DALE WHO?????

I spent a lot of time in front of the television this past weekend. Not by design but by necessity as my disability had gotten the best of me and I couldn't work. There seemed to be a lot of talk about some race car driver who died ten years ago at a race in Daytona. Dale somebody.... His name is not important. What is important is that his death was remembered by so many in all aspects of the media. Not just the racing world or the sports world but almost every outlet of news and information had something about his death.

I have some other names that I would like to remember:
Staff Sergeant Bradley Hart, 25 died Feb 15, 2011
A1C Christoffer Johnson, 20 died Feb 17, 2011
Sgt Matthew DeYoung, 26 Died Feb 18, 2011
Specialist Johnathan Pilgeram, 22 Died Feb 17, 2011
A1C Corey Owens, 26, Died Feb 17, 2011
Specialist LaShawn Evans, 24 Died Feb 15, 2011
Specialist Nathan Carse, 32 Died Feb 8, 2011

I could go on listing over 7000 men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have died in service to our country since January 2001, but I am sure you got the message.

They say no man is truly dead until he is forgotten. The men and women of our military who have given their all in service to US must never be forgotten! That is US as a collective of individuals not U.S. as in the United States. Since the collective of individuals IS the United States.

What ever Dale what's-his-name did for our country is nothing compared to the sacrifice of our Military personnel. These brave men and women voluntarily go into harms way. each has written a blank check to this country that reads "Pay to the order of The United States of America any amount up to and including my life". They don't ask for admiration public recognition or respect..... They should not have to ask! They have earned it !!! They deserve it. Yet for so many of us the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are so far from home with little sacrifice required by those of us who do not have family or friends in theater that we don't notice the news when a soldier dies.

Yet we can remember the day a race car driver dies. We can remember when Lilo has her next court date. We can even remember what we were doing when Elvis died but can we remember one, just one, name of a soldier who died in service to our country?
www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html has a complete list of all the allied forces killed in the current war efforts. Pick a name any name and remember the story of that name. It is the least we can do.