During an hour-long Live Talk on Wednesday, March 28, NEWSWEEK’s Dan Ephron talked about what we can learn from these missives, and the toll the Iraq war is taking on American families and their resilience, as so many mourn those loved ones they will never see again.

Read Voices from the Fallen

Dan Ephron: Hello Readers – Thanks for reading this issue, which for all of us involved, felt like a monumental project. I hope I can answer your questions.

Tucson, AZ: Why did the families feel inclined to share their letters with the public?

Dan Ephron: Hi Tucson – Many of the families said they wanted to memorialize their loved ones by publishing their letters. Some felt the experiences they’d recorded in their emails and letters home told the story of our involvement in Iraq better than the press accounts and the pages and pages of analysis. Most wanted to know that we wouldn’t be using the letters to make a political point for or against the war. Once reassured, they poured out to our reporters.

Fayetteville, NC: Why is it that president Bush is unable to sign the generic letters he sends to the families of these fallen soldiers? 3400 soldiers over 60 months is approx 57 letters a month. Signing his name 57 times a month is just too much to ask? I don’t get it. I lost my 20-year-old brother L Crpl Dennis J Veater USMC this month, he left behind a fiancee a 14 month old son, 3 brothers, 2 sisters, a dad(retired sgt major usmc) and a mom.It’s the least Bush could do for them.

Dan Ephron: Hi Fayetteville, That’s an interesting point that I wasn’t aware of. I can understand the significance to you and your family. I will put it to our White House correspondent.

Anonymous: This was a beautiful segment. What was it like to speak with the people who lost their loved ones?

Dan Ephron: Thank you. Some of the families we spoke to had lost their loved ones just a few weeks ago and, needless to say, the conversations were hard going. Many of the reporters who worked on this felt they had formed bonds with the families and had connected to them in ways journalists don’t often connect with their subjects.

New York, NY: Were the families in general supportive of critical of this war and the president’s handling of it?

Dan Ephron: I think the views of military families now, four years into the war, tend to reflect the views of Americans generally. We heard from families that support the war and families that oppose it. Mainly, I was struck by the big gap between military families and the rest of Americans in the way they experience this war. The stakes are much higher for military families. The rest of us have the luxury of tuning out.

Salt Lake City, UT: I am a veteran of WWII and during that war this country really felt the loss of lives. Why aren’t American’s reacting to the loss of these young people the way they are reacting to say…the rat poisoning of dogs and cats?

Dan Ephron: Hi Salt Lake City – I think the answer is complicated. Partly it has to do with the fact that there’s no draft, so fewer Americans feel the loss directly and intimately. Part of it must be bound up with the contentiousness of this war. And I think occasionally, the numbers are downplayed by officials who prefer to make the cost of this war less apparent.

Washington, D.C.: How long was Vietnam and how many soldiers died and why aren’t Americans as invested with this war as they were with that one. Except for a few pieces like yours, it doesn’t seem like Americans even realize that there are serious costs to this war. Why don’t they do anything?

Dan Ephron: Hi Washington – Many more Americans were killed in Vietnam over a longer period. And a larger cross section of America was being called up to serve in Vietnam because of the draft. On the other hand, I think the public tends to be more focused today than 30 years ago on how service members should be honored when they come home.

Los Angeles, CA: It seems like there is a disproportionate number of minorities who are dying in this war, is that why the people who hold the power in this country are so indifferent to stopping it?

Dan Ephron: I’m not sure that’s true. I haven’t checked the breakdown lately but I think the casualties in Iraq reflect, more or less, the ethnic makeup of America.

Houston, TX: How are families usually informed of their loved ones’ death? Is a social worker sent to help them cope on the scene?

Dan Ephron: Hi Houston – The military sends an officer, social worker, chaplain and sometimes medical people to inform the families. Many families described the traumatic moments to us. Often, family members will understand when they see delegation on their doorstep that they’ve arrived with the worst of news.

New York, NY: Are most of the soldiers in Iraq dying in diret combat or road side bombings?

Dan Ephron: Hi New York - A huge number die in road side bombings. It’s one of the military’s biggest challenges in Iraq. Even the sophisticated technology we deploy in IRaq seems to get beaten by low tech gadgetry.

Indianapolis, IN: We need to honor these boys and girls by finishing this fight. Why is it that Americans are so quick to high-tail it and run every time a little blood is shed. If this is our attitude, our enemies who are willing to strap bombs to themselves will win.

Dan Ephron: I think it’s important to seperate the honoring of these service members from the politics. Whether we succeed or fail in Iraq, one of the lessons of Vietnam is that we need to embrace the troops who fought for us.

Kansas City, MO: HOw long has Newsweek been working on this project?

Dan Ephron: Hi Kansas City – We spent three months on this project. The impetus was a story we did about a Marine Captain, Robert Secher, whose letters we published in the magazine in November. They had a big effect on readers. I think there’s something unfiltered in these dispatches that makes them hard to put down.

Brooklyn, NY: Were there ever instances when a soldier’s letters had information that the family’s wanted to keep private?

Dan Ephron: Hi Brooklyn – The answer is yes, but not often. Occasionally, families crossed out a line or two, usually because they contained personal references to other people. More often, they sent us all letters they had.

Madison, WI: What kind of reaction have you gotten from the families about your piece, now that it has been published?

Dan Ephron: Hi Madison, The reaction from families has been positive. The hardest part was informing some families that we had no room to excerpt their letters. But every day we put up more letters on our website and we hope to publish at least one letter from each service member whose family participated.

Murray, KY: Does the government pay for any kind of grief counseling /job counseling for families?

Dan Ephron: The military offers grief counseling for families, though I don’t know for how long. We spoke to some families who had lost loved ones early in the war, who have had time to adjust to the trauma. But their grief was no less intense.

Eau Clair, WI: What kind of reactions have you gotten to this story, do people think it is an anti-war stance you are taking?

Dan Ephron: I think most people understand this is a way of honoring the service members and describing the arc of the war in their words.

Dan Ephron: That concludes our chat. Thanks for your questions.