The sombre hymn begins with a subtle, haunting choir that humms the main theme and slowly gets accompanied by low-key variations from the rest of the orchestra. How very fitting for a respectful acknowledgement of fallen heroes. The high, thin percussion and windchimes might stand out a bit too much but at least the sounds are pretty and lacquered in just enough reverb to sit well in the mix anyhoo. The higher choir is a nice subtle touch, but since it's a clear open vowel at a much lower volume than the humming choir, I can't help but imagining some female singers standing really far away from the rest of the group! It's a realism issue, but obviously a really tiny one.
The violin is such a class move, man. First off, I love how it begins by echoing the clarinet part earlier in the piece. And the portamento and wild intervals are so cool! The brass provides good support for the violin, but after the crescendo from 0:39 I was expecting a fuller sound. The brass is also a bit blaring, like it's being played at a really high velocity but kept down in volume. So the brass generally doesn't have much dynamic variation. When the piano and timpani is introduced, there is a very brief climax at 0:53 that doesn't sound out of place at all, which I actually find to be quite a feat. Makes for a very exciting ride when listening intently, and grabs the attention of whoever might just be having it in the background!
Loving the chromaticism here and there, it's subtle but still makes it clear that you're quite skilled as a composer. Some parts of note are the clarinet at 0:30 (and the violin that echoes it), the transition between chords at 1:03, and how the chords, er, wiggle up and down by one semitone at 1:18. Each time I listen I hear some new subtle and clever little trick in the arrangement that makes this a joy to listen to analytically.
When it comes to talking about the main theme.. hmm. On one hand, several times it is so incredibly similar to one of the most famous themes from Harry Potter (especially the rhythm but also the tonality) that it's actually very tempting to shout "blatant freaking ripoff!". On the other hand, there are so many brilliant variations and creative ways of using the same motif that still keep it recognizable as the main theme, that I'm going to consider any resemblance to other works purely coincindental, so to speak. The fact that the main motif is so prominent lets me hang onto it as a solid reference point, and also gets me really excited about the aforementioned variations of that motif.
When the piece rounds off, I've been treated to a lot of cool stuff both instrumentation-wise and composition wise, so I don't feel cheated at all, unlike the case for most songs of this length. The instrumentation is very low-key and almost sleepy for most of the song, so the piece is perhaps missing a really rich, satisfying climax. But that might not even be fit for the theme you've provided with the song title.
9 points for sounds and instrumentation.
9 points for composition and melody/harmony.
8 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress.
Overall impression: 8.5