Earlier this year, a San Francisco based photographer named Thomas Sanders visited the Belmont Village Senior Living facility in Dallas, Texas, to view the portraits of soldiers that are part of an exhibit in its long hallway.

Many of the portraits were published in his book, "The Last Good War: The Faces and Voices of World War II." He realizes that with the number of old soldiers leaving us each day, we are literally losing our history.In interviewing some of the survivors, he found that the old veterans never think of themselves as heroes. They saw their wartime service as a job that just had to be done to rid the world of evil.The assassination of five police officers and wounding of seven other officers and two civilians in Dallas last Thursday was an evil that gives some parallels with the soldiers fighting to protect our freedom 75 years ago. A most obvious comparison is that the Dallas ambush-murders resembled a war zone.After visiting the old soldiers at the assisted-living facility, Thomas Sanders realized that as we age, it does not diminish the bravery and sacrifice the soldiers had as young men and women who were fighting for our country. The same could be said for the police officers of today who dedicate themselves to protecting us in our cities and communities.We've heard older military veterans say that in wartime, things happen so fast there is not time to be scared or think about the danger.A parallel could be drawn in last week's attack. Dallas police were doing their job to protect the rights of the demonstrators who, ironically, were protesting against police shootings in several different cities earlier in the week.When the shooting started and the protesters they were protecting ran away from the gunfire, the police officers ran toward it.Normal people are paralyzed by fear or sent running for their lives, but unlike the protesters, the officers' first priority was to protect lives. Even when all hell was breaking out and their comrades were falling around them, the men in blue remained focused and vigilant.Many fail to realize that the officers, like the people they protect, are sons, brothers, fathers and husbands.These are brief biographies of the five officers killed in Thursday's attack, the deadliest incident for law enforcement since 9/11:Lorne Ahrens, 48. A senior corporal and 14-year veteran of the Dallas police force, he and his wife, Katrina, a detective from the Crimes Against Persons division, have two children, ages 10 and 8. Ahrens was seen as "a greatly respected veteran of the department."Michael Krol, 40. A nine-year veteran of the Dallas police department, he moved to Texas from Michigan. His mother said he "was living a dream of being a police officer," and, although he knew the danger of the job, he never shied away from his duty as a police officer.Michael Smith, 55. He served as an Army Ranger and joined the Dallas police force in 1989. He was seen as an exceptional father to his two young girls.Brent Thompson, 43. The first Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer killed in the line of duty, he joined DART in 2009. Before that, he helped establish police departments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thompson got married two weeks ago to a fellow DART officer.Patrick Zamarippa, 32. Zamarippa was a young father and war veteran who served three tours in Iraq. According to his Twitter page, Zamarripa was "addicted to the thrill of this job." He also wrote: "I love my Country, Texas, Family, God, Friends, and Sports!"In retaliation of two separate police shootings of blacks earlier in the week, there were also ambush shootings of police officers in Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri, in addition to the Dallas assassinations.We are a free society but our nation is also governed by the rule of law. In his 1947 opinion on the United States v. United Mine Workers, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter stated: "It is very difficult for a nation to maintain the rule of law if its citizens do not respect the law."Daily, thousands of police officers put their lives on the line to protect us and ensure the rule of law.Some who are faced with making split-second judgments can make mistakes. Those who do err are given due process and judged.But the thousands of officers who remain vigilant to protect us can't be judged for the actions of a few.A symbol used by law enforcement is the thin blue line. As a nation, we can't afford to lose any members of that thin line of officers or society will descend into chaos.By Jim Zbick |

tneditor@tnonline.com