All of those who felt allowing the press to witness the return of a serviceman’s remains to Dover Air Force Base would result in a “media circus” may rest easy: it was nothing of the kind.
On April 5, for the first time in 18 years, the Department of Defense allowed print and broadcast journalists to cover the transfer of the remains of a fallen military member as they were returned to the United States.
In this case, approximately 40 media representatives, from the Dover Post to the major television and radio networks, witnessed the solemn ritual as Air Force Staff Sgt. Philip A. Myers returned to the United States for the last time.
Myers’ widow, who had traveled to Dover from her husband’s base in the United Kingdom, agreed to the coverage.
That the press was permitted on the base to observe this emotionally moving event was due to a February change in policy made by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
The secretary had been sympathetic to the change despite opposition from some who thought the event might be used by antiwar factions to stir up trouble. Gates obviously agreed with others who felt the American public had a right to understand the sacrifices made by the men and women who defend this nation, sometimes at the expense of their own lives.
This is not the forum to discuss the pros and cons of the policy change. And there is no denying that those who either are for or against the idea will find some way to exploit Sunday night’s events to their own ends.
But for those of us at the ceremony, we were privileged to glimpse only a small part of the exacting care the military takes in honoring their own.
The officers representing the Air Force’s Mortuary Affairs Operations Center and those of the 436th Airlift Wing’s Public Affairs Office were extremely professional and courteous while dealing with us journalists, some of who had traveled from Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia on very short notice. They answered all of our questions as best they could and promised to get back to us when they didn’t have answers at their fingertips.
The press corps in return was properly respectful of the rules laid out for when we were escorted to the base flightline. There was to be minimal movement, no photography of the family, no access to the aircraft and no interviews on the tarmac. Accordingly, we got our photos and video and took copious notes as the transfer ceremony took place, but aside from the clicking of cameras the press area was respectfully silent.
That this particular event was the first where coverage was allowed no doubt contributed to all of the press attention. No doubt future interest will be less intense, and the flightline ceremony, with all its dignity, will be witnessed only by journalists from the hometowns of the deceased.
The night of April 5 was a good beginning for a change in policy that was long overdue.
