Do any of you ever log on to the casualty list?

www.defenselink.mil/releases/

graywolf,

I had my fill of looking at that one, Stars and Stripes, and others during the time that our grandson was in heated Anbar Province (mostly Fallujah and Ramadi) during '04-'05.  I was just too done in to even want to watch it after that. 

Gran

I actually do look at it fairly often. I used to go there daily but now it's more like once a week. We all do what we have to do to get through this and, to some I'm sure, this would sound morbid coming from an Army mom but it's something I just feel called to do. I feel like I need to acknowledge their sacrifice in some way and at least reading their names allows me to do that one little thing.

But, it is so very sad and I can most definitely understand that it's not a habit that would be good for everyone. What's important is that we all remember them daily and everyone here does that in their own way.

Reta

I read the soldiers names usually everyday.  Whether I know the soldiers who are there or not, I too have to read about them as well.  Won't get any calls or mail, won't get to go give my respect in person or through any personal contact, but reading about these fallen soldiers, praying for the families, and remembering them, is the way I try to honor them with my respect.  But, I agree with Reta, its not for everyone and we each have our own way.  Its not the how we remember and honor them, its that we do it.

G.I.O.BARBIE          

I'm sorry if I came accross too morbid.  This is my alone time with the soldiers for prayer and tears.  Yes, I'm a grown man and I do shed tears of sorrow for our wonderful young people that I will never meet, never shake hands with, and never be able to tell them "I love you".  This makes me more determind to do more packages and more letter writing to these beautiful young people protecting us and serving our country.

I want to end  my letters with "I love you, Son, please take special care."  Or "I love you Daughter, please stay out of harms way".  I know these are the Sons and Daughters of our fellow Americans and I want them to know that there are other Americans out there, other than their immidiate families, that love them just as much.

 

Graywolf , signing off, and "I love YOU"          

NO!!!

I don't find it morbid at all. For myself, it's a way to acknowledge them and it's also a way to remind myself every day that we're fighting a war regardless of what many people seem to think!!

You keep on loving these Sons and Daughters...and remember that we military parents are thankful for as many people as possible loving our children!!! It reminds us that we aren't in this alone which would be a terrible thing!!!

God bless you, Graywolf, for loving our military heroes.

They are wonderful, aren't they???

Reta

Graywolf,

What a wonderful sentiment. My eyes welled up with tears. I don't look at the list but I some times look on the Washington Post Faces of the Fallen. Especially if there has been a casualty from my son's brigade or from one of my groups that I have been supporting. Diane

I check the list almost every day myself.  I find it sad but I also learn who these warriors are by reading their names and learning where they lived, etc.  They are not just a number on the news to me if I can read and learn who they are. And yes, I to shed tears as well; something a lot of us guys wont admit to doing.  Ive actually lost a personal friend that I grew up with while he was in Iraq on December 21, 2004 and for comfort I sometimes go back into the DoD's archives and pull his name up and read the report on his loss.  I know to some that might seem to hard to fathom, but I find peace in knowing they died doing what they loved and that is serving their country.
Thanks for recognizing our fallen warriors.

 

Graywolf - Yes. Ann

graywolf:

I want to end my letters with "I love you, Son, please take special care."  Or "I love you Daughter, please stay out of harms way".  I know these are the Sons and Daughters of our fellow Americans and I want them to know that there are other Americans out there, other than their immidiate families, that love them just as much.

 Graywolf , signing off, and "I love YOU"          

Graywolf,

You say that you "want" to end your letters with the above sentiments.  I hope that you do.  I know that no one can ever hear that they are loved too much.  Thank you for what you are doing.

Vicki

 

It isn't that I feel that reading it is morbid.  It is just that when I have my life so full of the ones that are alive, I simply don't have the time or the strength to spend time on people "individually" that I never knew - just like I don't look up the roles of the people who have died in all the past conflicts like the Civil War, WWI and WWI, the Spanish American War, etc.  I note them all as a group because there is not enough of me to note them individually.  It is simply beyond my limitations.  There is nothing wrong with anyone doing it who does have the capabilities - more power to you, whoever you are.

Gran

graywolf:

I'm sorry if I came accross too morbid.

I don't find it so. But then, when I'm seeking someone known and hang around to read about someone not, (like you) it enhances my time in prayer. I am a slow one in some ways; compassion is deeply mined. Took me some focused self-examination to understand why I was so deeply drawn to correspond with strangers. Snippets of wisdom from certain AnySoldiers' postings gave great fodder for my walks along the sea. Been grateful to those who've heard my prayers; for some of them (and/or for their buds) I've read the list. Took a while to smile at those wheeled, to unhesitatingly shake a hook or squeeze a shoulder offered; to assess for (request) assistance but not feel anything was missing. Even with all that, took me even longer to realize a letter of gratitude was also, in my way, a letter of love... yes, a love-letter.  

graywolf:

I want to end  my letters with "I love you Son, please take special care."  Or "I love you Daughter, please stay out of harms way"   ...and I want them to know that there are other Americans out there, other than their immidiate families, that love them just as much. 

Hope you freely do, unabashedly. Bless you.

I agree...tell them you love them!!!

That means so very, very much!!! And there can never be enough of it spread around!

Thank you, Graywolf, and this Army mom loves you, too!!!

Reta

Hello Everyone!

I can't remember the first time I located and read one of the casualty lists. I do know I was interested in finding out about a local soldier KIA and wanted to find out the correct spelling on his name to run on a search engine. I found out he was married with a little one and that he had many close friends.

After that time I would watch the list making sure the names of every soldier (who hadn't stayed in touch) wasn't on it.

One day there was one soldier on the list that I did not know.

I had a strong feeling to write his name and information on a helium balloon and sent it off for who knows where? There was something in the moment that felt right.

I really didn't have a purpose. Maybe I was just weak but it just seemed like I needed to do something no matter how small.

I never knew him, but I don't think I will ever forget his name. Maybe in some way that gives tribute to his life.

He was not the first, and I am sure he won't be the last but I did come to a realization about soldiers with families.

Decades from now the children are going to want to know more about their Dad.

I learned this when I helped a daughter of a Vietnam Vet learn more about her father who she didn't really get a chance to know (he died when she was little).

I spent hours researching and putting together information.

For one brief moment I gave a glimpse of her father to her as a gift.

The look on her face made it all worth while. 

Another site I have found that is worth a look is www.legacy.com go to "In Remembrance" as you can go there and read what friends and family say in the guest book.

I feel we are honoring those who have departed by treating their companions with respect.

I know so many supporters here that go above and beyond the call of duty to support our soldiers and I consider everyone of you a blessing.

Thank you for being you, door

 

 

 

door:

I really didn't have a purpose. Maybe I was just weak... 

I don't believe any acknowledgement is too small, nor view any kindness as "weak". 

Although a brat, I'm just civilian Door, so there's a lot I don't comprehend but, like a lot of people, I know some about loss. When losses are fresh, they are tough... and although the burden may become more manageable, "it" doesn't go away. Quite at the forefront of my mind are acts - simple, simple acts from strangers toward this widow (me) that have stayed ripely close, supporting me for many years. Four photos of uniformed men live on our family's altar: crew members of an AnySoldier penpal; good men I never knew, but he did. Near the end of his deployment, I wrote to tell him they were there (and would stay there) safely with me. He said he knew... he didn't know, but he knew.  If you do something in respect, it's not one of those if-a-tree-falls-in-a-lonely-forest-does-it-make-any-noise kinda things. It counts. It's not complex: it just counts.