They Have Names is a new website which has been established for the sole purpose of honoring the soldiers who have died during the war in Iraq and their families. This is in a similar vein to the Someone You Should Know at BlackFive. David M at The Thunder Run posts that the new website is the creation of CJ at A Soldier's Perspective. The motivating reasons behind the website are explained by CJ:
To tell the individual stories of our Troops who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. We believe that Americans NEED to know about the lives of each and every fallen hero. Through this knowledge, they will cease to become mere numbers and start to become real people.
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.
At the time of this writing, over 3000 troops have been killed in Iraq alone. Each and every one of them has unique talents, hobbies, families, and histories. Each of them had a reason that led them to serve in one of our nation's armed forces. These people are not mere numbers - They Have Names.
This site is dedicated to the memory of CPT James "Alex" Funkhouser, who gave me the motivation to share the stories of our fallen heroes.
I have only briefly browsed through the website, but I will certainly be visiting it again. I think that it is important that we, as a nation, understand why these men and woman were willing risk their lives to serve their country. Those in America who claim to make decisions concerning this war on the premise that they are doing so to protect our warriors,should at least understand the motivations of those they claim to protect.
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