Mikemover,

Thank you very much for the tribute!

I'm having trouble wording this in a way that will not cause any disservice or disrespect to the brave Americans in your list, but we are very fortunate to have such a short list.

In WWI about 1 in 15 soldiers gave their lives, in WWII still about 1 in 15. In Viet Nam about 1 in 13. I realize that the conflict is not yet finished, but by all indications, those ratios will be nowhere near indicative of losses.

BTW, I live in Audie Murphy country, not far from where he was born and raised. The 3rd. Infantry was Audie Murphy's outfit. Audie Murphy was the most highly decorated soldier of WWII. His exploits were widely documented, and some of the things he accomplished were almost beyond belief.

When this conflict is over, I will be anxious to see who the Audie Murphy will be from this event. In any shooting war, there are a few individuals that approach it with more determination and commitment than most of the other brave fighters.

Regardless of who the highly decorated heroes turn out to be, they all deserve a prayer of thanks and a snappy salute. They are all our heroes. Without them and those before them, we would not enjoy our extraordinary freedoms.

It's a real shame that there are Americans who spit in the eye of these brave young people by protesting in front of a funeral or memorial service honoring these fine young Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

It's so ironic that without the person being honored, the person doing the protesting would not have the right to do so. It is just IMPOSSIBLE for me to, in any way, understand how someone can be so cold and heartless. If there is anything that they could do to be more disrespectful to such a brave American, I can't imagine what it would be.

May God bless,