Memorial Day

First recognized in 1868, Memorial Day was established to commemorate the men and women of the United States military who have died while serving their country. Designated as "a fitting tribute to the memory" of those individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice, the holiday obviously has an even greater meaning right now with our troops still in the Middle East.

On this Memorial Day, it is important to note that "The Washington Post" has created a web site called Faces of the Fallen (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/) to honor each U.S. service member who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The site includes important information for the service member, including a photograph, age, hometown, military background, the date on which the individual died and a description of the incident, as well as related links. With that being said, there are a few statistics to point out from the time that the United States has occupied the Middle East:

• 4,986 U.S. service members have died in the Middle East (as of May 22).
• 31,193 U.S. service members have been injured (as of April 14).
• 45,167 Iraqi civilians have been killed (as of May 26).
• It has unfortunately been 2,216 days since Mr. Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.