Contract Workers Are War's Forgotten

• The Number of Contract Workers Killed in Iraq is Unknown

Foster, a former Marine sniper, is one of at least 110 contractors working for U.S. firms who have died in Iraq, according to industry estimates. Experts say the number of casualties could be far higher, given the tens of thousands of private contractors who have taken over duties for the military. The Pentagon does not keep an official count, and many companies do not announce when their employees in Iraq are killed. By comparison, there were seven contractor deaths in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, according to a report by the General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office. "If he had still been with the Marines, he would have gotten a Purple Heart, I think he would have, for bravery," said Foster's mother, Susan Foster. "It kind of irks me a little bit, that he was working with the military" and not being recognized for it, she said. "He believed so much in what he was doing, the whole patriotism thing down the line." [more]