Some have lost limbs on the battlefield, and others still battle the demons that have followed them home.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Addresses the Nation

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen, who lost his life in 1918 on the battlefield, shortly before the Armistice, and interwove them with the Latin Mass for the Dead.

WSJ: The Sounds of Sacrifice | Benjamin Britten | War Requiem | Masterpiece by Stuart Isacoff

But if Kato lost the battle, his fight may have helped accelerate changes on the battlefield.

CNN: Down In Flames

One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life, " he said.

CNN: Transcript: Obama's State of the Union speech