By Daryl Lang

Department of Defense via The National Security Archive
One of the seldom-seen photos of an honor guard ceremony, obtained through a 2005 lawsuit.
The Department of Defense would be required to grant journalists
access to ceremonies honoring fallen military personnel under a
bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation is significant because it would, for the first time
since Vietnam, let photojournalists capture the powerful images of
flag-draped caskets arriving on American soil during wartime.
This week the bill won the endorsement of the National Press
Photographers Association.
The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act, or H.R. 6662, was introduced
July 30 by Rep.
Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), a member of the
House Committee on Armed Services.
The bill states: "The Secretary of Defense shall grant access to
accredited members of the media at military commemoration
ceremonies and memorial services conducted by the Armed Forces for
members of the Armed Forces who have died on active duty and when
the remains of members of the Armed Forces arrive at military
installations in the United States." It was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services.
Jones voted to authorize the Iraq war, but he later supported a
timetable to withdrawal troops and opposed the troop surge in 2007.
Jones has spoken frequently in support of veterans' interests and
displays a poster outside his office showing the photos of fallen
service members from the Marine base in his district, according to
his
Web
site.
His bill has six co-sponsors: Rep
Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.),
Rep.
Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Rep.
Ron Paul
(R-Texas), Rep.
Ted Poe (R-Texas), Rep.
Carol
Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) and Rep.
Gene Taylor
(D-Miss.).
The NPPA said in a letter this week that it supports the
legislation. "We are painfully aware that the Department of Defense
currently prohibits media coverage of these somber ceremonies,
which in turn bars the public from those images as well," wrote
NPPA president
Bob Carey in a letter to Jones.
Photographs of returning military dead were permitted during
Vietnam, but a ban was instated during the 1991 Gulf War, according
to Jones' office. The military has granted exceptions on rare
occasions, such as the 1996 return of the bodies of Commerce
Secretary
Ron Brown and other Americans killed in a plane
crash in Croatia.
But since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, the Defense
Department has specifically prohibited photographs of returning war
dead. A policy updated in 2003 states: "There will be no arrival
ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel
returning or departing from Ramstein Air Base or Dover Air Force
Base." Military officials have defended the rule by saying it is in
place out of respect to service members and their loved ones.
In the five years of the Iraq war, during which more than 4,100
U.S. troops have died, photos of military caskets have leaked out
on at least three occasions.
In 2004, a defense contractor named
Tami Silicio snapped a
photo of flag-draped coffins at the Kuwait International Airport
and provided it to The Seattle Times, which published the picture
on its front page.
Also in 2004,
Russ Kick of the
The Memory Hole Web site
published more than 300 photos of returning war dead he obtained
through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which the
Pentagon later said was granted by mistake.
In 2005, University of Delaware professor
Ralph Begleiter
released more than 700 photos by military photographers showing
ceremonies honoring returning military dead. Begleiter obtained the
images through a FOIA request and a lawsuit.
Bill Would End Ban on Photos of Returning Military Dead
Aug 14, 2008
By Daryl Lang

One of the seldom-seen photos of an honor guard ceremony, obtained through a 2005 lawsuit.
The Department of Defense would be required to grant journalists access to ceremonies honoring fallen military personnel under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation is significant because it would, for the first time since Vietnam, let photojournalists capture the powerful images of flag-draped caskets arriving on American soil during wartime.
This week the bill won the endorsement of the National Press Photographers Association.
The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act, or H.R. 6662, was introduced July 30 by Rep.
Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), a member of the House Committee on Armed Services.
The bill states: "The Secretary of Defense shall grant access to accredited members of the media at military commemoration ceremonies and memorial services conducted by the Armed Forces for members of the Armed Forces who have died on active duty and when the remains of members of the Armed Forces arrive at military installations in the United States." It was referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Jones voted to authorize the Iraq war, but he later supported a timetable to withdrawal troops and opposed the troop surge in 2007. Jones has spoken frequently in support of veterans' interests and displays a poster outside his office showing the photos of fallen service members from the Marine base in his district, according to his
Web site.
His bill has six co-sponsors: Rep
Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), Rep.
Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Rep.
Ron Paul (R-Texas), Rep.
Ted Poe (R-Texas), Rep.
Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) and Rep.
Gene Taylor (D-Miss.).
The NPPA said in a letter this week that it supports the legislation. "We are painfully aware that the Department of Defense currently prohibits media coverage of these somber ceremonies, which in turn bars the public from those images as well," wrote NPPA president
Bob Carey in a letter to Jones.
Photographs of returning military dead were permitted during Vietnam, but a ban was instated during the 1991 Gulf War, according to Jones' office. The military has granted exceptions on rare occasions, such as the 1996 return of the bodies of Commerce Secretary
Ron Brown and other Americans killed in a plane crash in Croatia.
But since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, the Defense Department has specifically prohibited photographs of returning war dead. A policy updated in 2003 states: "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning or departing from Ramstein Air Base or Dover Air Force Base." Military officials have defended the rule by saying it is in place out of respect to service members and their loved ones.
In the five years of the Iraq war, during which more than 4,100 U.S. troops have died, photos of military caskets have leaked out on at least three occasions.
In 2004, a defense contractor named
Tami Silicio snapped a photo of flag-draped coffins at the Kuwait International Airport and provided it to The Seattle Times, which published the picture on its front page.
Also in 2004,
Russ Kick of the
The Memory Hole Web site published more than 300 photos of returning war dead he obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which the Pentagon later said was granted by mistake.
In 2005, University of Delaware professor
Ralph Begleiter released more than 700 photos by military photographers showing ceremonies honoring returning military dead. Begleiter obtained the images through a FOIA request and a lawsuit.