Marine Ball

 This was a Marine Ball different from others we've attended.  For starters, it wasn't in any fancy five-star hotel, though it was catered by the Serena, Kabul's leading hotel.  It was on the Embassy lawn, with (Afghan) carpets strewn everywhere and a big tent to accommodate the hundreds of guests.  The tent was fortunate, since there was a thunderstorm with a rain that was reasonably heavy by Kabul standards.  For another thing, while there are always military personnel present at a Marine Ball, there was a much higher percentage this time.  And finally, the ceremony tends to be the same: video showing significant historical moments of the Marines, message from the Commandant, Ambassador gives a speech, cake cut, oldest Marine and youngest Marine present get the first slices of the cake - but as the last two photos show, there was something else - an empty table setting in honor of and to remember the Marines who cannot attend.  The salt represents the tears shed for their loss; the lemon, the bitterness of their passing; the table setting upside down to signify that he cannot partake of the feast.