Fathers, Brothers, Husbands, Sons

President Obama was elected one year ago this week. Though I did not vote for him, I am now glad that he won the election. His policies do not always align with mine, but I am particularly proud of his efforts to make America more of a "team player" in this global neighborhood of ours.

Even as a proud Texan who sported a "Luv Ya, Dubya" sticker on my car in the fall of 2000, I cringed at our damaged relationships with other nations over the following 8 years. Yet, as I read this data today, I remembered what the US have given to advance the cause of freedom in our world:

1. Aisne-Marne, France, a total of 2,289 of our military dead.

2. Ardennes, Belgium, a total of 5,329 of our military dead.

3. Brittany, France, a total of 410 of our military dead.

4. Brookwood, England, a total of 468 of our military dead.

5. Cambridge, England, a total of 3,812 of our military dead.

6. Epinal, France, a total of 5,525 of our military dead.

7. Flanders Field, Belgium, a total of 368 of our military dead.

8. Florence, Italy, a total of 4,402 of our military dead.

9. Henri-Chapelle, Belgium, a total of 7,992 of our military dead.

10. Lorraine, France, a total of 10,489 of our military dead.

11. Luxembourg, a total of 5,076 of our military dead.

12. Meuse-Argonne, a total of 14,246 of our military dead.

13. The Netherlands, a total of 8,301 of our military dead.

14. Normandy, France, a total of 9,387 of our military dead.

15. Oise, Aisne, France, a total of 6,012 of our military dead.

16. Rhone, France, a total of 861 of our military dead.

17. Sicily, Italy, a total of 7,861 of our military dead.

18. Somme, France, a total of 1,844 of our military dead.

19. St. Mihiel, France, a total of 4,153 of our military dead.

20. Suresnes, France, a total of 1,541 of our military dead.