re: The worst wars to be a US soldier in

Not even close. Civil War.

Dudes lined up with bayonets drawn, then march across an open field all the while being peppered with canister and slaughtered in droves as they charged the enemy position.

In one disturbing account a union officer was strolling through a battleground. Whereupon he stumbled upon a confederate soldier, still alive, with maggots partaking of his innards. The poor maggot infested confederate soldier was oblivious to his surroundings. But incredibly, still alive.

In terms of dealing with the wounded on the battlefield during the Civil War, the mortality rate of the severely wounded was off the chart. The standard practice for treating severe wounds to arms and legs was to simply saw them off. Ouch! Then wash the blood off the table with a bucket of water and bring in the next convulsing body. I recall seeing an awful Matthew Brady picture of amputated limbs piled high outside a barn window. Yep, the American Civil War can best be described as a meat grinder.

Which brings me to hope we NEVER plunge our country into another bloodbath like that one.