It has been a little over five years since the war in Iraq began. Reports of the events in the Middle East are part of the news on a daily basis. Those stories are meant to inform the public of the events in that area. However, what happens too often is that repetition can result in familiarity in a way that makes readers, viewers, or listeners essentially tune out the news as “just another report on the war”.

Anyone with a loved one in harm’s way will say those reports are not to be easily dismissed. Those are stories of real people in dire situations. When those lives are ended for the cause of freedom, real people hurt and grieve.

Unfortunately Wetzel County experienced that pain last week with the death of Sgt. Jesse Adam Ault. A known name and face was put with the news this time and the reality was all too real. He would not be coming home on Mother’s Day. He would not be enjoying a new home with his family. His three children will not have his physical presence in their lives as they grow and learn all the lessons of life. Unfortunately, a very hard lesson came on April 9, 2008, when two of his children were too young to have any inkling of the happenings half a world away.

The war in Iraq is very real and we can only hope and pray that it will end soon—for the sake of all involved and for the loved ones who hope they never receive the news the Ault family did this week.