A Suitable Memorial Day

Nearly twenty years ago, the kindest, most caring, compassionate soul it has ever been my pleasure to know, was killed by a bullet to the throat. His life literally drained out of him. He was no victim of street crime. He was a soldier serving proudly in the uniform of the United States Army. At 18 he volunteered for the 7th Infantry Division (Light) and the Rapid Deployment Force. At 20 his life was snuffed out by an insurgency group that believed their god had called them to kill infidels. While many people I know were thinking of barbecues and beer, my Memorial Day was spent thinking about that young man as I made the rounds of the area War Memorials. During my weekend of reverence I was assaulted by numerous major media outlets, most prominently The New York Times, and their coverage of an atrocity allegedly committed by United States Marines in Iraq. On a day supposedly set aside for us to remember those who came home with a funeral escort, the major media decided that the story that should lead their coverage was best served by scenes of dead civilians.

For those who have been hiding under a rock, the allegation is that a number of Marines killed as many as two dozen, unarmed men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq last November. After the killings they then attempted to cover up their nefarious deeds by suggesting that the dead civilians were either harboring insurgents, or were insurgents themselves. I wasn't there, so I do not know what happened. The New York Times had no reporters there, nor did ABC, CBS, CNN or any of the other major outlets. Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) was not there either, but not being there has not stopped him, or the aforementioned news agencies from trumpeting the guilt of the Marines. The Marines have been convicted of murder in the press, before the report is even completed. Gleefully, newscasters trot out the abysmal events of My Lai, and Rep. Murtha goes on any news program that will have him and proclaims the Marines killed civilians "in cold blood."

Meanwhile, an alleged cop killer, Solomon Montgomery, recuperates in a Philadelphia hospital. He was shot by Philadelphia detectives as he allegedly reached for one of the two handguns he was carrying. The allegation is that he executed a Philadelphia police officer who responded to a bar where the suspect was supposedly carrying out an armed robbery. Officer Gary Skerski died from a shotgun blast alleged fired by Solomon Montgomery. The coverage, which was front page news until Montgomery was arrested, has slipped from the top spot. Philadelphia officials have been careful not to taint the ongoing investigation by carefully wording their responses to press questions. In fact, Montgomery was not even immediately charged with the homicide. A suspect with numerous, violent, felony arrests, and even an acquittal for another armed robbery, is being given the presumption of innocence, in direct accordance with the rule of law. Videotape of the holdup and numerous witnesses abound in Montgomery's case, and yet, the District Attorney's Office has not released an inflammatory statement remotely close to the one's leveled at US Marines serving under fire in a combat zone. Rep. Murtha has not seen fit to weigh in on the loss of life of a Philadelphia cop, and by all accounts a good guy, but convicts fellow Marines absent any evidence other then anecdotal responses from people who may, or may not, have an axe to grind.

Can events such as the one the Marines are alleged to have committed occur? Not only can they occur they have, ever since the first caveman clubbed an unarmed opponent's family to death with a sharp rock. That is not truly the question here; not yet. For the record, as an infantryman the activities ascribed to the Marines does not pass my smell test. Nuances only another infantryman would notice are visibly apparent. The timelines and actions simply do not fit with what I know to be the inner workings of small unit tactics. I personally believe that what is being reported as happening did not happen the way it is being portrayed. That said, if even one scintilla of the story being presented is accurate I want the offenders punished severely, but what I want more than anything is for these military volunteers to be afforded the same respect we give alleged cop-killers; I want them presumed innocent until the investigation is complete.

On Memorial Day I am somewhat subdued, as a rule. I along with literally millions of veterans and active duty personnel paused for a moment of silence at 3:00pm yesterday. I turned off all the noise makers in my house, came to attention and for a full minute saluted the flag which flutters from a neighbors wall. I felt the presence of men and women all over the world doing the same thing, and a tear trickled down my cheek as I thought of my friend Rob. The New York Times, as well as other broadcast outlets, profaned that moment. In their rush to judgment they painted all veteran's with a broad brush, because if one could do this, the supposition is that we all have. Why else did a national network broadcast a 30 year old piece on My Lai at 3:30am today, if not to remind us of the inhumanity of soldiers everywhere? The major media, at least in this case, has an axe to grind, and no compulsion at sacrificing what they see as the expendable among us.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Marine General Peter Pace, when questioned Sunday about the alleged incidents said, "it would be premature for me to judge" the outcome of a Pentagon investigation. I respect the General, and I respect the 99.9% of men and women of the armed forces who have performed their duties honorably, under great duress, with no fanfare for a job well done. It hurts my heart to think that any of my brothers-in-arms could do anything even approximating a war crime, as I am sure it does veteran's everywhere. What hurts more though, is that on a day set aside to remember the truly valiant among us, those who have given their lives to secure freedom, the nation's largest newspaper and several major broadcast networks decided that it was more important to use that freedom to cast, to this point unsubstantiated heinous aspersions, upon men serving in a combat zone. Why these media bastions thought this was the right thing to do is open to conjecture. What is not open to conjecture though is that the 25,000,000 veterans and active duty personnel, on this day above all others, deserved better.