Nearly eight years after America’s war on terror began amid the smoldering ruins of the 9/11 attacks, our community is mourning the loss of another local soldier’s death.

The Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday what family and friends learned early Monday.

Sgt. First Class Severin W. Summers III, 43, died after insurgents attacked his vehicle on Sunday with an improvised explosive device.

Summers died alongside two other soldiers. All were members of the Mississippi Army National Guard, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

The Miss-Lou lost a hero and friend Sunday in a rugged part of the world, Qole Gerdsar, Afghanistan.

It’s easy to forget the brave men and women who are fighting overseas to combat terrorists.

It’s easy because men like Sgt. Summers bravely pick up arms and readily go into harm’s way on our behalf and put their lives on the line so that the rest of us can sleep comfortably at night.

For that, we are eternally grateful — and indebted — to all of our armed forces and their families. The sacrifices of the families are perhaps greatest of all.

As we get caught up in our daily lives, it’s easy to simply not pay attention to the two-front war on terror our armed forces are waging 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s easy for many of us because it’s a faceless war and one that doesn’t really affect many of us.

That is until the loss of great men like Summers — husband, father, son, friend — that we realize how terribly important their service to our country is.

Summers will be greatly missed and we urge the entire Miss-Lou community to keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers in the days ahead.