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I did find something I liked in Boston . . .

. . . besides the Oyster Stew.

We were visiting the Old North Church. As you approach from behind, walking the Freedom Trail, you come in through a small walled-in courtyard. There the parishioners have erected four wooden posts about five feet high. Wires are strung between these posts, making a small fence about eight feet wide.

Along the wires hang blank military dogtags: one for each service man or woman killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

A small sign asks for your prayers and donations for their families.

There is no editorializing, just the mute reminders of the ultimate sacrifices of our daughters and sons, which invites reflection on why they are there and what we can do about it.

There, the metal tags glistening in a light rain, it spoke to us with the same kind of eloquence I experienced at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

What struck me about this is that any church, any school could create a similar memorial with very little cost.

And it also strikes me as a whole lot more evocative that putting an Iraq casualty toll widget on your web site.

Which is why you'll soon find it here.

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