Here is a perspective on the war I hadn't thought of. For the high school class of 2008, the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan has been going on since these kids were in middle school. For some, September 11, 2001, was the turning point in their young lives.
The war that started five years ago has touched nearly every one of their lives in some way.
The (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press reports:
Theirs is the first senior
class in more than 30 years in which a U.S. war has been the background
to its entire high school career. Students like (Franklin) Banegas, who plans to
enlist in the Army, following his older brother, face the possibility
of going to war. Ask any high school senior, and chances are the
student knows someone who is mulling the idea of enlisting in the
military, and knows someone who already is actively serving in a combat
zone.
"I know five people who are in Iraq right now," Banegas said.
He also knows more than two dozen students who plan to enlist in the military this year.
