William Flathmann, 9, holds up a dog tag with a picture of his stepdad, Sgt. James M. Nolen, who was killed in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device Nov. 22, 2009. Before Nolen deployed, he explained to Will what 9/11 was and why he had to go protect his family and other Americans from other bad people attacking the United States again, said Rachel Nolen.