Remembering

May 31 was Memorial Day - a holiday to honor those who gave their lives for their country.  Traditionally, the people remembered in this holiday were those who died in the great conflicts of the 20th century - World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam.

There are others however, who have died in more recent years.
There have been over 6000 members of the armed forces of the US and other allied countries who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (224 from the UK in Afghanistan and 126 from the UK in Iraq for example).  There have also been many thousands of civilian casualties.  This CNN website contains a lot of information about the casualties in these two conflicts.

The majority of these casualties were young people, just getting started in their lives and one can only wonder at the potential they held within them.  There were those too, who had families and even children.  It is those children, orphaned by the loss of a parent in a faraway land, in a war they don't understand, for whom I feel the most empathy.

The casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the most recent and thus their loss impacts us the most.  Their memories have not been dulled by the passing of time.  Their loved ones continue to talk about them as if they are still around.  This is one holiday that ensures we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.