Posted on 10/14/2013 5:09:54 AM PDT by kronos77
The Pentagon acknowledges that patriotic "arrival ceremonies" for US war dead recovered from Vietnam, Korea and Second World War battlefields do not involve newly returned remains of the missing
By Philip Sherwell, New York4:38PM BST 12 Oct 2013 The Pentagon has for years staged emotional but phony "arrivals ceremonies" for missing American war dead when tearful families and veterans were led to believe flag-draped cases on cargo planes contained the remains of service personnel returned home that day. The defence department has now acknowledged that the ceremonies did not involve newly-repatriated victims from foreign battlefields and that the planes involved in events often could not even fly but were towed into place before the ceremonies. The patriotism-filled commemorations at the Pearl Harbour base in Hawaii are portrayed as a sign of the America's dedication to bringing home, identifying and honouring the dead from the Second World War, Korea and Vietnam. The events are attended by veterans and families of soldiers missing in action (MIAs) who believe that the planes had arrived back on US soil just hours earlier. But an NBC investigation has now revealed that among organisers the ceremonies are known as "The Big Lie". Related Articles Pentagon faked heroic death 24 May 2005 Vietnam ‘prisoner of war’ accused of fabricating claims 01 May 2013 Bodies of American soldiers who fought in Vietnam to be returned to US 08 Apr 2011 Lost Vietnam helicopter crew found after 43 years 28 May 2009 For the remains inside the containers draped in the Stars and Stripes have usually been back in America for months. On the days of the events, they are brought from a laboratory where they are under analysis for identification and they are returned to the same site after the ceremony is conducted.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
No better way than to get funding, than to poor on emotion.
Why is this a problem? Remains need to be identified, then families and loved ones need closure. Sorry, but as a Vet, I don’t see this as an issue and it should not be made one IMHO.
I think so too.
I don’t get it either.
article won’t let me past the subscribe page
Would this be a government bureaucracy that could be classified as non-essential because of the lies, phoniness, and deceit it has perpetrated?
On the other hand, the military is big on ceremony (more so than civilian society), and relies upon the idea that ceremonies mean something.
I can't form an opinion until I've had my twelve cups of coffee.
Like most Americans, I was once unaware of how the remains of our missing comrades are treated once they ‘re recovered and returned to the United States for burial, but I found out the hard way when several years ago the remains of six soldiers whom I served with in Vietnam were recovered, identified by DNA match, and scheduled for interment at Arlington National Cemetery. These six soldiers (3 U.S. and 3 ARVN) were members of a long range reconnaissance team lost and presumed dead in the A Shau Valley during April 1969.
At the funeral ceremony at Arlington, I was shocked to find that there was only one casket for the six of them, and when I voiced my disapproval to the funeral director, he explained that there was a “bag of bones” in the casket and not all of the bones had been identified; DNA identification is expensive and they only identified enough bones to ensure at least one bone from each man was positively identified. The funeral director went on to say, as he pointed down the long line of white headstones we were standing by, “Remember the seventeen who were killed the other day when a helicopter crashed and burned in Afghanistan, what was left of them is in a single casket right down there. Each man has an individual headstone with his name, but separating their ashes individually and providing each with a coffin would be not only impractical but impossible.”
If Arlington had provided six caskets for my six comrades, it would have simply been for show. The six of them died together and they will remain together now, forever. And, yes, there are now three Vietnamese Special Forces soldiers buried in Arlington National Cemetery along with their U.S. Army Special Forces comrades and that’s most appropriate.
I now know that most of the ceremonies conducted by our military to honor our fallen comrades is for the benefit of family, friends, and comrades of the fallen, so I see nothing wrong with these “staged” aircraft arrivals that only offend those who simply want to make political points during a time of political unrest.
And this is a problem how??? The ceremonies are real and they take place after the remains have identified. So then what's the problem???
“Sorry, but as a Vet, I don’t see this as an issue and it should not be made one IMHO.”
It it fraudulent; there is no justification for perpetrating this. Anyone who believes the government should lie to them for any reason doesn’t get to pick which lies are spread.
Read it, then post. They are not lying. They bring the remains back home but CANNOT notify anyone until the remains are identified. Once they are identified, the ceremony is held.
What? Should they notify people BEFORE the remains are identified? Exactly what “lie” are they telling?
“What? Should they notify people BEFORE the remains are identified? Exactly what “lie” are they telling?”
The charade with the planes.
Ahhhhh. So I see. They should take the remains they’ve identified, fly them out of the country, then fly them back in just to provide a little more symbolism?
The planes are just symbols for the grieving, as are the flag-draped coffins they offload. It’s called “ceremony” and the grieving appreciate it. Sure, I suppose they could just hand loved ones a box and be done with it. Would that please you?
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