The United States suffered through the worst terror attack in its history on Sept. 11, 2001. From the Pentagon and the World Trade Center to a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the attacks left 3,400 people dead. The events of that day also spawned a new era in U.S. foreign policy - one that would lead to thousands more American deaths in the coming decades.

Less than one month after the 9/11 attacks, the War on Terror began when the U.S. and NATO allies started military strikes in Afghanistan. Then, in 2003, the War on Terror escalated further, when the U.S. launched an invasion of Iraq.

Though the ongoing War on Terror achieved several goals, including the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and regime change in Iraq, the results came at a steep price. Since the first American was killed in Afghanistan in October 2001, nearly 6,900 Americans - serving in military, intelligence, and civilian capacities - from all 50 states have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A reported 107 people from Colorado died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan of the last two decades, accounting for 1.6% of all deaths among the 50 states. Of those deaths, 69 were connected to the war in Iraq and the remaining 38 to the war in Afghanistan. Not all those reported as killed in these wars died in combat situations. Some of the deaths listed were caused by accidents like aircraft crashes, as well as friendly fire incidents, illness, and suicide.

Colorado is home to 106,903 veterans who served in the post 9/11 era, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey.

All fatality data in this story was compiled by iCasualties, a website that tracks the death toll from the post 9/11 wars.

 

RankStateTotal deaths in post 9/11 warsTotal Iraq War deathsTotal Afghanistan War deathsCivilian veterans who served post 9/11
1California755486269332,531
2Texas617426191460,466
3Florida356203153302,120
4New York306199107116,010
5Pennsylvania29419896117,747
6Ohio27918891123,040
7Illinois25416589103,626
8Michigan2311636886,440
9Georgia21814474173,397
10Virginia21513877231,047
11North Carolina19611284166,398
12Washington1539558136,014
13Indiana152965666,924
14Arizona1519952112,422
15Missouri146915573,573
16Tennessee144984698,295
17Oklahoma133795464,807
18Massachusetts132805239,791
19New Jersey131824953,196
20Maryland1288147102,951
21Louisiana127903752,677
22Wisconsin124893559,409
23Kentucky115714451,780
24Oregon108743452,011
25Colorado1076938106,903
26Alabama106733381,863
27South Carolina101604189,618
28Minnesota98683049,217
29Arkansas92632943,684
30Kansas78502839,730
31Mississippi77542339,492
32Iowa73492433,022
33Nebraska62461627,279
34New Mexico58421627,402
35Nevada55361950,602
37Utah52252735,323
36Connecticut52322028,064
38Idaho50331733,479
39Maine47242320,012
40Hawaii43291429,199
41West Virginia41261520,218
42New Hampshire40231717,199
43Montana3829921,251
44South Dakota2620612,591
46Vermont252145,596
45Alaska2517821,759
47Wyoming221579,601
49North Dakota2014611,728
48Rhode Island2012810,293
50Delaware1714313,130