They are so beautiful. I see them on the television today. One after another. Little boys and girls, teens, men, and women. They lived only a few short years. They died before they grew up, before they had a chance to marry, before their children were old enough to leave home. They were like the branches on a blossoming tree, cut off in full bloom, never allowed to bear fruit.<\/p>\n
They leave mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, whose lives are lived in the shadow of pain, never really believing that their loved ones will not return to them, hoping that this is some cosmic mistake that will be corrected.<\/p>\n
They died defending their people, their land from those who desire our destruction. Many died only because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when some homicidal maniac decided that blowing up the innocent was a way into heaven.<\/p>\n
Today we remember them all. In pictures and films we see their smiles, their laughter, and the warmth and affection they shared with those they loved. We embrace their loved ones and we pray that our enemies will begin to place more value on their own lives than on hating and destroying others.<\/p>\n