As the war in Afghanistan is well into its eighth year and Operation Iraqi Freedom is hopefully winding down, and so many “more important things” are competing for our attention back home, there is the temptation for some us to lose sight of the sacrifices that continue to be made by our brave troops in Afghanistan and, still, in Iraq.
Did you know that, for example, on April 7, two of our Army heroes died in Mosul, Iraq, when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with a makeshift bomb?
Or that, on April 18, 23-year-old Staff Sgt. James R. Patton died in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained as the result of a helicopter crash?
Or that, including these three heroes, six of our troops have died in Iraq—in a war that should be winding down— thus far this month?
To be frank, I have to admit that I have not been keeping close tabs on these “statistics.”
Statistics that tell us that as of today, April 27, 2010, the total number of fallen service members in those two wars has risen to a tragic 5,415, to include 4,379 in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 1,036 in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Today, almost nine years after the start of the Afghanistan “conflict” and more than seven years after we invaded Iraq, those “numbers” and details about our casualties in those wars are often relegated to the “back pages” of our news publications and blogs, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
Not so at The New York Times and at the Washington Post.
These two publications are still faithfully, respectfully and delicately maintaining unique web sites with current, detailed and thoughtful information about our fallen heroes.
The New York Times’ “Faces of the Dead” web site presents information on our fallen heroes in both a chart and photographic form, where each fallen hero’s photograph consists of thousands of tiny squares, each one representing another fallen hero whose information and photograph can be recalled by clicking on the tiny square.
Information on any of our heroes can also be obtained in several other ways.
In my post, “Of Immigrants Willing to Fight and Die for Our Country,” I wrote about a soldier from my native country (Ecuador) who gave his life for America—even before becoming a U.S. citizen—in Iraq in July 2007.
By clicking here, you will be taken to the NY Times site and will be able to see Mora’s photograph along with his personal information. By, among other, clicking on a square on his photo, you will be taken to the photo and information about another hero, and so on.
What a wonderful way to pay homage to our heroes!
Similarly touching and dignified is the Washington Post’s site “Faces of the Fallen.”
It is a collection of photographs of and information about each U.S. service member who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
As at the “Faces of the Dead” site, information is available about each one of our heroes.
My personal and heartfelt thanks to both publications for honoring our fallen troops and for keeping the realities and the terrible cost of war in our hearts and in our minds.
