Via The Wall Street Journal, here's an exploration of how the Internet is changing how we remember our fallen veterans.
The Iraq conflict is the first Internet war, replete with emails, satellite-based 3-D maps and even blogs by troops. But the Web is also playing a sadder role: commemorating the war's casualties through online tributes choked in grief.From the start of the war, a number of newspapers and television networks have kept up-to-date honor rolls on their Web sites showing the American soldiers who have been killed -- the number passed the 2,000 mark last week, as coming Veterans Day ceremonies will surely note.
These memorial sites pack some strong emotions; even at "thumbnail" size, the pictures have much more impact than simply reading a list of names....
No one knows how long these tribute pages will be around. Web sites tend to come and go, and while there are some people in technology who are beginning to think about the problem of archiving today's Internet for future generations, there is always the chance these sites will end up a decade or two hence as dead bits on a hard drive lost in some dusty warehouse.
Families intent on preserving a Web tribute for their children's children should print it out and put it in a scrapbook. The Web is best at amplifying and articulating current concerns and preoccupations...before moving on to the next thing.
But if ephemeral, the Web is also extremely personal. The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial lists the name of every soldier who died in that war. These Web sites go the next step, telling us not just the soldiers' names but what they, their families and their friends looked like, the clothes they wore and the rooms they lived in.
Traditional monuments, those made with granite, seem so cold and impersonal by comparison. Perhaps they will be designed differently from now on because of the manner in which people are grieving today on the Internet. It's yet another example of how the Internet changes everything.
Related:
• Legacy.com - In Remembrance
• The New York Times - A Look at Those Who Died in Iraq