An anniversary came and went Saturday, most of which without fanfare, but to me, it marked an anniversary that changed me in a small way.

On March 19, 2003, I was editor of The Clanton Advertiser and simply working through a normal day when we learned that U.S.-led forces had begun their attacks and invasion in Iraq. It was a return trip for a U.S. coalition after a successful encounter with Iraqi forces in 1991.

At the time, most  Americans were supportive of the combat operations to remove what everyone agreed was a terrible dictator in Saddam Hussein. Other details were in doubt, but when it came to the support of our troops, the prayers for their safety and the commitment to the mission’s ideals nearly every American was unified.

Fast forward eight years and the anniversary of combat operations approached, arrived and was gone. The only mention of the anniversary was on some national media outlet websites and a few ceremonies around the country. In the coming months, the troop drawdown from Iraq will continue and in the coming years, the U.S. military presence in Iraq will be even more forgotten. But in these eight years, I have covered celebratory reunions with National Guard units returning home and, unfortunately, I have covered the heartbreaking homecomings and funerals of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and the mission.

Saturday also marked the start of another mission — another military mission — as fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and ship-fired missiles flew over the coastline of Libya to protect civilians from yet another tyrant — another dictator.

As a former Marine there is a slogan many of us used to slap to the bumpers of our trucks and cars affixed to stickers calling the Marine Corps, the worlds 911 service.

We believed that when called, we would respond and nothing has changed.

Like it or not, the United States has a moral responsibility to respond when there are wrongs to be corrected. Are politics often times at play? Yes. But for the men and women of the armed forces, those men and women tonight protecting a frightened people in Libya, trying to rebuild a country in Iraq and trying to oust terrorists in Afghanistan, the mission is without politics, without prejudice.

They have a job to do and they will do it to the best of their abilities, and God-willing come home safe to their friends and families waiting for them at home.