It is a terrible truth as old as the human condition -- nations make war and, inevitably, unmake men.

In this war, America's war in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 3,000 of our nation's sons and daughters have been killed. They are gone and we cannot have them back.

Since 2004, some 22,000 others have also fallen. Their bodies have been scorched and torn but they are still breathing. And now their lives are on the brink sustained by combat caregivers.

Stabilized with unrivaled skill and gently placed aboard flying intensive care units bound for home, many will land in the heart of Texas at a place of healing called Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston.

For some, all they can offer there is the tender mercy of time to say goodbye.

And yet for most, it will become a place of rebuilding, a place to harvest the humble gratitude of countrymen embracing a heartfelt vow to never again shortchange those who served and suffered.

It is for these fearless, these intrepid, that a new source of healing has emerged. It is an offering by those defended for those who've paid the price demanded by duty -- with a part of themselves.