Remembering

This is the weekend of remembering...remembering those who lost their lives in the name of freedom. Here are some staggering statistics regarding this very topic, according to the American War Deaths site:
     American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)  25,000 lives lost
     Quasi War (1798-1800)  514 lives lost
     War of 1812 (1812-1815)   20,000 lives lost
     Mexican-American War (1846-1848)  13,283 lives lost
     Civil War (1861-1865)  625,000 lives lost
     Spanish-American War (1898)  2446 lives lost
     Border War (1910-1919)  data unavailable
     World War I (1914-1918) 116,516 lives lost
     World War II (1939-1945)  405,399  lives lost
     Korean War (1950-1953)   36,516 lives lost
     Vietnam War (1965-1975)  58,209 lives lost
     Tanker War (1977-1978) data unavilable
     Invasion of Panama (1989-1990)   40 lives lost
     Gulf War (1990-1991)  258 lives lost
     Bosnian War (1994-1995)  12 lives lost
     Kosovo War (1998-1999)  20 lives lost
     War in Afghanistan (2001-2014, 2015-present)  2356 lives lost
     Iraq War (2003-2011)  4489 lives lost
     War on ISIS (2014-Present) 30 military and hundreds of civilians

In the midst of our parties, drinking, picnics, and grilling, may we pause a moment in silence and remember those who gave their lives protecting our freedom.  May they rest in peace.