"A History of Warfare," John Keegan

"Most soldiers are satisfied merely by the company of others, by a shared contempt for a softer world, by the liberation from narrow materiality brought by the camp and the line of march, by the rough comforts of the bivouac, by competiton in endurance ..."

"Henry V," Shakespeare

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Act IV, Scene III

(c) Roger Leo

Spc. Skyler M. Koch of Syracuse, N.Y., left, and Sgt. Steve Young of Cooperstown, N.Y., tell a fellow 1st Cavalry Division trooper about an ambush in which their trucks were hit by RPGs -- rocket-propelled grenades -- at this spot in September. Koch, driver of one of three Humvees attacked by RPGs and AK47 fire that night, lowered his window and fired back with his M16 with one hand while steering his truck with the other. Two rockets hit his truck, and an AK47 round came through the window, missing him, the gunner and a passenger in the back. Young commanded the lead truck, hit by RPGs and AK47 rounds, which shredded the left rear tire and severed a hydraulic line. Spc. Andre M. Glaze of Sheboygan, Mich., was gunner in Koch's truck. Koch, Young and Glaze attended the wedding of their platoon leader, Lt. Derek Ping of Alvin, Texas, at West Point on Friday April 8. Ping was in command of Koch's truck -- and the patrol -- the night of the ambush.

(c) Roger Leo

Lt. Derek Ping dances with his bride, Jamie, while, at right, Spc. Skyler M. Koch of Syracuse, N.Y., Sgt. Steve Young of Cooperstown, N.Y., and Spc. Andre M. Glaze of Sheboygan, Mich., three of his Mortar Platoon troopers, look on. The men are back from a year in Iraq.

(c) Roger Leo

From left, Capt. Rex L. Blair. 29, of Birmingham, Ala., his wife, Michelle, Lt. Derek Ping, 25, of Alvin, Texas, and his bride, Jamie, and Lt. Matthew F. Cohen., 24, of San Francisco, and his wife, Jennie, gather outside the Cadet Chapel at West Point after the Pings' wedding.

(c) Roger Leo

Lt. Derek Ping, leader of the Mortar Platoon of Dawg/HHC Co., 1-8 Cav, and Jamie McMahan kiss on the steps of the Cadet Chapel at West Point after their wedding Friday April 8. Lt. Matthew F. Cohen, left, Scout Platoon leader, and Capt. Rex L. Blair, right, commander of Dawg/HHC Co., demanded the newlyweds kiss before allowing them to pass. Lt. Ping, Lt. Cohen and Capt. Blair returned March 16 from a year in Baghdad, Iraq.