Iowa mourns U.S. military veterans who have died from COVID-19

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/iowa-mourns/2020/11/11/military-veteran-deaths-covid-iowa-wwii-korean-war-vietnam-vets/ [login to see] /
As America celebrates the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end in 2020, the men and women who fought on those front lines and home fronts are dying exponentially. From September 2019 to September 2020, 245 WWII veterans were projected to die a day, according to Veterans Administration models — estimates calculated before COVID-19 seeped into our lives.

Now, with the coronavirus pandemic ravaging care centers and the virus eager to take up residence in the lungs of the elderly, losses in the Greatest Generation are accelerating — and the chance to capture their stories is waning.

Dozens of military veterans are among the nearly 1,900 Iowans who have died from COVID-19. They served in all branches. They fought in WWII, the Vietnam War, the Korean War or Operation Desert Storm. Some enlisted, others were drafted. Many joined the military right after high school. Some served decades.