America's Heroes

What if you woke up to find that you would never hold your child in your arms again? Never throw a baseball with your son or dance with your daughter? For many U.S. soldiers on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, these are the realities they risk facing in the name of serving this country.

Headlines, statistics and news reports from the Middle East have now become a daily part of our lives back home. But behind those numbers and statistics are real families just like yours—real families who have sacrificed what can never be measured. "While we're going about our daily lives and daily routines and shopping and taking care of our children, there are people who are sacrificing so that we can have the safety and security that we all share," Oprah says.

After the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Oprah visited the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. There, our most critically injured soldiers and their families receive the treatment they need to start rebuilding their lives. "I consider it a privilege to bring you some of their stories today," Oprah says. "I'm so moved by the sacrifice of every soldier, and those of you at Walter Reed who took the time to talk to me, thank you so much."

To everyone in the military, Oprah has a simple message: "We lift you up, and we hold you in our prayers."