The ceremony, held at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial
here, included a roll call honoring servicemembers from World War I
through the global war on terrorism. Mothers who lost children in
Vietnam and the global war on terrorism, including operations in
Afghanistan and Iraq, placed wreaths near the center of the memorial.
Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi, Iraq's deputy permanent representative to the
United Nations, served as keynote speaker and thanked the mothers for
the sacrifices their sons and daughters have made for his country.
Sad as the occasion was, it lifts me up.