Throughout 2005,there was an exhibit traveling around the country called "Eyes Wide Open,"
and I was able to view it while visiting the mainland.
Without heavy political agenda, the purpose of the project was to present
in a personal and profound way, "The Human Cost Of War."
On the day it came to a nearby town (March, 2005), the exhibit featured over 1500 pairs
of boots representing each soldier killed in the Iraqi War,
and another large area filled with street shoes representing the more than 10,000 civilian lives lost as well.
Unfortunately these numbers rapidly grow and the exhibit becomes larger with each city visited
while this war continues to take lives...

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER, 2006
Another commemoration...
Today, September 22, 2006, the official tally of American soldiers killed in Iraq
now equals the number of people killed in the 9/11/01 attacks on American soil.
An even greater tragedy is the fact that the number of civilian casualties has now reached approximately 130,000.

UPDATE: 2012
On October 21, 2011, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops and trainers
would leave Iraq by the end of the year, bringing the U.S. mission in Iraq to an end.
On December 15, 2011, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta officially declared the Iraq War over.
The last U.S. troops left Iraqi territory on December 18, 2011 at 4:27 UTC.

Estimated total of Civilian and Combatant Casualties: 162,000.
Rest In Peace...