In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
— Lt. Col. John A. McCrae
Those words written to reflect the battlefield realities of World War I remain meaningful nearly a hundred years later. American soldiers are still dying on foreign soil. Like the doughboys back then, they commit their lives to a fight that isn’t so easy for some to understand. They do their duty.
The Afghanistan war, in particular, can be difficult to figure out. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, this nation was unified in its belief that taking out the culprits was necessary to ensure the country’s future safety. At the time, few envisioned that mission would take 10 years, leave nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers dead, and cost this country more than $500 billion — and counting.
