All is Well, Safely Rest, God is Nigh

Lance Corporal Bernard was killed in action in Afghanistan on August 14th.  His funeral was August 24th.  His battalion had an embedded photographer, and she took a photograph of him in the moments after he was hit.

The AP held the photos taken until after the funeral, but the family was still opposed to their publication, as is (was) the Pentagon. But the AP decided to run a photograph anyway.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it best:

“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”

It breaks my heart.  One, that the soldier is gone and his family is reeling from that as it is.  And two, that this news organization is flagrantly ignoring their wishes.  How could they?  It really just breaks my heart.  More than that ... how could the newspapers that ran the picture do that?  How depraved are we?

I just ... it just breaks me heart.  And worse, Huffington Post is now on the bandwagon and has posted the picture on their main home page.

When the family goes to the internet, when his survivors google his name, this will come up.  I just feel like they did it because it is gratuitous, not because it has good composition, or is a Pulizter Prize winning photo, but because "if it bleeds it leads."

I don't have anything intelligent to say.  My prayers are with his family, my heart goes out to them.  Their son is safely away in heaven.