About the webmaster...


The webmaster (above) and
her better half (right), with his
cool little pal in Iraq - 2003
    

July 30, 2004

Though I had specifically decided not to, in my site's first day up and live I've received several requests for an "about me" page.  I didn't want to do one because I don't want to disrupt the tone of this site.  It's not about me...it's about them.  However, one correspondent pointed out: "We'd like to see who is taking care of these MPs".

Fair enough...I see your point.

So, hello! My name is Lisa, and I am the proud wife of a Military Policeman.

My husband deployed to Iraq in 2003 and, during plenty of silent days and nights, I scanned the news channels almost constantly for updates on the war.  I figured that, if the worst should happen to my husband, the Army would inform me of it far sooner than channel 10 would...but I wasn't so sure that I would get word as quickly if anything happened to our friends from other MP units.  This prompted a daily ritual of scanning the DoD death notices and, naturally, the words "Military Police" jumped out at me, every time.

I soon realized that seeing "Military Police" in those notices hurt pretty badly, in fact.

My husband has since returned home, safe and sound...but - as they say - old habits die hard and I continued to check the notices for fallen MPs.  Likewise, along the way, I've had the distinct pleasure to learn more and more about the integral roles Military Police have filled in the Army's history and these sad announcements always remind me that the strength of the MP Corps lies in the lives of the men and women that wear the brassard.

So, to me, it's not the manner of death...or the length of service...or the nature of duty that quantifies what the Military Police Corps is made up of.  It is made up of each and every one of these lives that is individually worthy of loud and proud celebration for being yet another strong thread in the tapestry of an exquisite Corps.

It's a tall order, but I hope I can do them justice via the world wide web.

When I started this, my youngest daughter (age 11) surprised me with an uncanny interest in these Military Police lives, as well, and she has been by my side nearly throughout the entire project.  She is my Chief Obituary Searcher (she seemed to enjoy having a title other than "Number One Coffee Brewer"...but she's gotten really good at that, too, I've gotta say).  She can Google up obituaries like you wouldn't believe, and I'm certain she knows more about the Military Police role in the 1968 Tet Offensive than any other kid in her school district. But the best part was sneaking peeks at her from my computer, running searches from her laptop computer and musing aloud: "Come on...where are you? We've got to tell them your story!"

She makes me awfully proud.

Regarding the technical stuff for researchers/historians re: my database accuracy...I made every effort to cross-reference the soldiers' names with at least one (and usually two) other databases such as the U.S. Social Security Death Index, various U.S. Census reports and, for the soldiers of Vietnam, cross-referenced the information with the military casualty records as well.

Family genealogy charts/records were also reviewed, if necessary, in order to substantiate accuracy of names, birth dates, etc. and I purchased subscriptions to genealogy and archive services to access reliable cross-referencing sources.

For the stories/photos contained within the memorial pages, only the details that were provided as eyewitness accounts from those who knew the soldier or details related by soldiers' family members were used. Data from questionable sources was not put in the pages at this time, but will be investigated and updated if applicable. I have a "Follow up on this clue..." pile that's about 3 inches thick.  As I am able to confirm the accuracy of these leads, they will be added to the memorial pages.

If the soldier was referred to by nickname (other than legal name, as listed in the government records), the legal name was used and the nickname is indicated in quotes/parenthesis i.e.: ("nickname").

In that regard, I believe the information in the memorial pages to be as historically accurate as possible at this time and typos will be typos, so comments/questions/corrections are openly invited.

So...I think that's about it.  I hope my intentions are now a bit clearer...and my reliability is deemed trustworthy.

I promise they won't be forgotten.

Thanks,
Lisa

Return to Main Index