*The Washington Post *offers an obituary/news story about the last United States soldier to die in Iraq before the official declaration of an end to the war this week.
The article is an amazing read solely for the opportunity to learn a little bit about a person who served his country and that person’s dreams and aspirations. As conflicts drag on, the fallen can become statistics and reading their stories assists in reminding us that humans are behind those numbers.
The last to die in a conflict is a historical distinction none seeks and it seems pointless – why did he have to die when the conflict was effectively over.
This question is even more potent in the content of the last Canadian battle casualty of the First World War.
Private George Lawrence Price died at 10:58 on November 11, 1918 – only two minutes before all guns fell silent and the war ended.
Kudos to *The Washington Post *for doing more than write a the story of the historic distinction.