I don’t know how long the Washington Post has been assembling and publishing this. But, I just came across it today.
It is a compelling, reverent and stirring compilation—honor gallery is a better term—of photos of and information about all our brave heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq (Operation “Iraqi Freedom”) and in Afghanistan (Operation “Enduring Freedom”) since 2001—a grim total of 4863 to-date.
It is called “Faces of the Fallen—Portraits of U.S. service members who have died since 2001.”
As stated by the Post, “Faces of the Fallen” is a collection of information about each U.S. service member who died in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The information has been compiled from military releases, news service reports and local newspaper stories. The photographs come from news services, local newspapers and family members.
It is a totally interactive site with many “browsable” features and permalinks. A click on a photo (or icon) takes one to an individual page of information for each hero, providing among other: hometown, age, date of death, “incident” resulting in the death, and a number of links to relevant articles, memorial services, and obituaries on the fallen soldier.
In addition, the fallen heroes can be selected and viewed by various categories, including age, year of death, home state, and military branch.
I found “Faces of the Fallen” a solemn, respectful tribute to our fallen heroes, as I am sure the Post intended it to be, and I hope visitors to the site will view it in that way.
Photo: Defenselink.mil
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.