Combat deaths in past American Wars:

Revolutionary War (1775-1783) 4435
War of 1812 (1812-1815) 2260
Mexican War (1846-1848) 13283
Civil War (1861-1865) 623026
Spanish-American War (1898) 2446
World War I (1917-1918) 116708
World War II (1941-1945) 407316
Korean War (1950-1953) 36914
Vietnam War (1964-1973) 58169
Persian Gulf War (1991) 269

American casualties at Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day totaled 2510

On September 17th, 1862 in the Battle of Antietam the Union lost 12401 while the Confederacy lost 10318 for a total of 22719 dead [worst day in American history].

A total of 114 U.S. soldiers were killed between the start of the Iraq war on March 20 and the
end of April. The 16 deaths of today brings to 138 the total number of U.S. combat fatalities since President Bush declared an "end" to major hostilities May 1. The total US KIA casulties for the Iraq war are 152.

If one assumes a uniform killing rate for the Battle of Antietam over a 12 hour period then the
Iraq War would represent slightly less than 5 minutes of combat.

Yes, even a single death is unacceptable, particularly if you're the person doing the dying. However a single terrorist nuclear weapon detonated in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles could easily result in deaths exceeding all previous losses in ALL previous America wars.
I

Gary