U.S. troops make the ultimate sacrifice.(THE GOODNESS OF AMERICA)

USA Today recently reported that at least five U.S. servicemen have been killed in Iraq after throwing themselves on live grenades to protect their fellow troops from the explosion. These included:

* Army Spc. Ross McGinnis, who was the gunner standing in the turret of a Humvee moving slowly through the violent Adhamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad on Dec. 4, 2006. Suddenly McGinnis yelled: "Grenade?" As Sgt. 1st Class Cedric Thomas and the driver, Sgt. Lyle Buehler, asked McGinnis where the grenade was, they heard the sound of metal landing on metal. In the rear of the Humvee, Staff Sgt. Ian Newland and Spc. Sean Lawson saw McGinnis throw himself onto the grenade. The explosion killed McGinnis.

* Navy Petty Officer Michael Monsoor, who was manning a rooftop sniper post with three other Navy SEALs on the morning of Sept. 29, 2006. A grenade flew over a wall and hit Monsoor in the chest, dropping onto the roof. Although Monsoor was the only SEAL who could have leapt to safety, he instead chose to fall onto the grenade, dying within the hour from his wounds.

* Army Reserve Sgt. James "Ski" Witkowski, who was manning a .50-caliber machine gun in the turret of the command vehicle of a convoy traveling north from Balad, Iraq, on Oct. 26, 2005. Witkowski blocked an incoming grenade with his body to minimize the blast or keep it from falling inside the Humvee. He ...