The death of a loved one is harder to deal with when the death is unexpected.

The war in Iraq has tallied up 1,879 deaths (and counting) across the nation. This number may seem insignificant, but it really does make an impact when a war casualty occurs to a family we know.

The war finally hit home when two young men that I knew died. First Lt. Osbaldo Orozco, 26, of Earlimart was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq on April 25, 2003.

Sgt. Atanacio Haro Marin, 27, of Baldwin Park was killed when the checkpoint his unit was manning came under fire on June 3, 2003.

Before their deaths I rarely ever thought about the war in Iraq.

We seem to be more preoccupied with what is happening in our own lives then of those who serve our country.

Sgt. Marin’s death had a great impact on his family. It was hard to comprehend why his death had occurred, but his family respected and understood what Marin’s service entailed.

So many other deaths like Orozco’s and Marin’s have stirred up an immense concern for the troops that are still serving in Iraq.

What are we still doing there?

I know that you’re thinking this topic is so redundant, but what if it was your loved one?

Supporting the war was easier in the beginning because we had an objective. The original objective was freedom, but our objective is no longer clear. Bush’s administration has not been able to present evidence for allegations made against Iraq. Besides that, what does Iraq have to do with Al Qaeda? Osama Bin Laden is the one responsible for Sept. 11. Our objective has been sidetracked by invading the wrong country.

The war in Iraq reminds me of the controversy and chaos that existed in America when we decided to send troops to Vietnam. The only difference being that we praise and thank our troops for doing their job in Iraq while we refuse to acknowledge those troops who served in Vietnam.

Much like Vietnam our enemy is invisible, we have lost our objective and finally we are losing our troops more and more every day.