You know, 9,543 sounds like a lot. Or maybe it doesn't. You don't really know what 9,543 of anything looks like until you see it. In my case, I went to see 9,543 graves at the American D-Day Memorial on Omaha Beach. Suffice it to say that I was moved. I couldn't, and still can't, comprehend that day.

So now while my fellow countrymen are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, et cetera - I am travelling Europe. I have to admit that made me feel guilty, and it made me appreciate even more the individual sacrifices we are all prepared for by being a member of the military.

If you ever badmouth the military, think of the 20,000 parents who never again got to see their children because of this battle. Think about people giving to something that is bigger than they are. Think about how easy it is to sit in your computer chair while there are deployed troops risking their lives like this every day.

In fact, driving through Normandy I saw no less than 20 foreign cemetaries like this - Australian, British, Canadian - monuments to a great and painful battle to combat a regime.

It was both a proud and very sad day for me, but definitely a good day.