There were 13 symbolic boots, guns and helmets on the riser and during a traditional Army roll call for the dead there were 13 unanswered names read during a memorial service Tuesday for those slain during last week’s massacre at Fort Hood – but 14 died not 13.

There were no symbols for the 9 week-old son of Private Francheska Velez, 21, who was also one of those slain by the alleged terrorist act of Major Malik Nadal Hasan, a devout Muslim.

They counted mom but not baby.

President Obama in his eulogy for the slain did mention the baby, “Private Fracheska Velez, daughter of a father from Columbia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army.  When she was killed she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.”

But the unnamed baby did not make the headlines, nor was he counted by the media.

We did not count the child as real – but there was life!

There should have been symbolism present at the memorial service for this child and more than a passing mention, for there were 14 lives taken during this Jihad.