Was This Necessary?

Yes. I would not be more honored!

Hell no.

Why would it not be?

Or did you mean the death of his father?

The tradition of giving the father’s flag to the oldest son… yes. The death of the father because of Bush’s twisted policies… absolutely not.

I sit here trying to think of what to say and for one of few times I am at a loss. As a soldier and father I see this picture and it breaks my heart. But not because it was unnecessary. To use this picture as anti-war material is reminiscent of true propaganda. I am not accusing Daniel of that intentionally, but the fact still remains that using a picture that would never be emotionally acceptable… not matter the cause.

As for logically, remember almost ALL of congress voted to go to war and most of our peer countries intelligence held that Saddam did have WMD’s. If he did or not has no bearing on should we have gone… simply did we have cause to believe he did. And the answer is yes. The last three administrations and almost all potential candidates for those administrations said yes. So it is not a Bush lie.

I am HONORED to be counted among the men who VOLUNTEERED to put their lives on the line.

These are not all my thoughts but all that I can structure at this moment.

“To use this picture as anti-war material is reminiscent of true propaganda.”

Absolutely agreed.

As a Marine, I can assure everyone that the father of that boy knew full well and accepted the potential for that moment. I considered it, as does everyone when they agree to take on the obligation of picking up a rifle.

Is the photograph touching? Yes it is. Is the tradition of presenting the flag to the “man” of the family necessary? In a warrior culture, like that of the Marine Corps, it is deemed to be. And I don’t disagree. What I would question the necessity of, is people posting this image all over the place. Making that moment into something other than the commemoration of a warrior is a tragedy in my opinion. Doing so doesn’t help the child, doesn’t change the outcome, and doesn’t mean we don’t need people like the Marine who’s funeral we’re seeing to volunteer to do the horrible things most are afraid to do.

I am not a fan of the war, but I strongly believe that the people who are trying to use the funerals of our fallen warriors as anything but a respectful ceremony are seriously hurting our nation. Regardless of opinion, the truth is that we need people to do the job of our military. If we mock them, they won’t come. Daniel, surely as a veteran you must know this reality. I really hope you aren’t trying to use this photo like that.

Ok, some clarification is in order.

I in no way think the practice of giving flags to survivors of fallen military is unnecessary; I think it’s an honorable way to pay respects to both the soldier who died and the loved ones they left behind.

My comment was about this war. If this soldier had died in WWII it would have been different, and people know this. That’s why hundreds of military personnel have spoken out against this war. Not because all sacrifice is bad, or because war is always wrong. No, it’s because this war was contrived. It’s a war that started under false pretenses and we continue to die for a people that doesn’t even want us there.

So, we’re hated by the very people we’re supposedly there to help. We’re making the whole world hate us in the mean time (which makes us far more vulnerable over all), and to add insult to injury we can’t even afford it. We have major economic issues we need to be dealing with and we’re dumping billions into an abyss. It’s shameful.

So no — it’s not about claiming all war is wrong, or using images as anti-war propaganda. Remember that I proudly served in the Infantry for 6 years, and I love my country as well. I’m willing to fight for my country by speaking out against it when it goes astray. It’s not anti-WAR, it’s anti-Bush and anti-Iraq war. My point is simply that this father should still be with this child, because the war he died in was unnecessary and wrong.