The nights seem darker in the absence of moonlight, do they not? As dark, perhaps as the holiday season must seem for the families and friends of the fallen—-for whom this month can only be a memory of a beloved light blowing out in the wind of war.

US Army Sgt. Elijah J. Rao, 26, of Lake Oswego, Ore., in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device

US Marine Cpl. Xhacob Latorre, 21, of Waterbury, Conn., died of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Army Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen, 31, of Panama City, Fla., died at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

US Marine Sgt. Ralph Anthony Webb Frietas, 23, of Detroit, Mich., died as a result of unknown causes in Iraq.

US Army Pfc. Jaiciae L. Pauley, 29, of Austell, Ga., died in Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

US Army Pvt. Jhanner A. Tello, 29, of Los Angeles, Calif., died in Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

LCpl Adam Drane, 23, of England was killed in Afghanistan while carrying out security duties at a checkpoint.

US Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony C. Campbell Jr., 35, of Florence, Ky., died of wounds suffered from the detonation of an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.