On a recent visit to the veteran's hall

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PHIL KIVER, Contributor | Last updated Nov 06, 2014 3:18pm0

Phil Kiver count

One of the dozens of plaques on display at a veteran's hall in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The ranks of our nation's veterans ebb and flow like the tides. World War II vets die at an unstoppable rate. The current war on terror adds daily to the number of our nation's heroes. West Africa, Syria, Somalia, Iraq III and various other locations around the world even some unknown to the public. Missions only mentioned in diaries or over beers.

In five years we will have young veterans who were born after 9/11. In a recent class I asked one of my students how much pain we will have to inflict upon the Islamist enemy to get them to stop. His reply, "more than we are willing to inflict." Thi...