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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Faces of the Fallen

When a nation sends its sons and daughters to war, the people at home hope and pray they return safely. But we also know that’s not always the case, and promise to honor the memories of those who don’t make it home.

This year, as the nation mourns its fallen on Memorial Day, the Inland Northwest has two more servicemen to honor. Chief Warrant Officer Niall D. Lyons, of Spokane, a 40-year-old Army helicopter pilot who’d previously served in Iraq, was killed in a crash in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, in October. Sgt. Abe M. Kaschmitter, of Davenport, was killed by a virus just days before his 24th birthday as his Marine unit left for what was to be his second tour in Iraq.

Those two Inland Northwest men are part of the nation’s 1,000 military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001, and 4,400 in Iraq since 2003. Some may consider two deaths in a year a small number, and it is the smallest locally since the war in Iraq began.

But for the families and friends of Lyons and Kaschmitter, and the other men and women pictured here and at spokesman.com/photos, numbers aren’t the point. Each death is important because each life was important. And each is worth remembering every day, not just Memorial Day.

– Jim Camden