Say Anything Blog

From the Drudge Report:

Active duty soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are upset over being forced take part in a military repatriation ceremony today for remains believed to be those of the non-military brother of presidential candidate Howard Dean, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

...

JPAC was pressured to not only recover his brother's remains, but to bump Dean's recovery over numerous other MIA's who actually died fighting for their country, a well-placed military source tells the DRUDGE REPORT.

Additionally, JPAC is being pressured to push up Dean's brother's identification ahead of approximately a hundred other service members remains, it is claimed.

Says one source: "These service members were recovered from all US wars, whose families are waiting to finally get word that their loved one, who gave his life for his country has been identified and is finally coming home. It usually take 2 years plus for an identification. Apparently, this 'rush job' will be done in 4-6 months. That's not all, we are repatriating his Australian friend, with military honors, and pushing his identification ahead our service members also."

...

In the past, JPAC has recovered remains of civilians [specifically contract civilians working for the military], but never with military honors!

In fact, one time, JPAC team members conducting the recovery had to actually pay the postage to FEDEX the remains back to the family because the government would not pay for it.

According to this article, Charles Dean and his companion were considered to be "tourists" by both the United States and Australian governments. One would wonder, however, why anyone would choose to visit the Mekong River in Laos in 1974. Despite their reasons, Dean and his companion were not combatants, simply innocent civilians.

I sympathize with the Dean family and hope that the remains found are, in fact, Charles Dean. I know that if they are it will bring closure and relief to that family.

It does anger me, however, that the possible remains of Charles Dean (and his non-U.S.-citizen companion) are being given military honors. It also angers me that the identification process is being "fast-tracked" for this civilian ahead of many legitimate soldiers who died for their country. This type of service isn't being given to other civilians who have been recovered. In fact, the Drudge article even cites a time when the remains of a recovered civilian had to be FedEx'd to the next-of-kin because the government refused to pay for transportation.

To quote the military official from the Drudge article, it is indeed a slap in the face to anyone who has ever served, or is currently serving, the United States as a soldier. Charles Dean may have been one heck of a guy, but he never did anything to earn the honors being bestowed upon him now.

Military Honors are not to be taken lightly. An honor guard for your coffin is not a right bestowed on every citizen, but a privelege for those select few who gave of themselves for this country. To have a military escort for the coffin of a "tourist" who never served his country in the military is an outrage which tarnishes the image of the honor guard in the first place. What kind of an honor is having an honor guard if just any citizen can get one? I, as a citizen who has never served in the military, would be embarrassed to have an honor guard that I didn't earn present at my funeral.

This wouldn't matter to somebody of Howard Dean's mindset. People like Dean seem to feel that simply being born American is entitlement enough for just about anything.

I hope that Dean and his family learn quickly that there are still some things in life that you have to earn, and honors from the military are one of them.