The target was an expert bomb maker, suspected of killing numerous U.S. and NATO troops in western Afghanistan. As Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif and Sgt. Justin Hansen closed in on the enemy during a secret raid, the two Marines maneuvered to prevent the suspect’s escape.

He felt the two objects hit him in the back. When he looked, he saw two grenades at the feet of one of his fellow Marines. Then-Lance Cpl. Joshua Moore, a Marine scout sniper, picked up one grenade and threw it out of the compound his unit was occupying. The second grenade was corroded and didn’t explode.

Eight members of the 3-61 would die in battle nearby at Combat Outpost Keating two weeks later in one of the most costly engagements of the Afghanistan War. What Sean T. Ambriz was about to face was a prelude.

On most days, a combat photographer’s main responsibility is to shoot images. However, during a patrol in Iraq on Aug. 13, 2006, then-Petty Officer 1st Class Jackey Bratt was forced to put down her camera and pick up her weapon to defend fellow servicemembers and Iraqi soldiers from an insurgent attack.

Jeff Hall was in his backyard, holding a 9mm pistol to his head trying to find the courage to pull the trigger. That was in 2008, after two deployments to Iraq that left him physically and mentally wounded.

Air Force Senior Airman Zachary Hoeh scanned the hard-packed hillsides of the Afghanistan desert on May 26, 2011, looking for enemy triggermen who had virtually wiped out a squad of U.S. Army Pathfinders with improvised explosive devices.

When Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry receives the Medal of Honor in July, he’ll be the fourth hero from the war in Afghanistan to receive that recognition from President Barack Obama.

Were they heroes? Or were they fulfilling their job descriptions?

After nearly a decade of war, it’s easy to become numb to it.