a sad return, the right decision

Staff Sergeant Phillip Myers was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. He returned to the US on Sunday. And the ceremony surrounding Sgt. Myers's return to American soil at Dover Air Force Base was covered by the media, with the permission of Myers' widow.

The decision whether to permit media coverage of such sad returns should lie purely with the family. I can't say whether the Myers family's decision was right - but it is right that it was left to them to decide, rather than having a blanket ban on all such coverage as was the case under the de facto Bush Administration.

The military takes these things seriously. They treat the fallen soldiers with incredible, soul-moving respect. I wish the Old Guard had less call for its services.