Recent events have made this an especially poignant time for remembering America's war dead.

The country recently marked two grim milestones: the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, and the casualty rate from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan reaching the 4,000 mark.

During that time, the sacrifices of those who died, and those of their loved ones, have been borne privately from coast to coast.

But at the state Capitol Tuesday, the Hawai'i Medal of Honor again helped bring some of them together.

Now in its third year, the medal paid tribute to 31 fallen service members who lived and worked in Hawai'i; they are some of the 217 who have died as of Jan. 31.

Families and friends from as far away as New York traveled to Honolulu to take part in the ceremony, to accept a public honor that memorializes, in a unique and permanent way, their ties to Hawai'i.

People like Naval Reserve Petty Officer 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries, 52, of Honolulu, a physical education teacher at Farrington High School.

Or Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch, 20, of Jefferson, Ky., an engineer equipment mechanic assigned to Marine Corps Base Hawai'i.

Or Senior Airman William N. "Will" Newman, 23, of Middleton, Tenn., an explosive ordnance specialist based at Hickam Air Force Base.

By virtue of serving in these Islands, they and the 28 others who were honored Tuesday became part of our 'ohana.

The Hawai'i medal also reminds us that wherever these honored dead came from, and to whatever state their loved ones will return, their sacrifice is a shared one.