WP: What The Family Would Let You See, The Pentagon Obstructs

[Hissyspit]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042303244.html?nav=rss_print/asection

What the Family Would Let You See, the Pentagon Obstructs



Beyond the yellow rope is a grave that the family of Lt. Col. William G. Hall wanted to show you. (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

By Dana Milbank
Thursday, April 24, 2008; Page A03

Lt. Col. Billy Hall, one of the most senior officers to be killed in the Iraq war, was laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. It's hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn't want you to know that.

The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain.

That's a shame, because Hall's story is a moving reminder that the war in Iraq, forgotten by much of the nation, remains real and present for some. Among those unlikely to forget the war: 6-year-old Gladys and 3-year-old Tatianna. The rest of the nation, if it remembers Hall at all, will remember him as the 4,011th American service member to die in Iraq, give or take, and the 419th to be buried at Arlington. Gladys and Tatianna will remember him as Dad.

The two girls were there in Section 60 yesterday beside grave 8,672 -- or at least it appeared that they were from a distance. Journalists were held 50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or seven rows of graves, and staring into the sun and penned in by a yellow rope. Photographers and reporters pleaded with Arlington officials.

"There will be a yellow rope in the face of the next of kin," protested one photographer with a large telephoto lens. "This is the best shot you're going to get," a man from the cemetery replied.

"We're not going to be able to hear a thing," a reporter argued. "Mm-hmm," an Arlington official answered.

- snip -

Media whining? Perhaps. But the de facto ban on media at Arlington funerals fits neatly with an effort by the administration to sanitize the war in Iraq. That, in turn, has contributed to a public boredom with the war. A Pew Research Center poll earlier this month found that 14 percent of Americans considered Iraq the news story of most interest -- less than half the 32 percent hooked on the presidential campaign and barely more than the 11 percent hooked on the raid of a polygamist compound in Texas.

- snip -

"Love you and miss you," he wrote. "I'll write again soon."

Except, of course, that he didn't. And yesterday, his family walked slowly behind the horse-drawn caisson to section 60. In the front row of mourners, one young girl trudged along, clinging to a grown-up's hand; another child found a ride on an adult's shoulders.

It was a moving scene -- and one the Pentagon shouldn't try to hide from the American public.

[dysfunctional press]

1. why didn't the family take pics/recordings for them?

or specifically invite one or two reporters to the service?

:shrug:

[Why Syzygy]

2. Shameful war all the way around. nt

[WillyT]

3. Shame On All Of Us...

:wtf:

:banghead:

[WillyT]

4. Kick !!!

:kick:

[momster]

5. Just When I Loathe Dana Milbank

for his snarkiness, his superior air, he writes something like this...Dang it, Dana! Gotta find somebody else for my two-minute hate.