Sean Askay, a geospatial content developer for Google Earth Outreach, created Map the Fallen as a tribute to US personnel who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. The project plots each person’s location, date, and cause of death, and traces a line from this location to his or her hometown. For each entry, visitors can view photos and an online memorial including the thoughts of friends and family members.
Askay found the inspiration for Map the Fallen in the icasualities.org databases, which provided the resources used in early effort to map combat fatalities. The current version of the project draws information from a wide range of sources, including the Defense Department, the Washington Post’s Faces of the Fallen, Honor the Fallen, and the “In Remembrance” page of Legacy.com.