Blogging as "grief-work": A father blogs about the loss of his soldier daughter

Sminklemeyer has a post today about meeting with some old friends, the parents of Michelle Witmer. He writes:

Spc. Michelle Witmer was killed last year just five days before she would go home. She had two sisters also serving in Iraq. Michelle was the first National Guard female killed in combat and her death sprung a huge interest from the national media. I am a friend of Lori Witmer, Michelle’s mother. And I recently had dinner with the Witmer family. To my surprise, John Witmer had been keeping a blog, at which is dedicated to Michelle and to help others deal with grief of a fallen loved one.

I visited John Witmer's blog, and it is eloquent, moving and heartfelt. In describing the aims of his blog he writes:

In April of 2004, my daughter, Michelle Witmer, was killed in action while serving with the Army National Guard. I've been told, by those who know about such things, that journaling is an effective way to process grief. I intend to tell our story through my journal. The Story of our family, my children, my wife, and our Journey through this difficult time. I want to help you get to know who Michelle was and why we will never forget her.

He has only posted three times so far since beginning his blog on March 7th, but those posts alone are already an open window onto a father' and family's grief about the loss of a daughter and sister.