A Temple veteran has a special mission.
CJ Grisham is making sure the untold stories of our fallen heroes see the light of day.
His web site is called theyhavenames.com, and it gives families a place to describe and show who those heroes really were.
CJ lost five battle buddies since 9-11, but for him, it's not about the numbers, but the names, especially after last weekend's reports of the 2000th soldier killed in Afghanistan.
"All you hear about is that number, 2000, but that's 2,000 separate families that have been affected by this war, that's 2000 individual people who aren't going to come home ever, they're not going to experience Christmas this year," said CJ.
That's why he created the web site, to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
"It's really sad when I'm doing a profile, and I'm doing an Internet search and there's hardly anything," said CJ.
So far, he's featured more than 500 fallen warriors on the site.
His friend, SPC George Mitchell, who was killed during the invasion into Baghdad is one of them.
Now his online profile shines as a proud monument for Mitchell's father.
"I just want his memory to live on. I'm thankful that he did what he did, but I certainly miss his companionship, and not a day goes by that you don't think about it," said George Mitchell Sr.
So by putting memories online, CJ is fighting to make sure others think about it too.
"When I see a number like 2000, I see 2000 faces, and I want the country to see 2000 faces," said CJ.
It's 2-thousand stories worth more than a thousand words.
Right now CJ is mainly focusing on casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan, but he welcomes anyone to share their stories with him.
He one day hopes to start working backward through decades of war and the heroes gave all to fight them.
Reporter/Photographer: Sophia Stamas sstamas@kcentv.com
