# Military service by generation

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-service-by-generation/750084>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 25, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-service-by-generation/750084 "2016-03-25T02:11:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-service-by-generation/750084/1 "2016-03-25T02:11:33Z")

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I’ve got some questions about military service in the past:  
What percent of military age men actually served in the military during the World Wars/Korea/Vietnam?  
How many of them actually served in a theater of operations, and how many saw combat?

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**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-service-by-generation/750084/2 "2016-03-25T11:51:03Z")

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Does the answer have to be in 1,000 words or less?

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**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-service-by-generation/750084/3 "2016-03-25T11:53:26Z")

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As a very rough rule of thumb, for every soldier on the front lines there are 10-15 in support roles in the rear.