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Sat Apr 12, 1:33 PM ET

A U.S. Marine Corps color guard escorts the casket of Lance Cpl. William White, during memorial services in his church in Brooklyn, New York, Saturday, April 12, 2003. White was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq

Sat Apr 12, 1:33 PM ET

A relative reacts while viewing the open casket of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William White, during memorial services in his church in Brooklyn, New York, Saturday, April 12, 2003. White was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq

Fri Apr 11,11:38 PM ET

Mary Hamann sits in front of pictures of her son Justin, right, and five other boys she helped raise in her Oshkosh, Wis., home on March 31, 2003. All six are currently serving in the military in the Middle East.

Fri Apr 11,11:36 PM ET

Simona Garibay receives a U.S. flag from Maj. Brian Dolan during funeral services for her son, Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay, at Riverside National Cemetery, April 11, 2003. Cpl. Garibay, who was awarded posthumous citizenship, was buried Friday with full military honors. He was also named honorary Costa Mesa policeman after Chief Dave Snowden learned Garibay hoped to become a police officer after completing his military duties. Cpl. Garibay, a native of Mexico, was killed March 23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq

Fri Apr 11,11:34 PM ET

An unidentified policeman (L) salutes as the casket of Cpl. Jose A. Garibay is carried by a Marine honor guard from Seal Naval Weapons Station to its final place of rest at Riverside National Cemetery, April 11, 2003. Cpl. Garibay, who was awarded posthumous citizenship, was buried Friday with full military honors. He was also named honorary Costa Mesa policeman after Chief Dave Snowden learned Garibay hoped to become a police officer after completing his military duties. Cpl. Garibay, a native of Mexico, was killed March 23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq

Fri Apr 11, 5:47 PM ET

Bagpipers play as the casket of Army Cpl. Michael Curtin is carried out of St. Veronica's church in Howell, New Jersey, April 11, 2003. Cpl. Curtin was one of four of United States Army soldiers killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a checkpoint in Najaf, Iraq

Fri Apr 11, 4:41 PM ET

Taylyn Solomon (C) holds the flag that draped the casket belonging to his father, Sgt. Roderic A. Solomon, during a memorial service held for Solomon April 11, 2003 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Solomon, who was assigned to the 3rd Ifantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, died near the town of Najaf, Iraq (news - web sites) while riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Solomon is the first North Carolina native to be killed during the war with Iraq.

Fri Apr 11, 4:15 PM ET

Members of the United States Army Honor Guard unload the body of Sgt. Roderic A. Solomon from a hearse prior to a memorial service held for him April 11, 2003 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Solomon was the first North Carolina native to be killed in the war with Iraq (news - web sites). Solomon, who was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, died near the town of Najaf, Iraq while riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Fri Apr 11, 4:02 PM ET

Members of the United States Army Honor Guard carry the casket belonging to Sgt. Roderic A. Solomon out of Fayetteville Christian Church following a memorial service held for him April 11, 2003 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Solomon, who was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, died near the town of Najaf, Iraq (news - web sites) while riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Solomon is the first North Carolina native to be killed during the war with Iraq.

Fri Apr 11, 4:02 PM ET

Joan Curtin (C) cries as an unidentified man holds the flag for her son Army Cpl. Michael E. Curtin, at his funeral in Howell Township, New Jersey, April 11, 2003. Curtin, 23, died along with three other soldiers from his unit of the Third Infantry Division in the March 29 suicide bombing at a military checkpoint

Fri Apr 11, 3:59 PM ET

An officer with the United State Army hands a flag that draped the casket of Sgt. Roderic A. Solomon to Solomon's mother Belinda following a memorial service held for him April 11, 2003 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Solomon, who was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, died near the town of Najaf, Iraq (news - web sites) while riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Solomon is the first North Carolina native to be killed during the war with Iraq

Fri Apr 11,10:45 AM ET

Police officers from Salt Lake City and a Marine honor guard escort the casket of US Marine Staff Sgt. James Wilford Cawley past several hundred officers for his funeral in Bountiful, Utah

Fri Apr 11, 4:20 PM ET

United States Army honor guards carry the casket of Army Cpl. Michael Curtin to his final resting place, at a cemetery in Howell Township, New Jersey, April 11, 2003. Cpl. Curtin was one of four of United States Army soldiers killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a checkpoint in Najaf, Iraq

In Memory of...
by Frank J. Montoya

In memory of... the Doughboys,
Who went "Over There" to fight.
They ate and slept in a muddy trench;
They suffered shot and shell and poison gas.
They lie now, silently, beneath Cross or Star,
In lonely fields, across the sea, so far.

In memory of... the GI Joes,
Who throughout the world did proudly serve,
In that dreadful "War to end all Wars".
The hundreds of thousands who bravely died
To preserve our precious way of life;
To save the world from pain and strife.

In memory of... those neglected souls,
Who in Korea waged "The Forgotten War."
They faced Siberian cold and scorching heat,
And a Gargantuan foe in a relentless land.
Can we forget the Battle of Pork Chop Hill,
And the more than 8000 that are missing still?

In memory of... those who went, in doubt,
To fight a most unpopular and thankless war.
As they died their peers maligned their deeds;
Their cause decried abroad and here at home.
No regard for the thousands that would sadly fall,
Their names engraved on that cold memorial wall.

In memory of... those who died on desert sands,
And who died "keeping peace" in foreign lands.
Whether hot or cold...wars call for sacrifice,
And our sons and daughters have paid the price.

Let us hold them ever close, in memory,
For they have shown that Freedom Is Not Free.

In Memory of the Prison Artist

"Locked within the tyrant's cell
Powerless to escape this hell

Stripped of all humanity
With no way out, no way to flee

The things I once thought somehow mattered
Now utterly worthless, illusion shattered

All I think of now are my children and wife
More important to me than my very life

My imprisonment has forced me to measure
To recognize my only treasure"

EV

Powerful pictures, my friend. For those of us who have been on the receiving side of one of those flags, it's a very proud, humbling, and sad moment.

My heart aches for the families left behind, but my American pride stands stronger than ever. God Bless these soldiers.