So, I’m back. So are U.S. Army Cpl. Robert L. Mason of Parkersburg, W.Va.; and Pfc. Joseph K. Meyer Jr., of Wahpeton, N.D. Both men were recently buried after long stays in North Korea at the Chosin Reservoir where they fell in the famous Korean War battle that decimated much of an Army brigade and sent Marines scattering.

Mason was assigned to B Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and Meyer was assigned to K Company, 31st Infantry Regiment. Both were attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December, 1950. Both men died as result of intense enemy fire, and their bodies were not recovered at the time.

Between 2001 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of several burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of several individuals, including Mason and Meyer.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Meyer’s and Mason’s identification.

Some day, someone is going to get killed, I thought.

At 7:08 a.m., Friday morning, as I updated the area commute at dailyprogress.com, a burst of activity from the police scanner caught my ear and forced my heart to my throat: Seminole Trail northbound at Ashwood Boulevard for a tractor-trailer that t-boned a car.

It was bound to happen. It’s not an everyday occurrence, but it’s not rare to see semis blow the U.S. 29 signals, their 40 to 55 miles per hour speeds within the legal limit but too high to stop for the changing light. They can roll through one second, two seconds, almost as much as a three-count after their light is red and yours is green. I’ve seen it enough that I’ve started waiting, pulling slowly into the intersection—especially at Rio Road—and watching while the jerk behind me blows like Moby Dick on the horn.

It was bound to happen. The intersection at U.S. 29 and Forest Lakes South has been dangerous and deadly since it was built about a decade ago. Southbound traffic cannot see the light for the hills until it’s upon it. There are flashing signs and warnings, of course, but if the CD needs changing or the cell phone argument is intense or you’re just plain tired, there’s a rear-ending waiting to happen.

The vision is not much better on the northbound side and both have major downhill slopes leading to the cross-over.

It was bound to happen, but oh, how I wished it hadn’t. I thought of my friends who might be driving through that intersection. I thought of my oldest who is back from college, maybe out checking on a friend or the youngest who was on her way to CHS to take AP test. I thought of brothers, fathers, mothers, wives and, in a flurry of mental activity so rare, felt the shock and sickness and grief that each death could deliver.

And then came the e-mail. A 16-year-old on her way to school, a recently minted driver who followed the rules, waited for the green, eased out into the intersection just like in Driver’s Ed and....

I felt so bad. I still feel bad. I can only imagine what it must be like to be friend or family, but I can imagine. It isn’t right. It isn’t fair. They should have built the U.S. 29 Bypass years ago to take tractor-trailers off the roadway. They shouldn’t have built so many homes off that road until the Bypass was built. They should have graded flat those hills and better designed that intersection. They should have, we should have, she could have, why didn’t he…

Sydney Aichs, 16, of Albemarle County died yesterday morning. It wasn’t necessary, but there’s nothing we can do about it.

Our sympathy, our hearts, our understanding, as parents, friends and peers, are with the family.

Let’s pray that it never happens again.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Merlin German, 22 of Manhattan, N.Y., died April 11 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, from wounds he suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on Feb. 22, 2005. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif., while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. German’s parent unit was the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was medically retired Sept. 28, 2007, as a result of his injuries.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald C. Blystone, 34, of Springfield, Mo., died April 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shaun J. Whitehead, 24, of Commerce, Ga., died April 24 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Army Spc. David P. McCormick, 26, of Fresno, Texas, died April 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his forward operating base came under rocket attack. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jonathan A. V. Yelner, 24, of Lafayette, Calif., died April 29 near Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, of Ramona, Calif., died April 29 in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.

U.S. Army Pfc. William T. Dix, 32, of Culver City, Calif., died April 27 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, I Corps, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Three U.S. Army soldiers died April 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their forward operating base with indirect fire.
Killed were: Pfc. Adam L. Marion, 26, of Mount Airy, N.C., assigned to the 171st Engineer Company, North Carolina Army National Guard, Saint Pauls, N.C.; Sgt. Marcus C. Mathes, 26, of Zephyrhills, Fla., assigned to the 94th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La. and Sgt. Mark A. Stone, 22, of Buchanan Dam, Texas, assigned to the 94th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La. 

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Clay A. Craig, 22, of Mesquite, Texas, died April 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when he received small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Bolander, 26, of Bakersfield, Calif., died April 29 in Baghdad from wounds suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Two U.S. Army soldiers died April 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.  They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Killed were Cpt. Andrew. R. Pearson, 32, of Billings, Mont., and Spc. Ronald J. Tucker, 21, of Fountain, Colo.

McIntire Park will lose picnic shelters, greenspace, softball fields and parking areas, but it will gain a multi-million dollar swimming facility to rival ACAC, new hiking trails and better connection with the adjacent Charlottesville High School. The remaking of McIntire Park in the current city council’s image will no doubt stick in the craw of softballers, picnickers, loungers and dogwooders but that’s their problem.

Who needs softball fields, anyway? Sure, the city rec league packs the lighted fields on spring, summer and fall evenings as groups of old men, young men and women of both ages compete in the laid-back, age-friendly, time-honored, former national past-time of diamond ball. Sure fields at Darden Towe Park are packed. Sure, there are few available fields anywhere else in the community, but that’s OK. The city plans on putting lights at the existing CHS softball field, which should help half of the night games currently played at McIntire.

Besides, those folks don’t really need a venue for the pathetic athletic efforts. They just need to take up a real sport like soccer or lacrosse, which will be provided for in the new McIntire Park on space where the softball diamonds used to be.

And people don’t need to picnic in the park, which is good because the need for more parking at the built-up swim center will pretty much eliminate that. Picnicking just makes people fat by promoting barbecue chicken dinners, pancake breakfasts and a host of unhealthy eating habits. People don’t need picnic shelters, they need exercise and they can get that by joining—for a fee, I’m sure—the YMCA or joining a soccer league.

If they’re hungry they can get an energy bar and sports drink out of the vending machines that will no doubt be in the swim center lobby.

And people interested in going to the Dogwood Festival can walk from their downtown parking space to the proposed new placement of Dogwood rides on the expanded McIntire parking lot. For the out-of-shape, they can take a CTS trolley, because downtown will be the closest place to park, being as the rides would occupy most of the parking not used by the swim center. Then everyone can cram onto the multi-use field to watch the fireworks.

Some people will bemoan the changes as too drastic, too much and too soon and not thought out well enough, but that’s just sour grapes. It’s good for the city to look at issues, make some suggestions and approve something without decades of study.

Now if they could just make up their minds about the Meadowcreek Parkway as quickly, or maybe they already have. 

U.S. Marine 1st Sgt. Luke J. Mercardante, 35, of Athens, Ga and Marine Cpl. Kyle W. Wilks, 24, of Rogers, Ark., died April 15 while conducting combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. They were both assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejuene, N.C.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown, 29, of Magnolia, Texas, died April 17 in Sama Village, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fire and grenades. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Army Spc. Lance O. Eakes, 25, of Apex, N.C., died April 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1132nd Military Police Company, North Carolina Army National Guard, Rocky Mount, N.C.

U.S. Army Spc. Benjamin K. Brosh, 22, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died April 18 at Forward Operating Base Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in Paliwoda, Iraq, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Air Force Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was found dead in Dubai on April 21 due to a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic.

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton, 40, of Bakersfield, Calif., died April 20 in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain.  She was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain. The cause of death is under investigation.

U.S. Army Spc. Steven J. Christofferson, 20, of Cudahy, Wis. and Sgt. Adam J. Kohlhaas, 26, of Perryville, Mo. died April 21 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Army Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison, 25, of Morris Plains, N.J., died April 22 at Forward Operating Base Falcon near Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandergrift, 28 of Littleton, Colo., died April 21 from wounds he suffered while conducting combat operations in Basrah, Iraq.  He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y. and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va. died April 22 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Haerter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Yale was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

U.S. Army Pfc. John T. Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich. and 1st Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, 26, of College Station, Texas, died April 23 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Unfortunately, there will be more to come…

What is art? Who is Art?

Some would say Monet. Others would say Manet. Most would say money.

Beats me. I can’t do anything artistic. Miss Risch, my fifth-grade teacher, told me that my stick figures seemed less than one-dimensional, just before the fired-clay sculptures we made were put in the kiln and mine – by defect and not design – somehow exploded, wiping out an entire kiln shelf of class product.

But back to the dog, art and myself: Art has always flummoxed me and it continues to do so. Crucifixes in body fluids, splashes of color on an empty canvass; my mind often cannot grasp the subtleties of art. I’m not alone: The University of Virginia administration is right there with me.

For instance, officials at the illustrious school recently curbed an exhibit featuring colorful faux fecal matter and a cartoon-short of the vengeful, hellhound spirit of a former sports mascot, Seal. Infamous for the ultimate college prank — he “went to business school” on an opposing cheerleader’s megaphone — Seal was a big hit on campus back in The Day.

In keeping with the high standards set by Seal, some rather illustrious UVa alumni entered an art exhibit in his honor, featuring fecal matters and animation, an exhibit summarily rejected by the administration. Brian McNeill, news artist-in-residence at The Daily Progress, tells like this in today’s issue:

“Sculptor Irwin Berman, a 1962 graduate of UVa’s School of Medicine, created the scatological art-work as part of his exhibit titled “Sedentary Pleasures: UnCommon Stools.” The showing, which runs through June 15, showcases Berman’s wood, metal, plastic and glass sculptures in the shape of stools (of the sitting kind).

“In the surrealistic film, “The Great ‘Seal’ of Virginia: A Dreamscape,” the ghost of Seal rises from his grave after the Cavalier, UVa’s current mascot, pokes at a puppy dog with his saber. Seal’s specter angrily devours the Cavalier, flies into the night sky and then, through the miracle of digestion, deposits the orange-and-blue remnants of the Cavalier onto a massive wooden stool.”

Along with the film was Mr. Berman’s sculpture, a wooden stool covered in fake orange and blue dog droppings.

I don’t know as though I want to contemplate orange and blue doggie-doo. I mean, it ain’t Whistler’s Mother, now, is it? But, hey, what do I know of art?

Mr. McNeill quoted one of Berman’s three collaborators on the project, UVa alumnus and New York City-based animator Michael Wartella, as saying the artists were deeply disappointed that the university opted against showing the work.

“It’s not defecating on the school at all,” Mr. Wartella said. “We were totally taken aback. It’s so ridiculous. OK, sure, there’s defecation involved. But it’s an art film. You don’t have to like it.”

Art, it seems, is art, whether you like it or not.

“It’s outrageous that three alumni could come together to create a film to benefit the arts at UVa and the university just ‘poo-poohs’ it,” Mr. Wartella wrote to Mr. McNeill in an e-mail. “You’ve heard of Dadaism? Well, this isn’t da-da, it’s doo-doo — right in the face of the administration for being so near-sighted as to reject this gift to future students.”

Which may be a good way to look at things. For instance, I could utilize the Kroger bags now in my pocket to take care of an issue my dog just created, but I’m not going to. You see, this isn’t waste; this is an organic expression of time, movement and the process of living. This is real-life art, art of convenience. To remove it from my neighbor’s yard would be to reject this gift to future residents.

Sure, it involved defecation, but it’s art.

They don’t have to like it.

Nigh on to a dozen U.S. Army Air Corps airmen have come home after more than 60 years of rest in the New Guinea jungle. Their story goes like this: On Dec. 3, 1943, the 11 men piled into their B-24D Liberator bomber in Dobodura, New Guinea to seek and attack Japanese forces on New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Sea.

Via radio, the crew reported dropping their bombs on their target. They kept in contact on their way back to base but contact was lost and the crew never came back. Subsequent searches in the heavily forested, lightly inhabited area failed to locate the aircraft.

Fast forward 60 years.  In 2000, three Papua, New Guineans were hunting in the forest when they came across aircraft wreckage near Iwaia village and passed the word up the line until it landed in the lap of the Department of Defense’s Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). In 2002, a JPAC team traveled to Deboin Village to interview two individuals who said they knew where the crash site was, but the witnesses could not relocate the site.

In 2004, the site was found again, about four miles from Iwaia village in Papua, New Guinea, and an aircraft data plate that connected the wreckage to the missing flight. Between 2004 and 2007, JPAC teams conducted two excavations of the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material including some crew-related artifacts such as identification tags.

Using DNA and other methods, the DoD ID’d the crew. They are Capt. Robert L. Coleman, of Wilmington, Del.; 1st Lt. George E. Wallinder, of San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. Kenneth L. Cassidy, of Worcester, Mass.; 2nd Lt. Irving Schechner, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. Ronald F. Ward, of Cambridge, Mass.; Tech. Sgt. William L. Fraser, of Maplewood, Mo.; Tech. Sgt. Paul Miecias, of Piscataway, N.J.; Tech. Sgt. Robert C. Morgan, of Flint, Mich.; Staff Sgt. Albert J. Caruso, of Kearny, N.J.; Staff Sgt. Robert E. Frank, of Plainfield, N.J.; and Pvt. Joseph Thompson, of Compton, Calif.

The dates and locations of the funerals are being set by their families.

Our troops did well. They did their duty – whether it was out contract or dedication or belief in the cause – and they succeeded.

They performed a vital dangerous function in the Big Sandbox, that of providing security for convoys taking supplies to and from Al Anbar Province. Convoys are a favorite target of terrorists who plot and plan ways and means to disrupt the flow of goods, food and munitions, attack and kill the troops involved and spread, well, terror wherever they can.

Alpha Company endured improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms fire, ambushes and mess hall food. They not only survived, they came home without a fatality, without a combat-related injury.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Living in a foreign country for a month can change your outlook on life. Living there for nigh unto a year, wondering if and when something around you is going to explode, if and when you might catch shrapnel, lose an arm or leg or your life or if your buddy is going to lose something, really changes your outlook on life.

So, for those of us who stayed home, don’t expect your soldier to come home the same as when he or she left. They’ve seen things. They’ve felt things. They’ve known fear and hope and despair and joy at simple things like coming home alive. They may get nervous in heavy traffic. They may not sleep well. They may feel out of place.

So give them time. Encourage them to talk. Don’t be hurt if they don’t and don’t be aghast if they tell stories that are appalling and frightening, after all, they’ve been in a war zone. Most of all let them know they’re home and we care.

Ever forward Alpha Company: It’s time to relax and enjoy a good cigar and maybe an adult beverage and resume your life.

And be proud: You’ve done something most of us have not, would not or could not.

Some believed in their efforts, some just believed in serving their country. Either way, they volunteered to be in danger so that the rest of us didn’t have to. Their sacrifice, regardless of our political beliefs, should be honored. If we don’t honor them now, when the danger is far away and harder to perceive, who would serve us when the danger is near and palpable?

U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph A. Richard III 27, of Lafayette, La., died April 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.

U.S. Army Spc. Arturo Huerta-Cruz, 23, of Clearwater, Fla., died April 14 in Tuz, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

U.S. Marine Cpl. Richard J. Nelson, 23, of Racine, Wis. and Lance Cpl. Dean D. Opicka, 29, of Waukesha, Wis., both died April 14 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. They were both assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment.

U.S. Army Spc. William E. Allmon, 25, of Ardmore, Okla., died April 12 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

U.S. Army Spc. Jacob J. Fairbanks, 22, of Saint Paul, Minn., died April 9 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Virginia National Guard Sgt. Jesse A. Ault, 28, of Dublin, Va., died April 9 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered in Tunnis, Iraq, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 429th Brigade Support Battalion, Virginia Army National Guard, Roanoke, Va.

U.S. Army Sgt. Shaun P. Tousha, 30, of Hull, Texas, died April 9 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt Anthony L. Capra, 31, of Hanford, Calif., died April 9 near Golden Hills, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to Detachment 63, 688 Armament Systems Squadron, Indian Head City, Md.

U.S. Army Spc. Jeremiah C. Hughes, 26, of Jacksonville, Fla., died April 9 in Balad Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident in Abu Gharab, Iraq.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeffery L. Hartley, 25, of Hempstead, Texas, died April 8 in Kharguliah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

U.S. Army Maj. Mark E. Rosenberg, 32, of Miami Lakes, Fla., died April 8 in Baghdad, Iraq of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

U.S. Army Sgt. Timothy M. Smith, 25, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., died April 7 in Baghdad, Iraq of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.

Virginia National Guard Staff Sgt. Jeremiah E. McNeal, 23, of Norfolk, Va., died April 6 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command, Virginia Army National Guard, West Point, Va.

U.S. Army Sgt. Richard A. Vaughn, 22, of San Diego, Calif., died April 7 in Baghdad, Iraq from wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using a rocket propelled grenade, improvised explosive device and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

U.S. Army Col. Stephen K. Scott, 54, of New Market, Ala., assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Battalion, Laurel, Miss., and Maj. Stuart A. Wolfer, 36, of Coral Springs, Fla., assigned to the 11th Battalion, 104th Division, Boise, Idaho, died April 6 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with indirect fire.

That’s what we should do to all murderers, wipe out any knowledge of their existences. Consider it shunning. As a society, if we denied the recognition sought by killers and never repeated their names, never gave them for their deeds, perhaps fewer would be inclined to mimic them.

Perhaps, if Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were never mentioned, if John Wilkes Booth were forgotten, if Mark David Chapman’s identity were completely erased, and Seung-Hui Cho never heard of, perhaps there would have been no Jeff Weise, no John Hinckley, Jr., no Yolanda Saldívar and no Steven Kazmierczak. Perhaps.

I doubt it. That’s not how we’re cut out. Instead we try to find people and things to blame and ways to protect ourselves so that, should it happen again, we’ll be safe. Perhaps the new text message, cell-phone and e-mail warning systems at universities will protect our students. Perhaps informing parents that their children are suffering signs of mental illness, even when the schools cannot legally inform parents of children who are failing classes or winning scholarships, will help prevent future slayings. Perhaps, as happened Monday in Chicago and Detroit, closing down classes when scribbling in the men’s room stall make vague threats of doom and death will keep us safe.

Perhaps.

More likely, however, we will continue to kill each other for fame and glory. It’s well-documented in our culture that, if you kill a celebrity you become a celebrity. If you kill a dozen people, you are a celebrity. If you cannot rise above your own mental puddles and mediocrity you can become famous by killing someone else famous, even if you go down in flames as well.

Jack The Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, Theodore Bundy, Sirhan B. Sirhan, James Earl Ray, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby; they are household words and their names will live through history.

That’s just the way it is and the way it has been since the first infamous murderer: Cain.