Photographing the Fallen: A Brief History
Dover
This undated photo, released by the Department of
Defense, depicts coffins aboard a cargo plane at Dover Air Force Base. Since
1991, media coverage of fallen servicemen at Dover has been prohibited. The
ban was implemented under President George H.W. Bush, following a controversy sparked by a TV news segment that showed the President laughing alongside a split-screen shot of coffins
being unloaded as they returned from a military action Bush had ordered in
Panama. While some supported Bush's
attempt to safeguard the privacy of grieving families, others criticized the
order for whitewashing the brutality of combat. On Feb. 26, Defense
Secretary Robert Gates announced that the families of the dead will now be
entrusted with the decision of whether to permit media coverage of their
loved ones. "My conclusion was we should not presume to make the decision
for the families," Gates said.