Compilation of Fast Facts About U.S. Military Veterans & A Brief History of Armistice Day/Veterans Day

A roundup of facts and stats via the U.S. Census. Each entry includes a direct link to the primary source.
Direct to Facts for Features: Veterans Day 2013

Some of the Statstics Included in the Roundup

21.2 million
Number of military veterans in the United States in 2012.
9.6 million
Number of veterans 65 and older in 2012. At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.8 million were younger than 35.
7.4 million
Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2012. Moreover, there were 5.4 million who served during the Gulf Wars (representing service from August 1990 to present); 1.6 million who served in World War II (1941-1945); 2.3 million who served in the Korean War (1950-1953); and 5.3 million who served in peacetime only.
3
Number of states with 1 million or more veterans in 2012. These states were California (1.9 million), Texas (1.6 million) and Florida (1.6 million).
8.7 million
Number of veterans 18 to 64 in the labor force in 2012.
1.2 million
The number of veterans 18 year and over who lacked health insurance in 2012. Of this number, 15,700 were veterans age 65 and over.

Direct to Full Text: Facts for Features: Veterans Day 2013
See Also: Brief History of Armistice Day/Veterans Day (via In Custodia Legis/Law Library of Congress Blog)
See Also: Veterans History Project (via Library of Congress)
See Also:  The Veterans History Project Marks Thirteen Years of Preservation (via the Project’s RSS Feed)

On October 27, 2013, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) entered its 13th year of collecting, preserving, and making accessible the oral histories of U.S. wartime veterans. The original legislation, H.R. 5212 and Public Law 106-380, met with unanimous Congressional approval and was signed into law by President William J. Clinton. In the years that followed, VHP became the nation’s largest collection of individual oral history narratives – one that continues to grow at a rate of 100-125 new collections every week and includes veterans from every state, Congressional district, and several U.S. territories. As of this date, the VHP archive has over 89,000 collections. 
As permanent collections of the Library of Congress, VHP gives veterans voice and add personal wartime experiences to the national record. This holiday season and beyond, interview the veteran in your life and submit their story to this national preservation effort.
All necessary archival forms, potential interview questions, and mailing instructions are available in the VHP Field Kit.
The Mission of the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

Filed under: Interviews, Libraries, News, Preservation, Profiles, Roundup