The AP's Way of Honoring the Fallen

I am a military wife and a military daughter. My blood runs red, white and blue and it always has. I love our military and I believe that every man and woman in our armed forces is a hero. To say that I have a hard time dealing with the treatment our military is given by the media is quite possibly the understatement of the century.

The latest outrage? This story from the Associate Press complete with picture showing the last moments of a Marines life. As if that weren't odious enough, all of this was without the consent of the family and in fact, was contrary to their wishes.

The freedom of information act allows both the media and individuals to get the names of the fallen. For years, this has been a cause that is dear to my heart. My friend, Judy Vincent, bas been fighting for years to change the law and make it so that familial consent is required before the names or the likenesses of the fallen can be used. In her case, a "man", and I use the term here lightly, in Phoenix, AZ. was using the names of the fallen on a t-shirt that he sold for his own personal gain. His pockets were swollen as a result of this young marines sacrfice. Something here definitely isn't right.

I understand that the situation is somewhat different here, but certainly the AP is selling stories, papers and page views with this controversy. So while their intention of raising awareness of the price paid by those in the military due to an ongoing and ever unpopular war may have been honorable, their lack of respect shown to the surviving members of this marines family was anything but.

AP, you should be ashamed!