Michael Stokely, promoted posthumously to sergeant, died Aug. 16, 2005, at the age of 23. The Iraq war's toll has now surpassed 4,000, meaning there are many thousands of American families who have heard the words "We regret to inform you ..."; families who have felt what Robert Stokely felt on that August morning.

In an e-mail to the AJC just days before Memorial Day, Stokely, who is the Coweta County solicitor, wrote:

It hurts me deeply to let myself think about that morning, much less talk about it. But I do so because I think we live in a world where war will never cease to be a part of our lives. Many are to face what our family faced that morning, and they too will begin a journey we have now been on for the last three years. Maybe, just maybe, our story is a flicker of light on that uncharted path others will one day tread. Maybe they will see our footsteps and, in them, hope to go on.

Many look at Memorial Day as a three-day weekend to celebrate time off work and the beginning of summer. We look at Memorial Day as a time when we Remember with Honor what the high cost of freedom is for our family —- A Lifetime of Love. We have given our best, and we will not continue to do less.