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They Have Names
By John
CJ Grisham has just launched a new blog that is bursting with promise.
On May 29th, two journalists were killed and one severely injured by an IED in Iraq. Every media outlet in the country seemed to trip all over themselves trying to tell the American people about these "brave journalists". There were specials aired during prime time, full front page articles on almost every national newspaper and most local papers. And in every single article was this vague and nonspecific notation: "A U.S. soldier and an Iraqi translator also died in the blast."Who was this "U.S. soldier"? For days, he endured anonymity for his sacrifice while these journalists whom he'd given his life to protect were paraded throughout the media as martyrs. I made it my goal in life to find out who he was and tell his story. He was not just "a U.S. soldier" to me. He was a brother. He was father. He was a son. And he had a name.
They have names was created to in order to pay proper respects for our fallen heroes. All too often, these Troops are relegated to mere numbers by the press. Their stories are unknown. Their lives are unkown. And their names are unknown. Their sacrifice is impersonal and taken for granted. To many Americans, they are faceless figures. They are not enigmas - They Have Names.
The website (blog?) has already attracted the attention of the Army Times:
Grisham launched a Web site, http://www.TheyHaveNames.com, to honor the memory of every last service member who has died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Rather than linking to newspaper stories or Defense Department press releases, he hopes to call the families and friends of each person and tell the stories through their eyes. The story of Capt. James A. Funkhouser, commander of 1st Battalion., 12th Inf. Regiment the soldier who died with the journalists May 29 was the first story to go up on the site.
Reminds me of the reason that Matt Burden founded Blackfive....
