As today marks the 80th anniversary of the official end of World War II in Europe, the number of people who witnessed the horrors of the war against Nazi Germany first hand is quickly dwindling. 

Speaking to contemporary witnesses is perhaps the most effective way to learn from history, but fewer and fewer are available to recount what happened 80 years ago. 

According to a recent YouGov survey, 37 percent of Americans said they knew little or nothing about World War II or the events leading up to it, showing how important it is to make sure the lessons learned in WWII outlive those who served in the conflict.

16 million Americans fought in the World War II, but today their ranks are rapidly diminishing. 

U.S. men and women who served in the conflict are now in their 90s (some are much older) with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimating that less than 70,000 are still alive today, a significant decline from the 930,000 alive in 2015 and more than two million five years before that.

As Statista's Felix Richter reports, based on the best available Veteran data at the end of FY2023, the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics used a deterministic projection model to estimate and project the veteran population for the next 30 years. Its findings show how the number of living WWII vets will rapidly decline over the coming years with the last ones expected to pass away in the early 2040s. The last American veteran of the First World War, Frank Buckles, passed away in February 2011, aged 110.

You will find more infographics at Statista

World War II was the largest and deadliest conflict in human history claiming the lives of over 50 million combatants and civilians by the time it ended in 1945. 

More than 400,000 American service members died in the conflict, making it the deadliest war in America's history as well.