Americans set aside Veterans Day to thank those who have sacrificed to serve our country. Today, we live with a fresh, grim reminder of how great those sacrifices can be.
Just last month the Defense Department announced some 3,500 Iowa Army National Guard soldiers would be deployed to Afghanistan next year to fight the Taliban. That means about 200 soldiers from the tri-state area -- many of whom have deployed once or twice before -- will leave their families to head back into harm's way. These soldiers are our relatives, our neighbors and our co-workers. Yet when their country calls, they step up to serve. It is an awesome commitment and responsibility.
Now, years into these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the combined deaths of U.S. soldiers in both places number more than 6,000. That's a small number compared to some of the massive casualties of war throughout history. More than 58,000 died in nine years in Vietnam. America lost more than 400,000 soldiers in World War II. But those statistics don't make it any easier for those of us observing the new deployments.
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It certainly doesn't make it easier on friends and family of Pvt. 1st Class Devin Michel, of Stockton, Ill. He died on Oct. 24 in Afghanistan's Zhari province after enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was 19, and married a little more than a year. This Veterans Day, the Stockton area surely mourns the loss of this hometown hero.
Military families might have a hard time not thinking today about the tragedy at Fort Hood, an attack that left 13 dead and 29 wounded, perpetrated by a U.S. military officer. That's not the kind of sacrifice we expect our service personnel to have to make.
Each Veterans Day, fewer veterans survive to tell the stories of their experiences in America's wars. Meanwhile, a new generation of combat veterans is earning its stripes in the deserts and urban thoroughfares of the Middle East. Today's assembly at Washington Square will include area schoolchildren, who will come to learn something about sacrifice, and why they should be thankful. It's important that we keep telling children the stories of our veterans, and what it means to fight for freedom.
This Veterans Day we honor those who have served our nation in past wars, and those deployed today. As they serve their country, they serve us all. We offer them our thanks, and wish them Godspeed and a safe return home.
Editorials reflect the consensus of the Telegraph Herald Editorial Board.
