The Tragedy of Our Fallen Heroes: How Antibiotics Returned more of our Men and Women of the Military Home

A long time ago, many soldiers got very sick or even died after getting hurt in war—not just from their wounds, but from infections. When a person gets a cut or a bullet wound, bacteria can get inside their skin and body. These bacteria can make them very sick. Before doctors had specialized medicines to target these bacteria, a lot of soldiers died from these infections.

During big wars like the Civil War, approximately 2/3rds of the nearly 600,000 military men and women lost their lives—not just in battle, but from things like infected wounds. During World War I, although there were medical advances in sanitation, vaccinations, and anti-toxins (such as tetanus anti-toxin), Doctors tried to help, but they didn’t have the tools we have today. Back then, even a small cut could lead to a deadly infection and diseases such as dysentery, typhoid, pneumonia, wound infections causing sepsis, and malaria. These diseases still caused the majority of military deaths during this time.

Everything changed in the 1940s when scientists discovered something amazing: antibiotics. One of the first antibiotics was called penicillin. Antibiotics are special medications that kill the bacteria that cause infections. When soldiers got hurt, doctors could give them antibiotics, and many more lives were saved.

During World War II, penicillin helped protect thousands of soldiers. The use of the antibiotics, sulfonamides and penicillin, not only lead to a 100 fold decrease in pneumonia deaths during this time, but also lead to the prevention of death from sepsis due to wound infections and other diseases as well. People noticed that fewer soldiers were dying from infections, and more were able to go home to their families. Since then, antibiotics have saved millions of lives all over the world—not just in wars, but in hospitals and homes too.

Thanks to antibiotics, getting hurt in war doesn’t mean the same thing it used to. Soldiers still face danger, but now they have better protection from deadly bacteria. This discovery changed history and helped keep many of our heroes alive to return home safely.

Each life saved through antibiotics is a reminder of those men and women who made the greatest sacrifice in the Honorable Fight to uphold the Values of our Great Nation here in the United States. As Memorial Day passes each year, we celebrate those who gave their lives for us to pursue our dreams. Thank you to those who sacrificed so much, and may we live a grateful and full life in honor of those who died so young. Let us not let their sacrifice go to waste!