Body Counts

The Virginia Tech victims are being identified, next of kin notified, and soon we will know all their names, ages and home towns. The registry of the dead will be closed.

In Iraq, out of our sight, the body counts never stop. This month alone, 64 of our young people have died there so far, bringing the total to 3311, 73 of them women.

There is no wall in Washington, yet, to commemorate those lives wasted or sacrificed (depending on John McCain’s discretion), but if you want to know their names, ages, ranks and home towns, there is a web site that meticulously lists them.

While our eyes were fastened on Blacksburg, those who died in Iraq yesterday (that we know of) were Shaun M. Blue, 25, Marine 1st Lieutenant, Munster, Ind.; Jesse D. Delatorre, 29, Marine Lance Corporal, Aurora, Ill.; and Daniel R. Scherry, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Rocky River, Ohio.

There will be more tomorrow.