Tomorrow is homecoming day! And there are songs appropriate for homecomings! Boys?

When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.

Yes, men and ladies, boys and girls will turn out. And there will be a parade of homecoming. And the trees in Ohio, though they numbered as they did in olden days when it was said that a squirrel could traverse one corner or the territory to another without touching the ground, still they could not hold the yellow ribbons that have been purchased and displayed over the last two scores of months awaiting the hero's return.

The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

And the church bells will peal, from tomorrow morning through the weekend, welcoming the hero home. And his welcome is so large we must needs use a baseball stadium to hold all those who would welcome him home.

Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

But we shall not lay a laurel wreath upon his loyal brow becase Johnny won't be marching, he'll be riding in a caisson, draped with flags, for the remains of Matt Maupin come home tomorrow.

And the bells will peal and each mournful tone will ask what price we pay for this war in Iraq. Our President says we are fighting a war on terror; which, like the wars on Poverty and Drugs and Education is a war without end. Our war on terror is a war with faceless enemies. That's not to be confused with Al Qaida, which attacked us. That's why we went into Afghanistan.

But Iraq, that was a part of our war on terror, with enemies created out of the whole cloth of Weapons of Mass Destruction in a dictator's hands. Shadows, like the bogey man, manufactured to meet a purpose that costs us, in terms of lives, capital, and position.

But, if our enemy is faceless, the cost of our battle can be seen. Look at the Matt Maupins of the world, for their pictures are scattered across the country, Men and Women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for... Well, I'm not really sure what, that's sort of tied to the War on Terror.

And you can see this "War"'s cost when you look at the service men and women who have paid with the loss of limb and then get shuffled aside by our government.

But, if you happen to see any of our armed forces, currently serving or discharged, tell them thanks. It's the least we can do.