This week it was announced that more United States soldiers have died in Iraq in 2007 than any year since the war began. While we are told that victory is at hand and progress is being made, the death and destruction continue. Very soon, the total number American deaths will top 4,000. And as we celebrate this terrible milestone, I bet Congress and the President will still be debating and posturing.

As I read the new headlines on Iraq this week, I noticed that they all seemed very impersonal. The media failed to capture the tragic loss that so many families and communities have experienced. While many lives and much talent have been lost, we rarely see the faces behind the headlines.

So, I searched for a while, until I found a story about Private Adam Muller of Richmond, Vermont. Muller was a gunner for the 10th Mountain Division, who arrived in Iraq just two months ago.

Private Muller was only 21-years-old and had recently married his high school sweetheart Michelle Nelson.

The Burlington Free Press wrote in their story of Private Muller's death:

“He was loved by everyone,” said Wells, whose son was best friends with Muller. “He was a very sweet young man. We’re all devastated and angry at the same time. I think we’re all angry about this war, that so many young men are dying needlessly.”

When Muller signed up in 2006 — to make money to pay off college loans — he was told he’d be providing security for top officials, but he was told two weeks before he shipped out that he’d be a gunner, Wells said.

“We were all very angry about that. He isn’t anyone who could ever hurt a flea,” Wells said Tuesday. “To put him behind a gun was the last thing he needed.”

Below is a picture of Private Muller and his wife Michelle at their high school prom from The Burlington Free Press. Need I say anything more?