3rd Gaza 43,000 Combined Casualties
Somme Offensive Approximately 1.1 Million Combined Casualties
Hundred Days Offensive, 1918 2.1 Million Combined Casualties
Newtown, Connecticut 26 Casualties, 20 of which were Children

While I do not normally like to quote such a man this appears to be appropriate.
One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic. – Joseph Stalin

History has often turned events and losses into a statistic. Each loss in The Great War was someone’s son, brother or husband. As a student of The Great War, I have often found the casualties to be mind numbing. Even successful campaigns had high casualties for both sides. Regiments and brigades were often eaten up in a single campaign, only to be rotated out to be relieved and refitted.

Yet in comparison, one morning in rural Connecticut, Americans received a loss felt by families, communities and the nation as a whole. All families received a loss today, not just those in Newtown. It is important for all to remember these losses as individuals and not a statistic.

I only wish we could make sense of what happened. And please keep all of politics out of this. (I know I am asking a lot.)

Take the time to think of these children, adults and families.