THE HUMAN TOLL

Newsweek's special issue this week spotlighting the words, faces and stories of the men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan is a reminder that the ongoing wars have a real cost -- one impossible to measure. "Voices of the Fallen" is a long-overdue glimpse into lives cut short. The coverage starts with an introduction:

Wars have always made women widows and children orphans ... They are garlanded and buried beneath white marble, revered but silenced.

Yet they still have stories to tell, stories that bear hearing, and remembering. In letters and journals and e-mails, the war dead live on, their words—urgent, honest, unself-conscious—testament to the realities of combat. What do they have to say to us? This special issue of NEWSWEEK is an attempt to answer that question. We have collected the correspondence of American soldiers at war in Iraq, accounts written not for the public but for those they loved—wives, husbands, children, parents, siblings. Each of the warriors whose words are excerpted here died in the line of duty. Each of their families chose to share their stories with us, and with you ...

... No matter where one stands on the decision to invade or on the conduct of the conflict over the last four years, the Iraq War is indisputably a curious thing. For the first time in the experience of any living American, we have sent an all-volunteer force overseas to advance our interests for a prolonged period, and virtually nothing has been asked of the vast majority of those who do not have loved ones in the line of fire. The bargain is hardly fair.

The coverage continues with additional sections, articles and video that tell the stories:

• To Topple A Tyrant focuses on those who died in the initial invasion.
• Hidden Enemies picks up early in 2004 as the insurgency began to gain traction.
• A Glimmer of Hope looks at 2005 when -- for the briefest of moments -- things appeared to be turning around.
• Things Fall Apart shares the stories of those lost in 2006 as civil war became the catch phrase in Iraq.
• The Newsweek special also includes The Last Letters Families Received, Remembering the Iraqis Who Die, More Letters Home, Acknowledgements, Reporting the Story, and War in Iraq: Ongoing Coverage.