On Wednesday, Americans marked the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

Protesters marched, politicians pontificated and much of the national reflected somberly on a difficult war that has shifted from suppressing the specter of a national threat to championing democracy to trying to salvage a sense of stability in the battered birthplace of humanity.

Regardless of the reasons we went to war and what our opinions are now of the prolonged battle against Iraqi insurgents, we choose today to recognize the individuals who answered the call to duty in the name of the United States and paid the ultimate price.

We acknowledge with reverence the fact that South Dakotans are among the most active in the National Guard and Reserves, and so instead of marking the anniversary of the war in Iraq with judgment, we offer a humble salute to those South Dakotans that have died while serving in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan:

- Warrant Officer Hans Gukeisen, 31, of Lead was the co-pilot of an Army Blackhawk medical evacuation helicopter that crashed on May 9, 2003.

- Pfc. Michael Deuel, 21, of Nemo was killed by enemy fire June 18, 2003, in Baghdad.

- Pfc. Sheldon Hawk Eagle, 21, of Eagle Butte and Chief Warrant Officer Scott Saboe, 33, of Willow Lake were among 17 soldiers killed Nov. 15, 2003, when two Army helicopters crashed.

- Capt. Christopher Soelzer, 26, of Sturgis was killed Dec. 24, 2003, when a bomb hit a convoy.

- Sgt. Dennis Morgan, 22, Valentine, Neb., a member of a National Guard unit in Winner, died April 17, 2004, from shrapnel wounds.

- Staff Sgt. Cory Brooks, 32, of Philip, died April 24, 2004.

- Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy Bohlman, 21, of Sioux Falls died June 7, 2004, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

- Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Welke, 20, of Rapid City died Nov. 20, 2004, after being wounded during fighting in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

- Pfc. Gunnar D. Becker, 19, of Forestburg died Jan. 13, 2005, in Iraq.

- Army Staff Sgt. Jason Montefering, 27, of Parkston died July 24, 2005, in Iraq.

- Chief Warrant Officer Paul Pillen, 28, of Keystone died Oct. 17, 2005, in Kuwait.

- Army Spc. Daniel D. Bartels, 22, of Huron died Oct. 19, 2005, in Iraq.

- Sgt. 1st Class Richard Schild, 40, of Tabor, and Staff Sgt. Daniel M. Cuka, 27, of Yankton, were killed Dec. 4, 2005, in Iraq by roadside bombs.

- Cpl. Brett L. Lundstrom, 22, was killed Jan. 7, 2006, with four other members of his unit. Lundstrom, an Oglala Sioux Tribe member, was born in Vermillion.

- Army Sgt. Jeremiah Boehmer, 22, of Parkston died Feb. 5, 2006, in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

- Army Spc. Patrick Herried, 29, of Sioux Falls was killed Feb. 6, 2006, in Iraq.

- Army Spc. Allen Kokesh Jr., 21, of Yankton died Feb. 7, 2006, at an Army hospital in Texas of injuries suffered in a Dec. 4, 2005, roadside bombing.

- Staff Sgt. Gregory Wagner, 35, of Mitchell, was killed May 8, 2006, in Baghdad when his vehicle was hit by a projectile.

- Staff Sgt. Robb L. Rolfing, Sioux Falls, U.S. Army Special Forces, killed by enemy fire June 30, 2007, in southern Baghdad.

- Army Staff Sgt. Zachary Blaise Tomczak of Huron, died Sept. 25, 2007, in Baghdad of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit.

- Army Cpl. Tanner James O'Leary of Eagle Butte died Dec. 9, 2007, in Musa Qal'eh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.