Londoners and Erik

During the Blitz, the German V1 missiles announced themselves to the British citizenry with a loud, angry humming. These buzzbombs (and a smattering of V2s) took about 40,000 lives in England during the long hot summer of 1940 - before Hitler turned his attention to the Russian front. The Brits stuck it out with black windows, victory gardens, prayers for the dead, and nerves of steel.

A glint of that same resolve could be seen today, as the interviews took place with survivors, and when a shaken but determined Tony Blair made his remarks. In the age of terror we don't have a few seconds of buzzing to prepare our souls. Instead we have long months and years of peace - shattered by a flash, smoke, and body parts.

Good blog coverage here and here. And massive, indispensable aggregation at Instapundit.

Also yesterday, while driving around attending to the details of my impending marriage, I heard a few seconds of Hugh Hewitt's radio show. I noticed he was reading quotes - and the names sounded like some of my high school classmates.

Then I realized he was reading the Washington Post obituary of Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen, my fellow graduate of Gonzaga, who later attended Annapolis and became a Navy SEAL. His helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan during a rescue operation. I'll leave it to you to read the story of his life and determine if he was anything less than a genuine hero who died at the service of his country.