When the phone rang before 7 a.m. Tuesday, Jason Reeves just knew it was his brother John calling to say goodbye before shipping out to Iraq.

Like many others in Pike County, Reeves quickly learned that Johnny Brown had been killed in action in Iraq.

Suddenly, the impact of a war a half-a-globe away came crashing down on Pike County.

Pfc. Johnny Brown is the fourth Alabamian to die in the struggle to secure for the people of Iraq the promise of freedom and liberty.

Brown, just 22, was a member of the Army's elite 101st Airborne Division. He was a Screamin' Eagle, and a member of a group that has almost as many members deployed in the war as we have residents in the county.

Across the country 120 other families have gone through the sad saga that begins with the arrival of men in uniform at the front door.

Now, more than ever before, the Brown family needs the support of their community.

"I'm crushed for them," Reeves said. We all are crushed, and as a community we all bear a portion of the family's grief.

We are reminded of the seriousness of warfare. We are reminded of the frailty of human life - regardless of where that life may be lived.

We are reminded, too, that prayer is needed for the safety of our troops. Continual prayer. These men and women give their lives serving us, and that's a very personal thing when you think about it.

The very least we can do is pray for them as they go about the business of insuring the peace and safety of the United States of America.

Our hearts and prayers are with the Browns, and we offer our deepest, most sincere condolences to the Brown family.