The four murdered Marines were taken in the war that besets the country and must be honored as such.

While anti-terror authorities try to pin down where, when and how 24-yearold “all-American” Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez radicalized into an apparently Islamist murderer, there’s a terrifying truth to confront. So far, there have been no reports that he discussed jihad on the Internet, or otherwise made his intentions known in the ways that have exposed so many would-be killers.

Perhaps it was in his travels to Jordan that Abdulazeez — who held U.S. and Jordanian citizenship — became a treasonous soldier out to wage combat on America. His targets were military.

The four murdered Marines, cut down while unarmed, collectively had given 35 years of service, including seven tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40, of Massachusetts won two Purple Hearts over a nearly 18-year military career that saw two tours in Iraq, including fierce fighting during the 2005 Battle of Abu Ghraib.

Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, 37, of North Carolina, was a Marine for over 10 years, serving one tour in Afghanistan and then two in Iraq.

Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Carson Holmquist of Wisconsin served two tours in Afghanistan since joining the Marines in 2009.

Twenty-one-year-old Reservist Lance Cpl. Squire (Skip) Wells of Georgia had earned numerous commendations in his short military career. He “died doing what he wanted to do and had chosen to do,” a family spokesman said.

Among the three wounded were Chattanooga police officer Dennis Pedigo, hit in the ankle, and Randall Smith, a Navy logistics specialist and father of three young girls, who was in a coma.

They were taken in the war that besets the country and must be honored as such.