The very first thing we often learn about a person is his or her name. Our name is an intimate part of who we are. It comprises our identity, and we make connections between our name and identity every day. As for people long gone who we are researching, it will all we will ever be able to learn about them. In some cases, we uncover enough information to develop some sort of perception of their personality. But it's not the same as actually getting to know them. So we have to rely on names. I've been researching women soldiers for over ten years now and have encountered lots of names.
