With most of the nation's attention focused on the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been bumped from the front pages of many newspapers, as well as from the headlines of the electronic media.

But the fact that the wars are far from over was brought home in a tragic way during the past week with the news that a Lyndora soldier was one of the victims of a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Bryan Hoover, a member of a Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit based in Connellsville, Fayette County, was on a foot patrol when the bomber struck. The blast also killed a fellow Keystone State Guardsman and a number of civilians.

Hoover and the other soldier were the 35th and 36th members of the Pennsylvania National Guard to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The death of Hoover, 29, a West Elizabeth, Allegheny County, native who moved to Lyndora last fall, brought to an end an honorable military career that extended back to October 1999, when he joined the Marine Corps.

As a Marine, he served on active duty until September 2004, then became a member of the Marine Corps Reserve.

In March 2005, he enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard and served in Iraq in 2007 and 2008.

His current service in Afghanistan was his first deployment to that war-torn nation. He was sent there last fall, shortly after moving to the Butler area to be with his girlfriend.

He was a track coach with the Elizabeth Forward School District, but his goal was to search for a job as an athletic director.

As a coach, he touched the lives of young athletes in a positive way, encouraging them to work hard and excel. One former student described him as a "nice, inspirational coach" who always helped his students.

Hoover's family said they would like people to remember him for his kind heart and caring nature. But more so, he should be remembered for his dedication to his country's mission and objectives and his willingness to give his life on their behalf.

Like Hoover's, many other American families are experiencing the pain of having lost a loved one either in Afghanistan or Iraq. And, the troubling reality is that more U.S. military families are destined to feel the same kind of pain in the months and years ahead in the two struggles tied to senseless terrorism.

Increasingly often, amid other happenings, the two wars don't get the front-page headlines like they've gotten in the past. But then the war hits home again, as with Hoover's death, and people here are left pondering why peace is so difficult to attain — why all in those nations still are not tired of the unrest and bloodshed.

Hoover was carrying out his assigned mission when his life was tragically cut short. It's too bad that he wasn't afforded the time and opportunity to do much more, both in the military and in his civilian life.