Mourners who went to Lion Cemetery to bury their loved ones during the siege of Sarajevo had to worry about losing their own lives at the hands of Bosnian Serb snipers positioned in the hills surrounding the city. Lion Cemetery was safe compared with other burial places, however. A soccer field that had been converted into a cemetery was much more exposed to snipers, and the chances of being killed there were high. During the worst periods of shelling, residents in the besieged city had to bury their loved ones in the relative safety of their own backyards.

In Sarajevo, there were many ways to die. Bosnian Serbs bombed residences and public buildings. Simply walking down city streets was the most dangerous activity, for at any time, a Serb sniper or mortar shell might kill a pedestrian. With no running...