One of the American soldiers who has been in Iraq since the beginning of the war is Ryan Wilcox, a Toddsville resident and 2002 graduate of Cooperstown Central School. Wilcox participated in the recent raid which killed Saddam Hussein's sons and is likely to receive a medal for bravery when he returns home after rescuing two wounded sergeants from a house in Baghdad.

But he has no idea when he's coming home.

In a recent update on the war in Iraq, Bush said while lives have been lost, progress has been made in Iraq. He added that the soldiers still in Iraq had been participating in a vital "part of the war on terror."

In a letter to his parents, Ryan Wilcox had a different description of the soldiers on peacekeeping missions and security detail.

"Sitting ducks."

Whether you agree with the war on Iraq or think President Bush inflated the threat Saddam Hussein and his purported weapons of mass destruction posed to the U.S., the point is we're there and American soldiers are dying every day.

In a newsletter-type correspondence sent to families of those in Iraq, Wilcox's Charlie Company Commander described the living conditions for the soldiers in the unit.

"All of your loved ones are living in buildings...three of the four without furnishings," he wrote. "However all have electricity and running water and eat one hot meal a day."

How long will our troops be there? Weeks, months, years? Probably at least until a new government is established in Iraq and Saddam Hussein has been captured and killed.

Army Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez said last Thursday that U.S. forces will remain in Iraq at least two years.

Bush was less specific, saying "I will do what's necessary to win the war on terror."

There are thousands of Ryan Wilcox's in Iraq, young boys just out of high school, and thousands of parents and relatives like Ryan's parents, Jeff and Sarah Wilcox, around the nation. All they can do is wait, worry and wonder when they will see their son or daughter again.

"They had no idea what they were getting into," said Sarah Wilcox on Monday. "No idea."

If nothing else, Ryan Wilcox's experiences in Iraq should remind us that while Bush is right about the "major" combat being over, much work remains to be done and many more soldiers' lives will be likely be lost before then.

"We suffer when we lose life," the president said in his recent address. "Our country is a country that grieves with those who sacrifice."

How much sacrifice is too much?

The answer to that question probably depends on who you ask.