Coverage of fallen should not be a debate

No part of covering the return of our fallen service members should be open to debate. It should be up to the families involved and only their wishes deserve to be respected. By that I mean it should be respected one side with the other. Families deciding they do not want their family members coffins covered by the media deserve no more or less respect than the families wishing to have media coverage. It's simply up to them. I've heard both sides of this issue and heard what others have to say but no one should ever be in any kind of position to judge them or decide for them. After all, it is their son, daughter, husband, wife, brother or sister being returned. They are the people who will grieve the most and it should be entirely up to them what will ease their pain even if it's just a little by a gesture from a nation grateful for the life they have lost in service to this nation. We should honor them all but we cannot do this by hiding them, avoiding them or denying them the right to have it covered by the media if this is what they want. Maybe, just maybe if more people witness the return of the fallen they would stop being so disconnected from the sacrifices made for what this nation asked of them.

Media covers return of fallen airman

By Beth Miller - The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal via Gannett News Service
Posted : Monday Apr 6, 2009 15:29:01 EDT

DOVER, Del. — The service of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Va., was not finished when he died Saturday in Afghanistan of injuries suffered from an improvised explosive device.

Late Sunday night, the arrival of Myers’ body at Dover Air Force Base in a flag-draped transfer case became a powerful reminder to his nation and the world of the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces and the high cost of war.

His return also marked an early watershed in the administration of President Barack Obama, a nod in favor of transparency and away from secrecy favored by prior administrations.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/gns_hero_returns_040609w/