Memorial Day 2015: Never forget.

The number of battlefield casualties for America has dwindled since the last Memorial Day, as most U.S. forces have returned from faraway war zones and those who remain perform the job of adviser. But the casualties off the battlefield continued last year, and so does the need to remember and honor.

Some, like the region’s latest fallen warrior, Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Barron, died recently in one of the many accidents during training needed to keep troops always at the ready. If eternal vigilance is the price of peace, part of that price will always be accidents that cost lives.

Others died out of uniform and away from battlefield or base, losing a personal war against physical or emotional wounds of previous service. Post-traumatic stress disorder can kill more slowly, but just as surely as bombs or bullets. One study for Veterans Affairs estimates 22 veterans commit suicide each day.

Most of these are not casualties of Iraq and Afghanistan service, the study noted. Nearly two-thirds are 50 years or older, so they might have seen service in Kosovo or Vietnam, Korea or World War II. It’s a sobering statistic, and a reminder that the casualties of war continue through generations.

On Memorial Day it is important to honor all who gave their life for service to their country, however they have fallen.

 –  Jim Camden, staff writer