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.
That soldier was Army Captain James Alex Funkhouser. CJ has done an outstanding job memorializing Cpt. Funkhouser. This quote in particular stood out as I read it, and really summarizes the intent of They Have Names: From Alex's wife, Jennifer: "Alex is just one of many, but maybe his death has and will force others to stop and notice when another soldier dies instead of barely paying attention to it in the news. I think that we are all starting to become immune to all of the death there and everywhere else. Iraq has been in our lives for the past few years and the deaths just don't seem to be as important now. Please don't let that happen. Take the time to notice another fallen soldier. Remember Alex and know that the next soldier is probably someone just like him.
Jennifer, there are many of us who remember. Thank you for sharing your story.
1 comment:
This really bites my butt...
Everyday I hear "*insert number here> soldiers died* and nothing more said on who they were. It looks like to me that it is the least our news outlets can do is give a name each of the soldiers that have lost their lives risking everything for each one of us. They are not just a number...
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