Daily Dose of Depression --Names of the Dead

                                         Memorial Day, May 30, 2011

Names of the Dead

The Department of Defense has identified 1,581 American service members who have died as a part of the Afghan war and related operations. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans recently:

BOHALL, Thomas A., 25, Sgt., Army; Bel Aire, Kan.; 101st Airborne Division.

HAMSKI, Joseph J., 28, Staff Sgt., Air Force; Ottumwa, Iowa; 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron.

JOHNSON, John C., 28, Pfc., Army; Phoenix; 10th Mountain Division.

MILLS, Edward D. Jr., 29, Staff Sgt., Army; New Castle, Pa.; 101st Airborne Division.

OSMAN, Ergin V., 35, Staff Sgt., Army; Jacksonville, N.C.; 101st Airborne Division.

PATTON, Adam J., 21, Specialist, Army; Port Orchard, Wash.; 101st Airborne Division.

RUNKLE, John M., 27, First Lt., Army; West Salem, Ohio; 101st Airborne Division.

SOLESBEE, Kristoffer M., 32, Tech. Sgt., Air Force; Citrus Heights, Calif.; 775th Civil Engineer Squadron.

THIBODEAU, Christopher R., 28, Chief Warrant Officer, Army; Chesterland, Ohio; First Battalion, Fourth Combat Aviation Brigade.

VELAZQUEZ, Louie A. Ramos, 39, Sgt., Army; Camuy, Puerto Rico; 101st Airborne Division.
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I haven’t found many news outlets, with the exceptions of the New York Times,  Washington Post and the PBS News Hour, which regularly post the names of those who, after ten years of war, are still dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Here’s part of  the Times’ editorial for this Memorial Day, May 30, 2011.

Whatever you make of the wars in which those soldiers fought, whatever you make of war itself, their sacrifices are real and permanent. How death came to them, now or then, is something only they can know. We who have not been called to war, or have been lucky enough not to lose anyone dear, still feel the loss. These are things worth remembering here in the last blush of spring, the first flush of summer.

Every sentence in this paragraph deserves close attention. Memorials honor those whose sacrifices lie in the past. Memorials also burden those living in the present. Do we carry this burden too lightly?