To me, this is a disturbing sign:
Fort Lewis, which this month has suffered its worst losses of the war, will no longer conduct individual memorial ceremonies for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead the post will hold one ceremony for all soldiers killed each month, the Fort Lewis acting commanding general, Brig. Gen. William Troy, wrote in a memo to commanders and staff last week.
"As much as we would like to think otherwise, I am afraid that with the number of soldiers we now have in harm’s way, our losses will preclude us from continuing to do individual memorial ceremonies," Troy wrote in the memo, according to a copy obtained by United for Peace Pierce County and posted on the group’s Web site.
A post spokesman confirmed the policy change Tuesday. It will start in June.
Not a lot of analysis here - but, wow: have military casualties become such a day-to-day part of our lives that now the military itself is willing to consolidate tributes to the deceased for the sake of convenience? What the hell is going on here?