So... the war's over.

The President finally announced what we all have known for a while now. The Iraq war is officially over. All troops will be out of there before the year is out. This is undeniably great news.

It's weird, though. That war owned my family's entire life for years. From the moment it began until six months ago, it was a huge part of our lives. Thak spent so much time in Iraq that it was actually fairly recent that we reached the point that we'd spent 50% of the time we've been together, actually physically in the same place. That's saying something when you consider that Thak and I aren't a new thing.

I guess maybe it's because the troops who are being given the biggest heroes' welcome home, are the ones who have mostly done the least. Sure, there are troops in those units who have done multiple tours, but it isn't the majority. Most of the troops I know who are there are brand new, or just pulled from non-deploying assignments to get combat command experience. They'll get a patch showing that they were there. They'll get the parades and the news stories. They'll get all the thanks and congratulations.

Where were those guys during the invasion, when SFC Paul Ray Smith laid down his life for his platoon, and earned the Medal of Honor in the battle at the airport? Where were they when Ramadi was a constant firestorm? Where were they when a FOB south of Baghdad was called The Shooting Gallery because it rained mortars night and day? They were not there. Thak was. A lot of other people we know were. They are the ones who fought and won that war, if it can be said that it was won.

War is not about glory. That's one of the first things you learn. I do find it pretty ironic, though, that the ones who will always live with the war, are not the ones who are being congratulated for ending it. Not that most want the attention anyway. I know Thak really doesn't. It's just ironic.