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You born to it, to that legacy
You sing the songs, learn the history
You believe in your part in keeping it great
You don't ask what it can do for you, you do for her
You cherish its values, you fight for them, and you die
And after all that, it's not about you. It's about your country.
</b>

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This was taken from the Arlington national cemetery, Washington D.C, where the tombs of the unknown soldiers are located. More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the Iraq and Afghanistan. The marbled names of the ones that put the country first.
In the background is the Washington monument (The obelisk). The tallest free standing masonry structure in the world, in honor of the first President of the United States, George Washington.
I wanted to get use the view of the Obelisk to create the point of view that shows the dialog of the ones that sacrificed themselves for the country. I used a Sigma 70-200 from a low angle to create that. The very shallow DOF is on purpose, so I could focus the Obelisk and blur the details of the graves, and making them all into a symbol and not actually the people that died.

This is a strong concept to me, though not American. I can sympathize with "fighting for your country" idea from my own background. Sometimes it feels dumb going to war as one of the soldiers, as a number, but sometimes that's the only thing that makes sense. This piece does not commend war, or critique it, it only honors the ones that were willing to fight for it.