The Undignified Transfer of Remains If you believe that being in the military is just a job, you are wrong. Even if you don’t fully realize it you have made the decision to give your life for the men you are fighting with, at least that’s how I understood it. I was a Marine Infantryman between the Gulf War 1 and 2. It meant a lot to me back then and in some way still does. Unfortunately for those who died, their loss has been minimized by multiple presidential administrations. The transfer of their remains from battlefield to their families has been hidden from us. The Transfer of Dead Americans from war should be seen by all, and their deaths are being minimized. The ban has since been lifted, but the damage has already been done. Sanitizing war only serves one purpose, free reign to start more wars. The Dover Ban is a federal ban that prohibits media coverage, including photographs, of public soldiers remains when they are returned to the United States. "Media coverage of the arrival of [] remains at the port of entry or at the interim stops will not be permitted..."(National Security Archive 1). Let us examine a few reasons why the ban was put in place. The first justification is to protect the privacy of the deceased and the deceased’s loved ones. Another is to reduce hardship on the families and friends of the deceased. But it is more likely because 58,220 died during the Vietnam War and there were almost no restrictions on causing many problems for the government.
According to an article in Aljerzeera by Ted Rall "Pictures [of dead or dying American troops] are rarely seen from Iraq and Afghanistan”(4). "During the 1960s and early 1970s television viewers and newspaper readers in the US were regularly treated to images from the front that prompted even the most fervent proponents of the war to question themselves"(3). This is what I see as the truth