THE FOURTH OF July is the time for patriotic hoohah by national poobahs. So, Commander-inChief George W. Bush will no doubt invoke, as he did on Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery, the "sacrifice" of that "awesome bunch of people."

Nate Hardy of Durham, N.H., and Mike Koch of State College, Pa., according to Bush, would "head into battle with American flags clutched to their chests underneath their uniform." Nate and Mike "both laid down their lives in Iraq after being ambushed by terrorists," and today "lay at rest next to each other."

Ron Tucker of Fountain, Colo., as a young man, was "known for having an infectious smile and a prankster's sense of humor," but the military "transformed" him "into a devoted soldier and dutiful son who called his mother every day."

Iraq War-2003
Suicides & suicide attempts