Four thousand men and women have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When I hear that, I think about all the wonderful people I met in Afghanistan who are serving…moms, dads, young kids just out of high school.

I can’t speak for those who continue sending troops overseas but I can speak for the soldiers I met. While in Kabul, those serving told me what keeps them going are the children–children who were given so little in life and yet find happiness in the smallest gestures of kindness. Gestures like the offer of food or water. Here are some of the children I met on my trip…when I saw the soldiers I was traveling with interact with these kids, I also saw the bond between people who face death everyday: some by choice, others by birth.

My heart goes out to all of the families who have lost someone they loved, to all those who continue to serve and to all of the Afghans who have suffered so much for decades.