Honoring the dead

Those that read the Washington Post on a regular basis will be familiar with the "Faces of the Fallen" section that is periodically published. For those unfamiliar, it's basically two pages of color pictures of soldiers that have been killed in Iraq with a short blurb of where and how they died.
:
I don't know how I feel about it. On the one hand I think that we have a duty to acknowledge those who have given their lives. I try to make a point of looking at each photo and it's shocking to see just how young some of them are. I would venture the majority are from 19-23 years of age. Some of the pics look like they were taken in high school. It's heartbreaking, all the more so because you have the feeling that these kids are some of the best we have to offer. The world is a worse place for each one lost.

:

On the other hand I'm somewhat bothered by a suspicion that politics plays a role in the section's publication. I don't recall this being usual practise for newspapers of those who have died in battle. We certainly don't run a section devoted to those violently murdered on our city streets. In any case it's probably not my place to decide whether it is appropriate or not, that's perhaps best left up to the family members of those who died. If they don't have a problem with it then I don't either.

:

Now, while I am agnostic about the intentions of the Post, I have to wonder about the New York Times after reading this. And it's almost enraging to click on the last link of that post, which takes you to these pictures of anti-war protesters, most of whom I can almost guarantee you don't give a damn whatsoever about the dead soldiers and are far more interested in using them as unwilling props for their Bush-bashing.