The "media" takes pictures at Arlington all the time. The family has a right to have their loved one's funeral televised. It is the least we can do for them, honor their wishes.

Being an Israeli citizen and far from internal US politics I wish to offer an observation.

As an Israeli I have, unfortunately, buried several friends in military service. Barring the wishes of the family (who are the sole decider in these matters ) cameras (normally 1-2 pool camera ) reporters and the public are invited to a service.
The soldier who died did so in a public way for the public, facing the public with the grave consequences of the act is an important issue. When a funeral is shown across the news and public sphere there had better be a good reason for the event.
Also this is the chance for his life to speak , a first amendment issue if ever there was one.
I DIED , MY LIFE IS OVER, WAS THIS RIGHT ?

The bereaved have a fundamental right to use this event to state this speech .

As a society with many such sad events , an army official trying to seal a funeral or control access over the wish of the family will be front paged and scorned !

As for respect , most media persons in such events act as any human would , a little unease , a little apologetic for the interference and mainly a healthy respect for the event.
I recommend you watch some coverage from Israeli funerals , in an emotional society the images are poi gent and need no extra embellishment and the coverage shows great restraint.

As a private person I only say this, hiding the results of these acts can only lead for the cheapening of the life wasted. No death is "good" merely a payment which can be justified as a prevention of a greater evil

J I Kirsch
Israel

Not sure to whose attention this ought to be directed, but if any WaPo staff read this, please click on OPINIONS at the top of this page, then click FEEDBACK to find Doug's column gets a shout-out, right below Deborah Howell's. Then note that the column abstracted for her is her latest, a nice plug, while the one abstracted for Doug is from months ago, making Doug's column sound lame and leaving the reader uninformed. If WaPo could fix it so his is likewise properly updated, it'd be appreciated.

I am sorry to object to Mr. Milbank but I really do not want him messing with families who are burying their family members in Arlington. After all, the Post describes him in these terms:

"Post columnist Dana Milbank, who serves as the capital's foremost critic of political theater in his Washington Sketch ..."

That is fine for cute remarks about Hillary or Obama. I guess I should get on the side of a free press. But he scares me.

Without a doubt the officials that manage Arlington have a primary goal to respect the dignity of ALL of those interred there. Despite the the express wishes of the family they have an obligation to preserve the dignity of that sacred place (by the way, jogging is not allowed). I'm sure that the press would be respectful of this place and not make a media three ring circus at the first opportunity, or not.

My Army Wife Mother is buried at ANC, also my Marine Corps in Laws. My Dad's Brother, lost at St Lo in 1944, my Mother's Father, WWI and her Step Father, WWI. I come to Arlington regularly as an invited guest with a group that shields the family elsewhere. I have seen the Media doing it's job. I am not impressed and wish they would report the event, rather than capitalize on it. The "Military", not the President, offers a Solemn and Honored Final Farewell to its Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen, as well as their spouses, when eligible.

My Father, Major USA Retired, will be buried there, where Mom is waiting.

The Press will not be invited.

My mention of Casey Sheehan is NOT for comparison purposes. It is simply to point out that HIS views & wishes were VERY DIFFERENT than that of his Mother.
HE was the one who served, NOT his Mother (i.e. the wishes of the PERSON WHO SERVED should be honored, not the family).

Sheesh.

Can't anyone connect the dots here??

>durham123
We don't know Lt Col Hall's request (WAPO does not make it known). My point is, HIS wishes may be different than that of the family. The grounds at Arlington are sacred, reserved for those who have so honorably served this country (it is unlike any other).

If the family wishes to include the Media they may do so within Arlington rules / regs. or they may invite the Media to services & memorials elsewhere. This has nothing to do with Bush, although you are quick to work that in (no doubt, MSM would do the same).

Just curious, why wasn't the Media knocking on the doors of Arlington pre-Iraq? Are service men/women who serve in an era of relative peace less important? Certainly not. Therefore, it appears the only thing you 'sheep' want, is to trample upon our most sacred cemetary for controversy and political spin.

I say...do it elsewhere.

The majority who serve, wish only to be buried alongside their brethern with the utmost respect and dignity (and that means NO MEDIA). Arlington Cemetary is not a venue for reporters or the wishes of others.

Jett, how do we know Col. Hall didn't discuss having media coverage with his family beforehand? Perhaps he did. We don't know; we know only what the family asked for. When there is such a request, why not allow a pool reporter and photographer in? That would eliminate the concerns of many about a horde of reports making a scene. I think there can be compromise and accommodation, but only if the Bush administration allows it, which they never will.

And BTW, Casey Sheehan's funeral was not a media circus. The circus came later with her protests.

It is sad that the military has been conformed to the will of our political leaders. I can not imagine that anyone who has been awake for the last 5 years can see this as anything other than a political issue. Clearly the wishes of the family of the patriot who died in service should make the call. The Bush Administration has kept the war below the radar by silencing the media coverage, avoiding a draft at the cost of military readiness, and borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for the war. The bills will all come due after January 2009 but they will come due.

re: Shame on you (and anyone else) for placing family and media wishes before the soldiers themselves.

Posted by: Jett

Funerals are for those left behind, not those who are deceased and whose soul hopefully returning to God.

The press has underminded this War from the very start and now they think they should have the right to video and take pictures of our fallen soliders while being burried at Arlington. Their slanted reporting has resulted in American deaths. The Wash Post is usless and is agenda driven. There are rules in place for such conduct and unfortunately the wish's of one fallen marine do not trump those rules. I have three generations of family burried there and at Quantico. I do not want that sacred ground used for propoganda purposes.

One family granting permission does not account for the other funerals that are taking place at the same time. If the press gains access for one what is to prevent them from disturbing other mourners that did not wish the 'limelight'

>POCO
Agreed.

>Marine Corps Spouse
Correction on my signature (to more closely match yours, of course):
Proud Daughter of USMC MSgt.

I will do anything to grant my Father's wishes (30 years retired) vs. my own or that of the Media. He too, will be buried at Arlington.

If you have ever been to a funeral at Arlington you would know that there can be more than one funeral being performed at the same time. Even though the media was invited by one family, the other families who are trying to cope with their lose may not want the attention of the media. USAF Retired

> Marine Corps Spouse
I was replying to someone else in this thread, NOT YOU. Someone who thought Lt. Col. Hall himeself requested the media be present / therefore the soldier's wishes were being dishonored. You quite obviously missed the point - - which can happen when you so unwelcomingly jump second-hand into an exchange between others.

So, stop the holier-than-thou attitude. OK???????

And...take off the blinders if you think the Media would honorably respect any burial at Arlington without slanting the story with a political view.

Again, it should be the wishes of the deceased (not the family or the media). Family pride aside.

I think its interesting how easy it is to lose sight of what a funeral is and who it is for. If the press had a better reputation of behaving themselves in times like this, then they would have been allowed better access. What is the ultimate purpose of the press being there? To make a record of a very solemn event for the family, or a photop to propagandize the war some more? The cemetery staff were protecting the family and insuring that this very somber day of morning and remembrance would'nt be tainted by over zealous reporters wanting stills and video of grieving family members. Did they go to the funeral service too or only the graveside in Arlington? If they want the real story, schedule an interview. Get to know the family and how committed to serving his nation LTC Hall was. I have personally been to five military funerals. It is a very moving and special time for the family and also for the military that are there making it happen. The last thing I would want would be a totally irreverant "in your face" photo journalism crew indifferent to the family members only wanting that one good shot....and good grief people...you're blaming this on President Bush too?

Arlington Cemetery brass not only harrasses the media, they bully commercial photographers whom the families hire to film funerals. I hired a person to document my father's service. The management and military showed up with a handful of on-the-spot restrictions and limitations. We can't hear the minister because the military and someone at the cemetary's head office wouldn't let the photograher use a microphone. We sure weren't going to share with the media. Yes, I do have names. But they just said "it's our policy."

To Jett:

It is an absolute atrocity to compare the family of Lt. Col. Hall to Cindy Sheehan. To share with the media the Hall family's sacrifice through media coverage of his burial is quite different than camping on the road outside of the Crawford Ranch.

Did it ever occur to you that this family is proud of the service and sacrifice given by their son, father, or husband? Perhaps you didn't know that there was a memorial held at Camp Pendleton for Lt. Col Hall last week and that his wife personally thanked each mourner who came.

Lt. Col Hall was buried with dignity and full Marine Corps honors, and the world deserved to see. Instead of "shaming" this family, we should honor them, as they have also sacrificed a great amount for their country. Shame on YOU, Jett, for assuming you can place any type of judgment on a grieving family.

Proud Marine Corps Spouse-Camp Pendleton,CA

Blue: The family's wishes, even against the desire of the President himself, should prevail at as funeral. we can assume media presence would be respectfully done.
Red: The press is the enemy, so keep them out. Obviously the President's wishes are most important. Anyone that wants the media must have a hidden agenda to shame the administration.
Me: I cry for my country, divided over a war that is largely meaningless to me.

bush and "so"cheney are bullies and cowards they usually are the same. they want to hide and i suspect one day bush will say this war never happened. everyone in the media is complicit with their lies and coverups.the family has a right to have any one they wish at their funeral ceromonies. one day i hope the whole world will know what a despicable misadministation this is.

>Stephen Rhymer
"...the FAMILY of Lt. Col. Billy Hall, recently killed in Iraq...granted permission for the media to cover Hall's burial in Arlington Cemetery."

There is a big difference - - FAMILY granting media permission vs. deceased himself (or herself).
A good example would be Casey Sheehan - - I'm certain he would have preferred the quiet dignity of a military service while his Mother, would stop at nothing short of a media circus (simply to get her political point across, which by the way, was very different than her son's).

Shame on you (and anyone else) for placing family and media wishes before the soldiers themselves.

hey drindl, I think it's the cemetery folks, not the same thing as "the military". I'm guessing they have pretty strict regs in place to protect the families and mourners from the likes of the Westboro baptist freaks who routinely target military members' funerals to spew their hate.

Unfortunate that this protection of families and mourners and the dignity of the National cemetery comes across as restricted access, but, as is often the case, most of society is punished for the bad behavior of a few.

The reverence and honor to those who died in service of this country is remembered every day by the honor guard at Arlington and this duty is treated with the highest respect by the military. Some in society chose to disrespect this place, and though their free speech is protected in this country, unlimited access is not.

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Traitor-liar Bush hides everything. This White House is the most secretive in history. And, Traitor-liar Bush continues to try to hide anything that might show Americans that he is an incompetent A-S-S. In the case of this story, he hid the dead. He continues to hide White House emails (i.e. EVIDENCE) about the firings of US Atty Generals, and other illegal activities of his cronies. In other cases, he just has the evidence destroyed, as was the case with the TORTURE videos.

Meanwhile, the traitor-liar DICK cheney says "So?" when a reporter suggests that maybe American citizens have a say in how THEIR government is run.

Our country is slowly slipping away. I just hope the next President will be have the courage to set things right again.

Bush is a traitor and a liar, and he is destroying our country. Plain and simple.

Please wake me up on January 20.

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Michael Geers (Gerson?)

"Conflict and confliction are the names of the game played buy the members of the press to post their slant without the respect owed to the families of the serviceman."

This argument is so dead in the water. The family's wishes were disrespected by the govt, not by the media.

The family wanted the media there. You have no way around that simple fact.

What you're really afraid of is that the media won't show adequate respect to your Dear Leader Bush.

Quit hiding behind the families, chicken. They don't want to be your political cover.

Given the recurring actions of organizations such as the Westboro Baptist Church and Code Pink, who exercise their freedom of speech at the expense of the dignity and honor of those who serve our country, I am grateful that LtCol Hall, who made the ultimate sacrifice in faithfully performing his sworn duty, was laid to rest quietly.

The military should have no control over the family's wishes. If the family wanted press coverage, they should have it. Where is the freedom that this soldier fought for?

Where is the First Amendment? Why the Soviet style censorship?

What a load of ACLU agenda! The military cemetary at Arlington is a shrine to the honored dead. The press/media has never in recent history demonstrated a respect for the same. Conflict and confliction are the names of the game played buy the members of the press to post their slant without the respect owed to the families of the serviceman.

All the news we want you to see and
only the news we want you to see.
Freedom of the press?
Sounds more like ownership of the press.

This horrid excuse of an administration has committed so many evils and has such facist controls inplace such to pervert truth. One cannot believe anything they do or say at all. To sanitize the war is criminal in that it perverts any sense of truth or reality to the American people about the cost of lives in this illegal war in Iraq. The Bush/Cheney cabal are ruthless and determined, they lack a soul, and old Cheney has not an ounce of empathy in his being. The MSM is also complicit with this regime and must share the blame and shame! God is not looking favorably on this country because of the perverse and profound evils of this administration.

Both of my parents are buried at Arlington.

In each case, the Marine Corps and the soldiers and staff who serve at Arlington did an outstanding job of working with us to make sure each of my parents' funeral wishes were carried out.

That includes having the Marine Corps band play "The Gary Owen", a favorite of my father's but very much an Army marching song.

My family and I could not have asked for better, kinder or more considerate, compassionate treatment by the Marine Corps or the Arlington staff.

Having said that, it's reprehensible for anyone at Arlington, or any other national cemetary, to block a soldier's wishes for his or her funeral.

If Lt. Col. Hall wanted the press to attend, take pictures and report on the funeral, that's his decision, not Arlington's.

Shame on them for carrying out a Marine's funeral wishes in such a dishonorable manner.

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