How many military people, military families do you know? If you're like the majority of Americans, the answer is probably, "Not many."

Back during World War II, chances were pretty high that you and your family (if none of you were serving yourselves) were well-acquainted with some of the men and women serving overseas at the time. Because 25% of America's WWII-era men served overseas (12 million in uniform from a nation of 130 million), the plight of the military family was well known and the struggles they faced were clearly visible through the lens of shared experience.  

That's no longer the case.

Today, 1.3 million Americans have served in Iraq culled from a nation of 300 million. Chances are most of us don't know anyone serving overseas. Many of us might have difficulty in honestly empathizing or understanding what it's like to be a member of a military family left behind. And it might be all too easy to forget that these people desperately need our advocacy and help.