The Price We Pay (as of September 8, 2005)

According to the Department of Defense, the total number of American military (and affiliated civilian) personnel killed in Iraq since March 2003 is 1,890. 7,549 have been wounded but were able to return to duty within 72 hours, and 6,813 have been wounded but could not return to duty within 72 hours.

In case you're wondering, August was a particular gruesome month in Iraq, with at least one soldier (and usually more) killed each day on 28 of the 31 days of the month (Death took a holiday on only three days last month -- August 17th, 19th and 24th). Each of the soldiers had a name, and most of their pictures have been posted at Military City.com. [link] Here are some of them:

Sergeant 1st Class Charles H. Warren, 36, of Duluth, Georgia. Sergeant Warren was married with two children, Jackson (age 2) and Madeline (age 2 months). His daughter was born while he was in Iraq. Warren worked as a pediatric intensive care nurse in Atlanta, and had served in the National Guard for 16 years. [link]

Army Specialist John Kulick , 35, of Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Specialist Kulick had a daughter, Amanda (age 9). Kulick was a firefighter and assistant fire marshal for Whitpain Township, outside Philadelphia, and had joined the National Guard in September 2003. [link]

Army Staff Sergeant Victoir Lieurance, 35, of Seymour, Tennessee. Staff Sergeant Lieurance was married with four children, ranging in age from 23 months to 12 years. Lieurance worked for the Postal Service. {link]

Army Staff Sergeant Asbury Hawn, 35, of Lebanon, Tennessee. Staff Sergeant Hawn was married with two children, ages 4 and 12. Hahn worked in a Nissan manufacturing plant, and had joined the National Guard after a four-year stint in the U.S. Army. [link]

They will be sorely missed.

[By the way, astute readers will notice that the four servicemen listed here are all in their mid-30s, with young children. This is no accident, since I intentionally selected men not unlike myself to get some perspective on who these people are. Those of you who are under the age of, say, 45, might want to look at the list and see if you see people not unlike yourselves.]