VALOR

American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have for five years now been fighting the war on terrorism. The arguments about the course of the war in Washington and in the media matter little to the military men and women who put on the gear and head into the fight every day.

Every day.

They inhabit the chaos in Afghanistan or Iraq, trying to build bridges, to deliver supplies, to do as they have been asked to help build stable societies where there were none.

Every day.

They get pictures and packages from home, trying to keep it in their minds that normal still exists.

They learn that their tours have been extended. They salute and drive on.

They live and work in the tense unknown and unseen, always anticipating the fury that so often erupts.

Every day.

In his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln spoke of the selflessness and sacrifice that also characterize today’s American warfighter:

“We cannot dedicate — we cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, while it can never forget what they did here.”

In this special section, Stars and Stripes, the independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense, looks at the deeds that have earned medals of valor for the servicemembers profiled in these stories. Those included stand as surrogates for the thousands of others so recognized.

Stripes focused on the highest honors given for valor in a war zone, irrespective of rank. This section pays tribute to the warfighter.

It is up to us to remember the deeds of those who have been in the arena, faces covered in dust and sweat and blood, while we go about our daily lives.

This publication captures but a glimpse of the deeds U.S. servicemembers have performed in distant lands. We honor all those who persevere in the cause of liberty.

By Patrick Dickson