Families Mourn 5 Soldiers Killed in Iraq from The Guardian

Cleston Raney, 20, died in a military his family had tried to persuade him not to join - or at least postpone his enrollment.

Wonder why the reporter didn't say why his family didn't want him to join? Was it because they hated the US, hated the military or were against the war in Iraq? The reporter deliberately left if for you to decide in this context of war is terrible.

It was none of those things but thanks to the Guardian you would not know the reasons. Recent polls show Americans support actions in Iraq and military reenlistment is at an all time high. So why would a family not want their son to join up? Because who wants their son to be put in harms way? No one would.

``But once we realized the strength of his convictions,'' his family said in a statement this week from their Idaho home, ``the family put our own fears on the back burner to support his sense of purpose and overwhelming need to make a difference 100 percent.''

There is your reasons why they, all of them, do it. I did for 30 years.

We owe them a great debt of gratitude. Despite the continuing deaths of their countrymen they continue to sign up and reenlist so they can "make a difference".