I think it is something that people need to see. And parents should censor their own children with whether they should see pics or not. But I think they should ask the families whether they want the pictures taken. I think the picture of all of the caskets draped in flags in the belly of the plane and being unloaded showed the American people something they needed to see. By viewing pictures it makes the war more personal - even if you do not know anyone in those coffins, you still know someone died and sacrificed their lives for your freedom.

I would assume that each night watching the news when they relate an Oklahoma Soldier that was killed in action - they are doing it with the families permission.

One of the biggest reasons people were so against the war in Vietnam is because we saw the bodies coming home & saw the grief of the families greeting the coffins.  100 does not seem like alot until they are coffins and they are lined up.  It makes a huge difference in how the war is perceived.

Bush 41 attempted to sanitize the results of our dead soldiers. To have Americans subconsciously be aware that men and women were killed, but not have to deal with the visuals of that fact.  Seeing the coffins is a jarring sight, and if Americans were to see on their nightly news the sight of countless coffins draped in the American flag, WE would cause an uproar. We would begin to question why.

Clinton had an opportunity to change this, reverse this and he didn’t. Bush 43, given the war he and Cheney dragged us into, were more than happy to uphold this ban. To keep the result of their dirty work from our eyes. In their small twisted minds, it is much more palatable to hear a number than to see that number by way of actual coffins.

Public outcry isn’t always a bad thing.  I deeply respect the privacy of the soldier and his/her family in controlling and planning all funeral arrangements which include if the coffin will be photographed.  But I want to mourn for our fallen heroes.  Although we civilians can’t possibly understand the life of a soldier, we can understand a soldier’s ultimate service to our country.  I am very proud of our military, they are courageous people deserving of our honor and respect.

First off, I have to say that some of these posts, including JJs poem, brought me to tears.

I also agree with many of the posts here that remember the Viet Nam War and the intense images on the nightly news brought  to us.  For those youngun’s out there, it was NOT a fun time and you didn’t have another cable channel to change the channel to if you were disturbed.

The family needs to make the decision as far as I’m concerned.  But I like how Nancy Grace recognizes our dead soldiers during her program and it makes me cry every time.  I keep thinking about a mom, dad, sister, brother, wife, husband, child or friend who will never have that lovely life back.  It’s a short personalization of a faceless war (and by the way, we have had military "action" during all administrations since WWII so don’t make this a Republican issue!) and to me means more than a faceless coffin.

I think if I died in a war, I’d want someone to remember me for the people I loved and affected, the work I did (a photo montague (sp) of my ppts?  my business plans?), the songs I have on my iPOD (everything from Opera to Hip Hop) rather than to remember me in a wood box.  There is so much more to our honored dead than the fact that they were in a war.  They were also people.  I think I’d rather be remembered for who I was, with something saying that I died in our country’s service.

My heart goes out to those who have lost family in service of our nation.