taken in part from stories by the ap, politico, and yahoo.
it's been less than a month. can you remember what you were doing on august 14? the family of marine LCPL. JOSHUA BERNARD will never forget that day. while executing a movement to contact, BERNARD was hit in the legs by an RPG, medivaced and subsequently died of his wounds. capturing the moment for posterity was AP photographer JULIE JACOBSON.
AP, being the caring organization it is, waited until LCPL. BERNARDS funeral on 24 august, to distribute the photos and the story AP Impact-Afghan-Death of a Marine.
that was despite the objections of secratary of defense ROBERT GATES and at least 2 objections by BERNARD'S father. it seems AP decided to run the photo and the story anyway because it's an, 'image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.'
i've viewed the picture in question. it shows a young service member slumped in a ditch, with obvious injuries, still clinging to his rifle as other troops come to his aid. due to my chosen career, i've been close more than i've liked to the injuried, dead and dying. i've never stood by to take pictures, or worse still, sent a reporter to the deceased next of kin, to ask if they were ok with 'us' publishing a story about the way their loved one died. forget about the kid you took fishing , taught to ride a bike, swing a bat, shoot a jumper, and take a look at these.
that's right, that's exactly what AP did. sent a "reporter", photos in hand, to ask Mr. BERNARD'S permission to use the pictures. what the fuck did they think the answer would be? didn't matter i guess, cause they put them out there anyway.
i'm no expert, but i bet shit like that could cause PTSD. i hope the BERNARDS sue the shit out of the AP for intentional infliction of emotional distress/harm.
i only have two things to say here; to THOMAS CURLEY the AP president, the editorial staff at AP, and JULIE JACOBSON-i hope some asshole is around when someone you love dies, they take pictures of it,then come stick them under your nose asking if it's ok to share them with the world. to the parents of LCPL. JOSHUA BERNARD-thank you for your son's service to the republic, he deserved better treatment than this.
My first inclination was to understand the perspective of the AP. We do need to know what goes on overseas, and we need insight into the bravery of our troops.
ReplyDeleteHowever... when I learned how the AP went about it, and all the requests they flat out denied, I was sickened.
Not surprised, mind you - such is today's "journalism" - but sickened.
What sort of sick morbid FUCK would think it was okay to show up at the doorstep of a grieving family with a handful of pictures of their son dying?
ReplyDeleteHere guys, isn't this one compelling? You can practically see the light leaving your son's eyes. I'm exceptionally proud of this one....
Some asshole looking for a Pulitzer and wanting to have their pic be the next "Vietnamese cop shoots VC Operative in the head" picture. It reminds me of that pic that was released during the first Gulf War. You gotta remember it, Jim...it showed that one dude from 1st ID with a pained anguished look on his face in the back of a Blackhawk as he finds out that the body bag at his feet contains his best friend. I thought it was wrong to print that pic too...it was too personal.
You might recall a stirring photo from early in this current war showing an Army combat medic carrying a wounded Iraqi child to safety. Very moving image. That guy later succumbed to PTSD and alcoholism and committed suicide a year or two ago. But there wasn't any hoopla or ballyhoo about the AFTERMATH...they had their big picture, and so what if things fell apart later.
To the family of that hero: Thank you for raising such a fine man. I hope his service and that of all who have answered the call will inspire today's youth to love their country unapologetically. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
ReplyDeleteTo the AP: You low-life, miserable FUCKS who call yourselves "journalists" are, in my book, guilty of high treason by undermining our mission. You have done everything in your power to lessen the morale of our brave soldiers without one shred of remorse. I hope and pray that there is a special place in Hell for you and all of your ilk. You make me want to fucking puke!
To J, Steve, and all who have risked all for the love of country: Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul. You have my eternal respect and gratitude.
Terrible story, no has respect anymore. The media insists on showing a dying soldier, why? Aren't there enough casualties for them? Not like Vietnam where there were bodies on TV every night?
ReplyDeleteDisgusting.
It's a different war but they are all soldiers who serve our country and some of them make the greatest sacrifice possible. We should be thanking them, and their families for that service and sacrifice, not holding the pictures up as representative of the evils of war!
I'm sure LCPL. JOSHUA BERNARD was proud of the job he was doing and would not have wanted to be used as an anti-war statement. I pray his family has some peace.
I just have to comment that there seems to be less and less respect for our military troops. Sure, there's the lip service of "Support our Troops", but people are uncomfortable with the fact that the military is meant to kill people and break things. We are becoming a soft country in an increasingly angry world.
ReplyDeleteNot to hijack your Blog J Summ, but Nickie You have hit the nail on the head! Its okay to watch TV shows, movies, etc of blood and guts and shootings and rapes and pillages and towers burning with thousands under them, police shootings, beatings I could go on, but let a service man shoot a 12 year old who is about to blow him and his men up,a woman with a bomb strapped to her legs and hear the outcry - for the 12 year old- never for the man who had to make the decision to end this man-childs life. To kill the one trying to harm his own or his Country's own. It is dispicable. They have no regard for any of us (they being any one who is trying to undermine and harm our people and way of life).Other country's will do ANYTHING for what they believe in, why is it wrong for us???????
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ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beyond sikening that those pics were taken to that kids families home for a 'response'. Would they have done the same if he was a war protester and got killed somehow at a protest? Of course not.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one though who has wondered what the Marine himself would have thought and what about the guys from his unit? Have they been interviewed?