Sons and daughters.

Byline: The Register-Guard

For the men and women in America's all-volunteer armed forces, the war in Iraq is not an abstract political issue or a two-dimensional newspaper story. It is a stark and harrowing 24/7 reality.

That's why it is so crucial for everyone to be regularly reminded that these troops are the flesh-and-blood manifestation of American policy. They will remain willingly in harm's way until they receive orders to stand down - unless they are killed or wounded first.

In recent weeks, The Register-Guard has published several accounts of how the war has changed the lives of local soldiers and their loved ones. Within the arc of those diverse experiences are stories of inspirational heroism, horrific injuries, disillusionment and death.

Reporter Susan Palmer introduced readers to Army Chief Warrant Officer Lori Hill, a 1987 Thurston High School graduate who just received the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of only 17 soldiers to win a DFC during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hill, a 19-year career Army pilot who will retire next year, received a medal that is awarded to those who distinguish themselves in combat by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight."

Palmer recounted the battle last March in which Hill, flying helicopters for the 17th Cavalry Regiment out of a base northwest of Baghdad, ran into concentrated enemy fire that blasted through her foot and damaged the transmission of her Kiowa Warrior reconnaissance combat helicopter. After finishing her mission and safely skid-landing her disabled chopper, Hill was evacuated to Germany for medical care.

The picture of Hill that emerged in Palmer's detailed portrait was of a selfless, highly skilled soldier - the kind of soldier with whom it's an honor to serve, and of whom the nation should be proud.

We should be equally proud of Sgt. William Glass, a 2002 graduate of Churchill High School in Eugene assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division. Readers were introduced to the 22-year-old sergeant in a guest viewpoint column written by his mother, Karen Mitchell.

Because of the Army's stop-loss policy, Will Glass wasn't allowed to leave when his Iraq tour ended last April. He was held over for a second deployment in Iraq. On Sept. 18, he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol and suffered terrible injuries to his head, arms, hands and abdomen.

In a passage of searing parental anguish, Mitchell undoubtedly brought tears to many readers' eyes as she described first seeing her son at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

"When I first saw him, he was unrecognizable, almost inhuman looking," Mitchell wrote. "Feeling a sick sort of desperation, I pulled his photograph from my wallet and began showing it to doctors and nurses in the ICU. I wanted them to know that it was Will, my son, a real person, beneath the horrible, thick, bloody scabs and burns."

Mitchell's heart-wrenching story of her son's injuries served to remind Lane County readers that Will was just one of more than 21,500 soldiers who have been wounded in Iraq.

Larry Turner's son, Matt, is in the Army's 1st Armored Division, stationed at a remote outpost near the hotbed of Ramadi. Turner, a Eugene photographer and writer who opposes the Iraq war, wrote in a guest viewpoint that his son also had his Iraq tour extended.

In a dead-of-night phone call in mid-November, Turner said Matt told his parents that he was on a dangerous patrol, that he loved them, and that "if anything happened to him that he would take his love for us to his death and beyond." Matt survived the patrol but remains disillusioned about the insurgency and the vanishing possibility of military victory.

Turner spoke for all who have loved ones in the line of fire when he said: "We want our son, and all sons and daughters of this country, all heroes in my book, to come back from Iraq standing, not lying down in a flag-draped box."

Finally, there was the story of Pvt. First Class Dean Bright of Sutherlin, winner of the Bronze Star for heroism. Bright was killed Oct. 4 in a roadside bomb attack, the third Roseburg-area soldier killed in Iraq.

Reporter Bob Keefer covered Bright's funeral, at which Gov. Ted Kulongoski said, "No matter where you stand on the war in Iraq, there can be no doubt that Roseburg and its surroundings have paid a terrible price for this war."

Keefer recounted how Bright went through basic training with Devon Gibbons, and the two became friends as they went to Iraq together in the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division last April. On patrol in Iraq, Gibbons' Bradley fighting vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

The Bradley was upside down and burning when Bright reached Gibbons and pulled him out. Though Gibbons later died from his injuries, his parents attended Bright's funeral to honor his heroic efforts to save their son.

"A hero," said Mel Gibbons, "is someone who understands love better than the rest of us. Dean Bright was a hero to me."

Lori Hill, Will Glass, Matt Turner, Dean Bright, Devon Gibbons - heroes all. We honor them by pledging not to forget what we are asking of their 140,000 comrades in arms who remain on duty, under fire, 7,500 miles from home.