CNN has an interesting feature mapping the hometowns and location where death occurred for US and coalition troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The hometowns of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan:
Aside from the sheer number of the dots, what jumps out is how few of the deaths are in the western part of the country until you get to the Pacific Coast.
The Iraq map is more full, owing to nearly double the casualties. But the pattern still holds:
While it’s true that the South and the Heartland disproportionately contribute to our all-volunteer force, the notion that our forces are mostly Nebraska farmboys is false. The western third of the country is incredibly sparsely populated with, again, the notable exception of the coast.
