the Defense Department as Vermont. It excluded a number of soldiers who grew up here but then moved away, or one who lived here but had a listed hometown in another state. Several Vermont media organizations use different criteria to decide who has Vermont connections. The numbers used by Healy list 11 Vermonters who have died in the war, which works out to be a casualty rate of 1.78 per 100,000 population - with Vermont's 2003 population at 619,107. He does not count two soldiers who grew up in Vermont but were living elsewhere when they were sent to Iraq, or a Marine pilot living in Vermont whose hometown was listed elsewhere. In absolute numbers California has lost the most service members - 160 - but the state has the largest population in the country, giving it a per-capita ranking of 31st. Texas, the second most populous state, has lost 126 service members, ranking it 17th. In a map of the rankings, Vermont stands out among neighboring states that float through the middle of the rankings. New York ranks 45th; New Hampshire, 30th; Massachusetts, 37th; and Maine, 12th. Among the states with the fewest casualties, Alaska ranks 51st; Utah, 50th; Minnesota, 49th; Nevada, 48th; and Missouri, 47th. On the Web: For more on the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, go to:
http://icasualties.org/oif/ -----Original Message-----
From: James M Leas [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 1/29/2005 11:18 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: "VT continues to lead in per capita casualties." Please let me know how I can get an electronic copy of the
excellent
article in today's paper, "VT continues to lead in per capita casualties," by Wilson Ring of the Associated Press. I would like to share this article with others in Vermont. I could not find it on the BFP web site. If it is there please send me the url. If not please email the article to me or send me Mr. Ring's email address so I can contact him. Thank you very much. Jimmy Law Office of James Marc Leas
37 Butler Drive, S. Burlington, VT 05403 802 864-1575 802 864-9319fax 802 734-8811cell www.vermontpatentlawyer.com May be restricted or confidential. If you are not intended recipient please delete immediately. Yahoo! Groups Links
|
