Bill Sykes' - In Retrospect
XVII.
(March 2009)
Bill
Sykes looks back in retrospect at material which has
been published in previous editions of "View from
America", in an attempt to determine whether the
subject matter written then is still applicable in
today’s world.
Article #17H.
Honor the dead—Do not hide them.
The United States Government, (Defense Secretary Robert Gates), recently stated
that after many years of denial the Pentagon are now going to ease the ban on
photographing the flag draped coffins of American soldiers coming home into Dover
Air Force Base, in Delaware.
The families of the dead victims of war will have the final say as to whether
photographic coverage of the coffins of their loved ones will be allowed.
It is widely accepted that the ban began after the December 1989 US invasion
of Panama.
The ban on the photographing coffins of the American dead was obviously instituted
by the Pentagon for the obvious reason of avoiding the general public sensitivity
and loss of morale when seeing the numbers of dead coming home from unpopular
wars.
Disclaimer:
Some of the information gathered for this news letter
has been gleaned from American and International
media sources, (Including the Internet), and as such
is quoted as accurately as possible. I try to obtain
confirmation on each subject from several outlets,
so the text is a mixture of composite news items
and my personal comments and therefore the reader
must make his/her own judgment as to the reliability
and degree of accuracy of the subjects discussed.
Eric (Bill) Sykes, (Southern California).
March 2009.
We welcome feedback about any of the contents
of these articles. Please send all correspondence
to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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