THE LAST WORD:

Many of us might feel fatigued by the steady flow of bad news from the Iraq War. On Friday, retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of coalition troops for a year in 2003-04, called it a “nightmare with no end in sight.”

But no matter how you feel about the conflict in political terms, it’s important to let our troops know how much we value their service.

And there’s a great way you can do just that as Costa Mesa officials encourage you to write welcome-home letters and cards for the men and women of D Company, 2-25 Aviation Regiment. Costa Mesa adopted D-Company last year.

You can drop off your letters at City Hall or mail them to Carol Proctor in the city manager’s office, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92628.

The deadline is Nov. 7.