The Olympian newspaper today highlights pics of 48 dead soldiers

[babylonsister]

Maybe if this were done more often, more people would recognize the senselessness of this occupation.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003656296

Paper Highlights Photos of 48 Soldiers Killed in Iraq


By E&P Staff

Published: October 10, 2007 1:20 PM ET




NEW YORK Vickie Kilgore, executive editor of The Olympian in the city of Olympia, Wash., put it bluntly this morning in a column: "Today's front page is a dramatic departure for The Olympian."

It shows photos of 48 local soldiers who have died (so far) in Iraq. The banner head reads: IN MEMORIAM. Inside, the paper carries profiles of each of the dead.

John Winn Miller, president and publisher, tells E&P: "Although some will criticize us for editorializing about the Iraq war deaths, we consider this an intensely local story – as our editor so eloquently points out."

Kilgore explains, "A Stryker brigade based at Fort Lewis, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, has returned home from a 15-month deployment in Iraq. The 48 brigade members pictured on the front page are not among them. The Olympian chose to dedicate today's front page as a small but dramatic way to honor their service. It is not intended as an editorial statement on the war. Rather, it is the biggest of local stories. Nonetheless, we recognize that, whether you support or oppose our country's military presence in Iraq, this front page display will generate strong feelings.

"But today, as brigade members remember their dead comrades in a special ceremony at Fort Lewis, we felt it was important to show our readers the faces of those who did not return. We also plan to share with you the jubilation of the official welcome home ceremonies for the brigade later this week. And we will spotlight some of the many acts of bravery of those who served. This weekend we will report on what's next for many of these individuals as they rebuild their stateside lives.

"We assembled this front page with careful deliberation. Our intent is to be respectful but knowing, without doubt, that this lineup of faces conveys the effect of the war in a way words cannot.

"We hope that you will look at the page, read the profiles of these men and reflect on their sacrifice."

The newspaper, several months ago, carried an editorial calling for the start of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. It was one of the first papers in an area with a strong military presence to make that plea.