'We know firsthand the nature of war'

Patrol Base Kherse, Marjah Afghanistan— Before the rows of Marines are two flags raised behind a helmet placed on top of a M16 A2 weapon. On a chain hangs dog tags on a chain and below that are a pair of boots resting on a box with the image of the young Marine, killed in action. The flags are called a battlefield cross, used in the battlefields of the Civil War to identify bodies before they were moved.