Q&A on the News

Q: What happened to Abby Sunderland's sailboat? Is it still just floating out there in the Indian Ocean, or did they tow it somewhere?

—Allen Becker, Roswell

A: Wild Eyes, Sunderland's 40-foot sailboat, is drifting eastward at about 24 nautical miles per day toward the Australian coast, according to her official Web site, www.abbysunderland.com. A spokesman valued the boat and equipment at $120,000, the Associated Press reported.

Q: I have visited the Korean War Memorial in Washington, where the memorial lists over 50,000 U.S. military deaths for that period of 1950-53. Yet, the number in most news reports is 37,000 U.S. military deaths. Which is correct?

—John M. Davis, Atlanta

A: The Defense Department lists the number of Korean War deaths at 54,246, which includes all U.S. military losses worldwide from June 27, 1950, until the Korean armistice in July 1953, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission and history.com, the website of the History Channel. For example, any American soldier killed in a car accident anywhere in the world in that three-year span is considered a casualty of the Korean War, according to history.com. The Defense Department has divided the deaths into three categories: 33,686 battle deaths; 2,830 non-battle deaths; and 17,730 deaths of personnel outside the Korean Theater. A plaque at the Korean War Memorial uses the Defense Department's number of 54,246. The number of battle and non-battle deaths comes to 36,516, which may account for the number you've heard in news reports.