I see a lot of bumper stickers that read “Freedom isn’t free!”

There are many ways to interpret this quote. One is certainly that freedom requires sacrifice, which does include soldiers’ lives. That doesn’t imply that blood is the price of freedom, but that freedom is worth some bloodshed.

I find it more palatable to consider that quote as meaning that freedom requires responsibility. That has the same implications w/r/t bloodshed, but allows more interesting inferences as well. I think it’s primarily the public’s (i.e. our) failure to take responsibility for government actions that has led to this erosion of freedom.