"Here, in silence, are fifteen more"

[TomInTib]

Part of me dies a little bit more every time I hear those words on Newshour.

[Monkeyman]

1. Its like your heart breaks over and over again

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Like my friend Tina's heart is breaking

http://grassrootsamerica4us.org/

[Lisa]

2. I'm afraid to go to look at the war memorial ...

The one they built in downtown Seattle for Washington State's casualties of WWII and later conflicts. They finished it before the invasion, and I don't think there is room for any more names on the walls. Whenever I hear that another WA person has been killed, I wonder what will happen. (But how much worse would it have been if they had left plenty of space, on purpose!)

[Redstone]

5. The Wall is the same. Every time I go to DC, I promise myself that I won't go through

that again, but I do anyway. The Wall is there, and I must go visit it, and the names on it.

Redstone

[Monkeyman]

6. Brother we know to many of the names

I tear up every time. That Wall means more to me then any other

[Redstone]

7. The Wall was controversial when it was first proposed, but it's turned out to be perfect,

hasn't it?

Every SINGLE time I go to DC, I swear that I'll spare myself the heartache, but those names call me, and I go to them yet again...

Redstone

[TahitiNut]

15. It's a memorial to service .. to sacrifice -- not a 'war' memorial.

It makes all the difference, imho. I detest memorials to 'war' - they make the wrong impression on the youjng and impressionalbe, imho. They're clean - war is filthy. They invite respect - war deserves no respect. They make it seem that the 'brave' dead have an audience - there's no audience to the fear and suffering. It's one of the loneliest ways to suffer and die I can imagine.

A distant cousin's name is on the Wall - same last name and same initials as mine - and the same year I was there. That panel has names of guys who got killed in actions I was involved in - and it hurts.

It took me over ten years to make my first visit. Even then it was almost too mcuh to take.

[TomInTib]

10. See #9, Monkeyman

Place just kills me.

[TomInTib]

9. First time I went, I spent the night...

some asshole tried to roust me and I grabbed my Maglight and told him to come with me.

Started pointing to names of my friends and told him to tell them that I had to leave.

He let me stay.

[Monkeyman]

19. Its hard to leave them

[TomInTib]

24. I will never leave them and they will stay with me...

Every day, Brother.

Did you see this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2760458

[Redstone]

3. It's the silence that hurts.

Redstone

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. I wish they'd all do that

Sometimes it seems like Jim Lehrer is the only real journalist left.

[Redstone]

8. Every single fucking newspaper in this country should run the names on the front page...

But I guess they don't have the guts.

Redstone

[TomInTib]

11. Amen, Brother.

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. The guts to risk alienating advertisers and readers?

Nope. They don't.

I liked the media a lot better in the days when they said, "Here it is. Think about it," instead of "We're listening to your wallets and kissing their asses."

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I can't watch it anymore. When I hear Jim Lehrer say those words

I have to get up and leave the room. So many wasted lives.

[Redstone]

14. So many lives wasted, indeed. For NOTHING.

Redstone

[Monkeyman]

18. Amen Brother

[Rydz777]

13. Victims of the Surge

It is simply heartbreaking.

[frogcycle]

17. thats why i keep up my website

I can't stand it that these stories go largely unnoticed.

So I keep adding to my "virtual wall", go back and add better pictures when available, go back and add links as I find them. There are several bigger, better sites that do the same thing, but I just feel compelled to do it myself.

When they run those photos on TV, I generally already know each one's story. It seems like the least I can do to pay respect.

I just added several pics tonight.

Fallen

[Cabcere]

21. That is a beautiful web page

Thank you so much for doing that. :hug: It hurts to look at the faces of all those who have died in this war, but it is also healing to some extent, I think...and it is right that they should all be remembered. I wish there wasn't a need for a web page like yours, but you have done a beautiful job with it. Thank you. :cry: :hug:

[frogcycle]

23. thank you for the feedback

I wish it got more traffic, but I'm glad it is there for those who do visit

[frogcycle]

22. when you follow the links

you find that many of them get a lot of local newspaper coverage. That is, there are articles for 2-3 days running, lots of friends interviewed, stories about services etc.

Then there are those with nothing. DoD press release, and thats it.

I agree there should be a frequent printing in big city papers.

The Washigton Post, San Francisco Chronicle, some others maintain extensive websites, where you can search by date, state, branch of service, etc.

[TomInTib]

26. Good God, Man.... That is a serious site...

Are you the one behind that site?

If so, let's get that spread around.

[frogcycle]

28. I've been doing it since October

added some features along the way.

originally it was just passthru to Washington Post site; I managed to catch a few errors on their site and get them corrected. In Jan I started surfing for links and pics, getting them there before the Post gets around to it.

I really like the Judy Collins rendition of Amazing Grace; I first heard it on my '54 Ford radio enroute home from class in college during VN. Even on that scratchy radio, it was so chilling I had to pull over and just listen. I did have it auto-playing, but figured that might bug people so I now make you have to click to play.

I just added the "slideshow" feature last week.

A lot of the sites out there are very political - I just want a tribute, not driving any agenda but that. I could not resist including the "old vet" from the march on Washington, though. I found those photos so touching, and sincere. He just wants to get them out of there, and he got out there to march with someone (probably a son?) following with wheelchair. Now there is a patriot!

[Booster]

27. A very nice website indeed. Thank you for keeping it up and

honoring our fallen the way you do.:patriot:

[malaise]

34. That's so touching

An important web site. Watching that young girl sitting by the grave I can only imagine my niece and my nephew's wife sitting there. We're so lucky David got home with no physical injuries. I hate George Bush.

[kiteinthewind]

36. Thank you for doing this, frogcycle. My son's friend, Shawn Rankinen, died on 3/7, Here are a couple

other links to articles about him, one from our local paper.

http://www.examiner.net/stories/030807/new_030807002.shtml

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/16864832.htm

This is just getting to be too much sadness to bear.
:cry:

[frogcycle]

25. As bad as they all are

the dirty little secret nobody is talking about is that suicides are up.

Here is a release from yesterday:

Wesley J. Williams

Thursday, March 08 2007 @ 07:55 AM EST

Philadelphia Inquirer -- A soldier from Philadelphia died Friday in Baghdad from noncombat injuries, the Department of Defense reported yesterday.

The Pentagon identified the soldier as Pvt. Wesley J. Williams, 23, a member of the 163d Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

The military gave no information on Williams' death. The brigade has been involved in the handling of prisoners in Iraq.

A spokesman for his family in Philadelphia said the family had no comment.

I have come to recognize notices like this. Some I never see further explanation, but for quite a few it turns out to be self-inflicted. What kind of hell are these kids going through?

The long-term consequences of this are unimagineable. And this administration cares not a whit. If GWB could have to spend just one night with the nightmares these kids - the ones who live through it - will endure for years to come...

[L. Coyote]

29. Can we get all of the Fallen on one CD? n/t

[frogcycle]

30. all 3190?

just names?

or names and photos?

[frogcycle]

31. here are all the names in one list

http://icasualties.org/oif/Details.aspx

and here are pictures

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/

as to getting all on a CD - yes, the photos on the Post site are only 5 kb or so; 3500 of them would fit on a cd along with the files to display them. Why a CD though?

[frogcycle]

35. I filled out my "virtual wall"

Some of the feedback prompted me to do something I've been meaning to for some time.

I went ahead and backfilled my website to include the 3000+ who preceded my starting it back in October. Now there is a page for each month since the beginning of the war. The "History" link leads to it. I pulled the data and pics down from the another site and just displayed it differently. I don't expect they'd mind, but I'm not asking.

[uppityperson]

32. Indeed.

I went to the traveling Wall several yrs back, someday will make the trip to the big one just because.

[Cabcere]

33. Kicking this again

because as much as it hurts to remember, we must never forget. :cry: They are all so much more than just names on a wall...

"I saw her from a distance
As she walked up to the wall
in her hand she held some flowers
as her tears began to fall
and she took out pen and paper
as to trace her memories
and she looked up to heaven
and the words she said were these...

She said Lord my boy was special,
and he meant so much to me
and Oh I'd love to see him
just one more time you see
All I have are the memories
and the moments to recall

So Lord could you tell him,
He's more than a name on a wall..

She said he really missed the family
and being home on Christmas day
and he died for God and Country
in a place so far away
I remember just a little boy
playing war since he was three
But Lord this time I know,
He's not coming home to me

And she said Lord my boy was special,
and he meant so much to me
and Oh I'd love to see him
But I know it just can't be
So I thank you for my memories
and the moments to recall

But Lord could you tell him,
He's more than a name on a wall..

Lord could you tell him,
He's more than a name on a wall.."

- The Statler Brothers, "More Than a Name on a Wall" :cry: