Air Force adds to controversy with its own coffin photos

[UpInArms]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001910594_pentagon23m.html

The week before Kuwait cargo worker Tami Silicio lost her job for releasing a photograph of soldiers' coffins, the Air Force made its own release of several hundred photographs of flag-draped coffins to the operator of an Internet site.

The Air Force photos were shot by personnel at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and released — reluctantly — in response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by a 34-year-old First Amendment activist.

Release of the more than 360 photographs further erodes a 13-year- old ban on the media taking photos of the transport of coffins from overseas battle zones to Dover, site of the military's largest mortuary.

<snip>

Molino confirmed that the Air Force had released the Dover photos to Russ Kick, who runs the Web site www.thememoryhole.org.

<snip>

Air Force officials yesterday acknowledged they cannot control what Kick now does with the images. But they say they have put a hold on further release of the Dover photos until word from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

...more...

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. TOO LATE

those photos have made the rounds on teh web... and I recomend you all save them on your Hard Drives adn circulate them... before they disapear them

Dime on the dollar the USAF will take no more photos though

[happynewyear]

4. they are gone now

When the page loads, the picture is gone. I had looked at the other portion of this site and only 1/2 of it loaded - the part with the soldiers and the planes. When you clicked on the blank spots, nothing would come up. If you actually copied and entered the entire URL, you could see the pictures still.

Now they are gone it seems.

[saigon68]

6. Works very slowly

I think he is going to have trouble paying for bandwidth.

[izzie]

2. Me thinks their is someone at the DOD that wants these out,

And this guy at this site found him. Only being able to see the 20 plus coffins over and over, which we will now, is not going to do the President any good at all. This is like trying to keep melting ice cream in the cone.Next I guess they will not let us go to the Wall or Arlington as it makes us see what war does.

[gottaB]

3. I had that same suspicion n/t

[saigon68]

5. Yes, and Let's Ban RON KOVIC and his chair from public view

Let's put all those amputees in the closets where they belong( also get back in, you uppity same sex couples)

I agree with the above poster, put them all on your hard drives.

Remember how I said a few months ago that sooner or later the photos would come out. The military has a penchant for photographing everything. I know I was a combat photographer.

I think the motivation for someone in the AF was to show at least "THEY" were treating the dead with some modicum of respect. And to Judge it solely on that basis you have to admit that the airmen at Dover are showing a lot of care and respect for the deceased in the photos.

This woman who was fired by the way is going to be a media star