Iraq, Afghan veterans seek memorial for war without end

Iraq, Afghan veterans seek memorial for war without end
Boston Globe
By Bryan Bender
DECEMBER 14, 2013

WASHINGTON — Brian and Alma Hart of Bedford frequently visit marker 60-7892 at Arlington National Cemetery, the grave site of their son, who died when his unit was ambushed in Iraq in 2003.

But their visits to the capital area do not stop there. They also search for another, more prominent location to memorialize Private First Class John D. Hart — and the estimated 2.5 million of his comrades from America’s post-9/11 wars.

The Harts are part of a diverse movement of veterans and families seeking to establish a national memorial to honor those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their drive is fraught with complicated questions about the “global war on terrorism,’’ its open-ended nature, and the unpopular conflicts it spawned. In all, nearly 6,800 American soldiers have died since 2001 — more than 4,400 in Iraq and nearly 2,300 in Afghanistan.

Even though John Hart died a decade ago, the larger mission for which he sacrificed his life remains an unsettled, controversial chapter in American life.

“There is no great icon of victory because there is no clear victory in either war,” said Brian Hart. “There are iconic images of how these wars started, but not how they were fought or how they ended, if they ended at all.”
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