dying for the flag

i rarely watch the (philippine local) news because i usually feel depressed with how things are going. all that political bickering and positioning and crimes that always manage to snag most of the airtime. however, as i was tv surfing, i happened to saw a brief news about the only sulu-born marine who got killed in the recent encounter with the abu sayyaf group. it was so heart-wrenching to watch a mother receive a flag in exchange for the life of his son. to hear her say that she has no choice but to accept that her son is gone. and that at least he was able to contribute his life for something good. i hope the symbolism of the flag is not lost to us.