Join us in supporting families at home

Frontiersman editorial board

In the modern, electronic era, the role of the war correspondent has changed, and the war now streams in to our living rooms in near real time as reporters deliver the battle to us as if it were Monday Night Football, complete with play-by-play and color analysis. Because we can think of little else to do, many of us sit transfixed by the coverage for hours on end. We are helpless to participate in the war, and whether we agree with the action or not, we all worry for our troops -- and the only connection we can have with them seems to be through the television.

For many, the coverage is even more wrenching and painful. For the mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters at home, the coverage is at once a chance to get a glimpse of a loved one in good health, and the threat of seeing them injured, captured or worse. Still these family members and friends watch -- they must watch.

We can do more, though. Many local organizations, including the American Red Cross, the United Way, various veterans organizations, and local military bases have programs in place -- or are organizing programs to help bring comfort to our troops overseas and to assist families at home struggling with the uncertainty that comes when a loved one is deployed for the war. There is much to be done that can benefit our troops and their families at home.

One local group is planning to send candy and needed items to troops in Iraq. A local veteran's group is compiling a list of military people from the Valley who are deployed for the war, their families and their home towns. They'll use that list for a ceremonial roll-call during a Memorial Day ceremony. Other people are organizing groups to get together and exchange information and concerns about their deployed loved ones.

The Frontiersman is helping to compile the names for the ceremonial roll-call, and we'd like to invite readers in the Valley for help. If you have a friend or loved one deployed to the war in the Iraq, please send their name, the names of their family members and their hometown to the Frontiersman either by e-mail at editor@frontiersman.com or by fax at (907) 352-2276. You can also mail the information to: Frontiersman, 5751 E. Mayflower Court, Wasilla AK 99654, attn. editor, or simply drop the information off at the office.