Let me guess, many of those definitely alive,"injured" soldiers will end up "dying" in the hospital?
Honestly I don't know if it'd be worse for the US if those people had died or had suffered serious injury. When vets are maimed, they come home to become nightmares for the government.
I had a friend who was such a person; his injury while invading Iraq was some explosion-induced concussion that permanently disrupted his hearing and causes him to have headaches randomly. He also suffered psychological trauma from seeing his friend burn to death after his tank suffered a volatile round being shot into the cockpit. After being honorably discharged, he had great disdain for the US military and government and he used his benefits to the max out of spite. He said he'd be forever unemployed but just go through various training programs so the government would have to keep paying him stipend and tuition as a student, he "rented" lodging from his friends and family always declaring value to the full allowance that the US government would pay for him and he would constantly visit the doctor/psychiatrist regardless of whether he was in pain just to accumulate charges to the government.
He was a very bright, pleasant and energizing person to be around when his medication was working and he wasn't having an episode. He loved fishing in Sea Wolf Park in Galveston Texas, we went to the gym together and we got drunk at clubs and bars together looking for tail. But we all knew that he becomes difficult to reach or goes missing for a few days, do not try to find him and consider your plans cancelled. He's in his dark place and needs time to sort it out.
He and his brother both fought in Iraq; they never shook the violent tendancies they acquired there and he was finally at peace when a fight between them resulted in him stabbing his brother and his brother fatally shooting him. He was 27.
His brother was exonerated by the courts under self-defense. Days later, his brother, whom I've never met, texted me. I'm not sure how he got my number. "I know you were Walter's best friend. I don't know if you believe me or not but for the record, I wish everyday that I had died in that fight instead of him." I didn't answer and we never spoke again.