Top Photo: Normandy American Cemetery in Normandy, France, on June 3, 2024. US Air Force photo by Miriam Thurber

The Department of Veterans Affairs has projected that the number of living WWII veterans has fallen below 0.5% of the total number of Americans who served in the conflict. 

The agency’s 2024 projection, based on the 2022 American Community Survey from the Census Bureau, estimates that there are approximately 66,000 WWII veterans still living. 

A total of 16.4 million Americans served during the war. More than 400,000 were killed in action or died of other causes during the conflict. The latest number represents a substantial decline from the more than 119,000 veterans of the war the VA estimated were living in 2023. 

“The latest numbers from the VA make the work we’re doing more urgent than ever before,” said Michael Bell, PhD, Director of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at The National WWII Museum. “Members of the generation that fought the war and prevailed will soon no longer be able to tell their own story. It is our responsibility to preserve their memories and share their stories with the next generations.” 

This year—2025—marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, and the youngest WWII veterans are now approaching a century old.

With the number of survivors declining rapidly, The National WWII Museum continues its critical work to document memories, preserve artifacts, and educate Americans of all ages about US involvement in history’s deadliest conflict. 

The Museum remains committed to its mission of preserving the stories of the war and sharing its lessons with generations that did not experience the conflict firsthand. 

The VA’s numbers represent a projection of the number of veterans the agency believes are still living, broken down by state. According to the 2024 projection, California has the largest number of WWII veterans with more than 7,000 still living. Louisiana—the home of The National WWII Museum—has an estimated 306. 

The agency cautions that the numbers are based on national survey data and reflect a projection rather than an actual count of surviving veterans. The overall number of Americans who served in the conflict reflects the extent of the country’s commitment to victory in Europe and the Pacific. 

In 1940, the US Census Bureau reported that the total US population was approximately 132 million people, meaning that more than 12 percent of all Americans at the time served in the US Armed Forces during World War II. 

Millions more men and women of all backgrounds worked in essential industries on the Home Front or otherwise supported the war effort. 

As it approaches the 25th anniversary of its founding in June 2025, The National WWII Museum in New Orleans continues to tell the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today—so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn.

The Museum has collected more than 12,000 video and audio oral histories from Americans of all backgrounds who served in the Armed Forces, supported the war effort, or witnessed the conflict. Thousands are available online through the Museum’s Digital Collections.

In March 2024, the Museum unveiled a new interactive exhibit in the Malcolm S. Forbes Rare and Iconic Artifacts Gallery called Voices from the Front that allows visitors to hold conversations with AI-powered digital representations of WWII veterans, Home Front workers, and other witnesses to the conflict. 

In keeping with its mission, the Museum continues to explore new ways to keep the stories of WWII veterans alive. 

“Sadly, the passing of the WWII generation means that they will no longer be able to tell their own stories,” Bell said. “But as their time comes to a close, our work preserving their legacy takes on even greater importance.”