The Ending paragraph on an essay written by Rick Atkinson on this Memorial Day, 2009...
"....
War is a clinic in mass killing, yet there’s a miracle of singularity; each death is as unique as a snowflake or a fingerprint. The most critical lesson for every American is to understand, viscerally, that this vast host died one by one by one; to understand in your bones that they died for you."
To see the entire essay, go here:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09144/972099-109.stm