They referred to soldiers that were killed by the start of the war. They thought the situation is normal, war was started without them knowing, got killed.
replyNot knowing in advance was an important factor
Soldiers can't catch a flight back home when war starts (or about to), and by the time the Iranians were able to attack back after the initial shock, all US soldiers knew there's a war going on
replyThat's why I am having great difficulty following that argument