Posted by The beautiful state of Vermont which boasts Ben and Jerry liberals and ex-hippies, has something else to add to their special brand of tie-dyed, peace-loving politics. Vermont has the questionable distinction of having the most deaths per capita from the war in Iraq from all other states.
The first death was Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class Erik Halvorsen who was killed April 2, 2003. The number of men from Vermont who have died in firefights, roadside bombings, helicopter crashes, and sniper attacks now totals 22. The population of Vermont is 621,000 and these casualties make 3.54 deaths for every100,000 people. However, it should be noted that this high number is due more to the small size of the state than to the amount of deaths. It doesn’t take many deaths to make a high rate per capita in a very small population.
As the Pentagon doesn’t offer a breakdown of the overseas troops state by state, it isn’t totally clear just how many Vermont residents are fighting. However, the United States military is made from not even 1 percent of people from Vermont.
Something else that may be a cause is that the assignments of nearly half of the 22 Vermont National Guard who died was in Ramadi. This was a location of much activity in 2005 to 2006, causing the deaths of 6 Vermont Guardsmen.
The National Guard in Vermont is made up primarily of infantry and cavalry operations while also boasting the sole mountain infantry brigade in the U.S. Military.
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