LAST NIGHT I wrote about a post on a milblog urging readers who wanted to give "practical assistance" to the Special Forces to contact an organization called "Adopt a Sniper" and help that group put weapons "in the hands of the boys whose job it is to get payback" for the deaths of 16 U.S. soldiers who were killed when their helicopter was shot down.

One of my newer readers, Indigo Red, has pointed out, in Comments, that there are organizations that help the families of fallen soldiers in ways that are much more positive and life-affirming than Adopt a Sniper.

One of those organizations is the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) provides college scholarship grants, based on need, along with financial aid and educational counseling to the children of Special Operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.

One of the real tragedies of war (beyond the war argument itself) is, as a nation, we forget about the warrior after they are of no more use. We also toss aside their surviving families and don't see to their well-being after the death of the husband and father.

Of course, we assume the government takes care of all that, but shockingly the government (We, the people) does not. A free burial, a flag, a few thousand dollars, a heartfelt boilerplate note of appreciation and the families are on their own.

Kathy, let's give your readers a real opportunity to help. Tell them about SOWF and the other fine organizations to help the families of the fallen. The violence isn't going to end by ridiculing the warrior or their families. Kindness to them might.

Indigo is right.

So, if you feel, as I do, that the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq was an unjustified act of aggression; and you're angry about all the young lives sacrificed and the pain and trauma inflicted on families and survivors, you can help those families after they've suffered one of the cruelest and most devastating losses imaginable. Organizations like SOWF are exclusively dedicated to helping military families; helping these organizations is a way to show how much we care about the people war hurts the most.