US soldiers have put their lives in Iraq. Their reward: foreclosure.

Foreclosures in US towns where soldiers live are increasing at almost four times the national average, according to data compiled by research firm RealtyTrac, as reported in Bloomberg. This was not seen after Vietnam, Korea or World War Two. The last time veterans lost their homes to this extent was the Great Depression.

Foreclosure filings in towns and cities within 10 miles of military facilities rose 217 per cent from January to April, compared with a year before. That compared with a national rate of 59 per cent. And the worst hit area was Columbia, South Carolina where it rose 492 per cent from the year before.

Why the military? Because these were the people who were targeted as customers during the housing boom. And because they were always on the move, or had overseas postings and low pay, they were more likely to have bad credit ratings. Which made them easy pickings for the lenders. Let's not forget that to keep the market growing, the lenders created "innovative financial products", which included so-called NINJA loans - no income, no job, and no assets required - and "Teaser loans", where clients initially paid a low interest rate which soared after two years.

As Bloomberg's Kathleen Howley points out, the law protects soldiers and sailors from losing their homes only when they are on active duty, and only for 90 days after they return home. And worse still, the onus is put on the families left behind to come up with the paperwork.