Frank Lautenberg: “I rise to offer a fairly straightforward amendment to this bill. The amendment will change the flawed policy that…”

“I rise to offer a fairly straightforward amendment to this bill. The amendment will change the flawed policy that currently prevents media access to the arrival of deceased military personnel from overseas. I include access by the families as well. On the eve of the Iraq invasion, the Department of Defense issued the following bizarre directive: There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein (Germany) Airbase or Dover (Delaware) base. With this order, the administration effectively blocked images of flag-draped coffins from appearing in the media coverage of this war. It is very hard to understand that decision. I and my colleague from New Jersey, Senator Corzine, went to Arlington Cemetery this week to honor the funeral and burial of one of four New Jersey guardsmen who were killed last week. I was struck by the ceremony. I have seen such ceremonies before, but in Arlington it has a special significance. Thousands of our comrades in arms from different wars are at rest there. But in the formal ceremony, it was particularly noteworthy that the flag was handled by the honor guard in such a way that every fold, every edge was perfectly handled by this obviously well-trained honor guard. When the final recipient among the guard was handed the flag, folded in triangular form, he took it, almost reverently, and carried it over to the mother of this young man who was killed.”