By whom the toll is counted

[Rose Siding]

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- No one asked Michael White to count the dead soldiers in Iraq.

He is not a military man, and he has no friends or relatives who serve. He is a guy with a Honda Civic, a mortgage and a job in a suburban office park. A guy with a wife and a 7-year-old daughter who has soccer games to go to.

But for almost 3 1/2 years — for no pay and no glory — White has kept a meticulous tally of every U.S. and coalition military fatality, posting the names and the numbers on his website, http://www.icasualties.org.

It started as a hobby — the work of a war critic who wanted to help keep the facts straight. Today, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and New York Times use White's numbers to show the extent of the nation's collective sacrifice. Bloggers use his numbers to quell conspiracy theories, and soldiers' parents call up the site to make sure their children are not listed on it. Job seekers have sent him resumes, unaware that the operation is little more than a guy and his laptop......

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tally15nov15,0,1174272.story?coll=la-home-nation