While the conflicts of the post-9/11 era may be longer than those of previous generations, they are significantly smaller and less deadly. The decade of war since 2001 has resulted in approximately 6,000 U.S. service member deaths, a stark contrast to the 58,000 lost in Vietnam and 300,000 in World War II. While every life lost in war is a tragedy, it's important to remember that more Americans died from falling out of bed last year than in all U.S. wars combined.