It’s the number of US war casualties since 1775 (death in combat or by war or military deployment)*.
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ARLINGTON, VA – MAY 27: Mary McHugh mourns her slain fiance Sgt. James Regan at ‘Section 60’ of the Arlington National Cemetery May 27, 2007. Regan, a US Army Ranger, was killed by an IED explosion in Iraq in February of this year, and this was the first time McHugh had visited the grave since the funeral.
* 74 of those, incidentally, were sustained during our first war in the “Middle East” (North Africa/Mediterranean)… Which began in 1801 (not-coincidentally-coinciding with the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson). Refusal to pay tribute to the Barbary pirates was one circumstance that led to the formation of the US Navy.