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Killed in action (KIA or K. I. A.) is a casualty
Casualty (person)

A casualty is a person who is the victim of an accident, injury, or Physical trauma. The word casualties is most often used by the news media to describe deaths and injuries resulting from wars or disasters....
 classification generally used by militaries
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 to describe the deaths of their own forces by other hostile forces. The United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Military of the United States....
 says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to hostile attack. KIA's do not come from incidents such as accidental vehicle crashes and other "non-hostile" events or terrorism.






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Encyclopedia


Killed in action (KIA or K. I. A.) is a casualty
Casualty (person)

A casualty is a person who is the victim of an accident, injury, or Physical trauma. The word casualties is most often used by the news media to describe deaths and injuries resulting from wars or disasters....
 classification generally used by militaries
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 to describe the deaths of their own forces by other hostile forces. The United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Military of the United States....
 says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to hostile attack. KIA's do not come from incidents such as accidental vehicle crashes and other "non-hostile" events or terrorism. KIA can be applied both to front-line combat troops and to naval, air, and support troops.

Further, KIA denotes one to have been killed in action on the battlefield whereas died of wounds (or DOW) relates to someone who survived to reach a medical treatment facility. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
 also uses DWRIA, rather than DOW, for "died of wounds received in action." However, historically, militaries and historians have used the former acronym.

Societies Honoring KIA


Many societies venerate those killed in action. They set aside days of remembrance for their militaries and combat dead, and they build memorials and cenotaph
Cenotaph

A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere....
s in honor of their fallen. The families of those who die in combat, especially their next-of-kin, sometimes receive preferential treatment, such as military honors, exemption from taxes, and financial awards. National militaries also distinguish those killed in action with ceremonies
Ceremony

A ceremony is an activity, infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion....
 and awards. They also build walls and memorials to honor those who died. Many of the dead were honored.

See also

  • MIA
    Missing in action

    Missing in action is a status assigned to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed in action or Wounded in action in action, or become a prisoner of war, or may have Desertion....
     – Missing in action
  • WIA
    Wounded in action

    WIA is a three letter abbreviation standing for Wounded In Action.It is used to describe soldiers who have been Wound while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed....
     – Wounded in action
  • POW
    Prisoner of war

    A prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict....
     – Prisoner of war