Was the Pentagon Right to Lift Military Coffin Photo Ban?
Corrected on 03/09/09: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Bill Martel.
The Pentagon has lifted a ban on photos of service members' coffins as they are repatriated. Media will be allowed if families OK it. Ban critics argued that photos help the nation honor its fallen, but proponents said grieving families don't need more tough decisions. Was it the right call?
Was the Pentagon right to lift military coffin photo ban?
Pro
Ron Milam
Vietnam vet, interim director of Texas Tech's Center for War and Diplomacy in the Post-Vietnam War Era.
"On behalf of a grateful nation" is a phrase that we who have worn the uniform of our country's military know may eventually be heard by our families and friends as they gather at our final resting place. The American flag draped over our coffin—stars above our left shoulder—will be folded with great dignity by an honor guard and handed to our loved ones. This burial ceremony is repeated hundreds of times a day as we bury our veterans of America's wars.... Read more >>
Con
Bill Martel
Associate professor of international security studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
The ban on photographing soldiers' coffins as they return to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware was not simply about images but also about shielding grief-stricken military families from a media maelstrom. It was not an issue of freedom of the press but one of respect and one of fairness.... Read more >>
Reader Comments
Dignified Transfer
I served in the US Navy for a number of years, and lost 47 shipmates in turret explosion aboard the USS Iowa in April 1989. I know all too well the cost of serving in the military, whether in wartime or peacetime. These American Heroes deserve the utmost respect and honor. If the famalies wish to share such a personal moment with the rest of the country, we should feel honored to do so with them.
military coffins
should see the coffins if it is alright with families. the war in iraq was a lie but the fact that the brave men and woman have given thier lives to protect the usa. they should be honored by seeing them in thier finaly trip home, they are not just a coffins as some say they are ours, our heros, are children, fathers, brothers, sisters,wives, mothers, husbands, friends, etc. they are our heros they belong to all of us, we sheed tears for all that have been lost, injured, and have served. they belong to all of us cause they are fighting for all of us americans
'technically still "on duty" '
While I am fine with letting the return be photographed so long as the families approve, the idea that dead soldiers are still 'technically "on duty" ' makes no sense to me and as a practical matters makes even less sense.
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