Posted on 08/15/2008 7:39:50 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
NEW YORK The Pentagon would be required to grant journalists access to ceremonies honoring fallen military personnel, under a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation is significant because it would, for the first time since Vietnam, let photojournalists capture the powerful images of flag-draped caskets arriving on American soil during wartime.
This week the bill won the endorsement of the National Press Photographers Association.
The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act, or H.R. 6662, was introduced July 30 by Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), a member of the House Committee on Armed Services.
The bill states: "The Secretary of Defense shall grant access to accredited members of the media at military commemoration ceremonies and memorial services conducted by the Armed Forces for members of the Armed Forces who have died on active duty and when the remains of members of the Armed Forces arrive at military installations in the United States." It was referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Jones voted to authorize the Iraq war, but he later supported a timetable to withdrawal troops and opposed the troop surge in 2007. Jones has spoken frequently in support of veterans' interests and displays a poster outside his office showing the photos of fallen service members from the Marine base in his district, according to his Web site.
His bill has six co-sponsors: Rep Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) and Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.).
The NPPA said in a letter this week that it supports the legislation. "We are painfully aware that the Department of Defense currently prohibits media coverage of these somber ceremonies, which in turn bars the public from those images as well," wrote NPPA president Bob Carey in a letter to Jones.
Photographs of returning military dead were permitted during Vietnam, but a ban was instated during the 1991 Gulf War, according to Jones' office. The military has granted exceptions on rare occasions, such as the 1996 return of the bodies of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and other Americans killed in a plane crash in Croatia.
But since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, the Defense Department has specifically prohibited photographs of returning war dead. A policy updated in 2003 states: "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning or departing from Ramstein Air Base or Dover Air Force Base." Military officials have defended the rule by saying it is in place out of respect to service members and their loved ones.
In the five years of the Iraq war, during which more than 4,100 U.S. troops have died, photos of military caskets have leaked out on at least three occasions.
In 2004, a defense contractor named Tami Silicio snapped a photo of flag-draped coffins at the Kuwait International Airport and provided it to The Seattle Times, which published the picture on its front page.
Also in 2004, Russ Kick of the The Memory Hole Web site published more than 300 photos of returning war dead he obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which the Pentagon later said was granted by mistake.
In 2005, University of Delaware professor Ralph Begleiter released more than 700 photos by military photographers showing ceremonies honoring returning military dead. Begleiter obtained the images through a FOIA request and a lawsuit.
What is with these people that they have to stare at caskets? I just don’t get it.
It figures that Ron Paul is one of co-sponsors; the TWIT!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
They have time to do this but not to allow private enterpise develop oil and nuclear energy. Didn’t Nero fiddle while Rome burned too.
It’s an anti-war objective. Seeing the fallen will make John Q. public demand the U.S. quit. It is cynical to the hilt.
I can bet when the shoe is on the other foot they would not want this mockery done to them.
Walter Jones has stepped off the deep end, there is -0- reason why the press should be able to profit off of the return of our fallen soldiers.
These folks are just sick.
So these jackasses should have the right to post photos of the dead regardless of the families’ wishes.
Yet some jackass leftists tonight stole my “Support the Troops” signs?
I can’t wait to kick some serious ass. Tired of playing this BS game.
Families are currently free to open funeral services to the media if they wish. They are also free to keep services private.
All this bill does is open Dover to photographers. It is entirely political.
The only purpose of this legislation is to permit the images of our honored dead to be used for vile political purposes. Those who support this are disgusting human beings, beneath contempt, and a scourge on the national fabric.
These are vermin who would never put their own miserable lives at risk, but who are more than willing to exploit the mortal remains of men and women who did. I despise these vermin and the corrupt political cesspool that they inhabit.
No doubt the R near these polidiots names represents rino.......total BS for polidiots to do this . Stupid inconsiderate SOB’s can rot on the vine for all I care.
“The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act, or H.R. 6662,...”
Yeah, BS it is. I’m surprised Ted Poe would be signed on to this POS. He seemed lucid when discussing the imprisoned border agents on Glenn Beck.
Our custom is to allow photos and televised coverage of funerals of people that the community values, like police officers. Showing a photo of a military funeral need not be seen as a spectacle, just because the media wants you to believe it is.
The opposite is also true.
They tried to cover Wellstone’s funeral as a respectful tribute to a Democratic Great. Our eyes showed us that it was a spectacle, not because of media coverage, but because of those in attendance.
You can watch the news without buying the spin.
These are photos of the caskets. My family was subjected to seeing the sheet covering the dead body of my son on tv. We saw the shoes that had been knocked off his feet.
It WAS unpleasant for us. It was news. There will be no pictures on the news if families must always consent. That isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Knowing that this is purely for political reasons, I don't support the pics.
Why is Congress even getting involved in this. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the military. He alone should be the one who makes this decision, not the numbnuts in Congress.
Disposition does not belong to the military. It belongs to the families.
If they want photos, then they can have photos. If they want privacy, then they should have privacy.
I propose an amendment to this bill to legalize taking a baseball bat and pounding journalistic photographers.
The press is free to attend any funeral that the family invites them to attend. The purpose of this bill is to allow the press to attend and photograph funerals and memorial services against the wishes of family members.
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