War and Rumors of war

Walking for the White House to the Lincoln Memorial you see memorials for each of the wars the US has been involved in. The World War II memorial, makes you stop and think for a bit (which I suppose is the point). First of all the size, this thing is massive, a huge fountain (not on because it is winter after all) surround by columns labeled with state names, on the far west side and huge Arch with Pacific written on it, the far east an Arch with Atlantic, and between them all these columns. Standing inside it you feel small, and quiet.
Reading the wall, the countries, the state names, famous words about honor, war and freedom. It was moving, and confusing and humbling. To fight righteously, courageously under the direction of men, maybe we have been in politics for too long, I struggle to know what that would look like. Yet, you have Hitler, and Saddam and you have to start somewhere, and for those that did, that left families, and homes, and children, and pregnant wives and sweethearts, standing in the middle of that memorial you just want to say thank-you and I am thinking about what you gave, and lost and believed in.