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Students Honor Fallen Veterans with Massive Display of 6,800 American Flags

Students at Rider University in New Jersey have erected a touching memorial to the U.S. troops who have fallen since the nation began military operations in the middle east in October 2011.

The Times of Trenton reports that two students are behind the effort–Jonathan Bowker, 26, and Tyler Hobbs, 28. Bowker is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq. And Hobbs served in the Marine Corps.

“They didn’t die for oil; they didn’t die for weapons of mass destruction; they died for the person next to them,” Hobbs told The Times. “They died so that someone else could go to college, rather than have to dodge bullets.”

As of February, 2013, Department of Defense statistics report more than 6,600 U.S. military deaths from the combined campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001–the combined totals of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Bowker and Hobbs planted 6,756 flags in their memorial, reflecting additional casualties this year.

Check out the full story at the Times of Trenton to read more about these two student-veterans, and their noble effort to commemorate the soldiers who have lost their lives in the ongoing conflicts in the middle east.

And today, remember to thank the veterans in your life, reminding yourself all along that there are many who aren’t with us anymore and are therefore unable to hear our thanks.

While the number of casualties is staggering, let us remember that each fallen veteran is more than a number. Each one is an American hero.

Nathan Harden is editor of The College Fix and author of the book SEX & GOD AT YALE: Porn, Political Correctness, and a Good Education Gone Bad.

Like The College Fix on Facebook. / Follow Nathan on Twitter @NathanHarden

(Image via Times of Trenton)

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