Air Force adds to controversy with its own coffin photos

By Hal Bernton and Ray Rivera Seattle Times staff
reporters

The week before Kuwait cargo worker Tami Silicio lost
her job for releasing a photograph of soldiers\’ coffins,
the Air Force made its own release of several hundred
photographs of flag-draped coffins to the operator of an
Internet site.

The Air Force photos were shot by personnel at Dover Air
Force Base in Delaware and released - reluctantly - in
response to a Freedom of Information Act request
submitted by a 34-year-old First Amendment activist.

Release of the more than 360 photographs further erodes
a 13-year-old ban on the media taking photos of the
transport of coffins from overseas battle zones to
Dover, site of the military\’s largest mortuary.

Pentagon officials said yesterday the intent of the ban
is to prevent photos of coffins returning home from war
from being published without the consent of grieving
families. Pentagon officials say the policy is
consistent with the wishes of the families and the
Pentagon has no intention of changing it.

But news of the Air Force photos\’ release created new
confusion amid intense media coverage generated by
Silicio\’s photo, first published in Sunday\’s editions of
The Seattle Times.

Initially, no mainstream media organization carried the
Dover photographs or reported on their release by the
Air Force. The Times was unaware of their release when
it published the Sunday picture, which accompanied a
story on Silicio\’s work in Kuwait.

The often-emotional public discourse that ensued has
played out in newspapers and on TV, radio and the Web.
And it comes at a difficult time for the nation as the
April casualty count in Iraq climbs to more than 100
soldiers.

Yesterday, The Times reported that Silicio had been
fired from her job as a result of her actions.

Her husband, David Landry, who was a co-worker, also was
fired by Maytag Aircraft, a contractor operating out of
Kuwait International Airport. Maytag President William
Silva said the couple had violated company and Defense
Department policies, and that the military had
identified \"very specific concerns.\"

Tami Silicio\’s photo fueled a debate over a U.S. policy
on casket images. In a statement, the company said it
deeply regretted the dissemination of the photo, and
that Maytag \"fully concurs with the Pentagon\’s policy of
respecting the remains of our brave men and women who
have fallen in service to our country.\"

Silicio has not accepted any money for publication of
the photo in The Times. The image is now being handled
by an agent, Zuma Press, to help deal with a crush of
media requests. Silicio has considered setting up a fund
with the proceeds of the photo\’s sale, to help military
families.

Because of the media interest in her story and the
release of photographs by the Air Force, Pentagon
officials yesterday called a news conference to discuss
its media policy. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John
Molino said the Pentagon did not demand that Silicio be
fired. Maytag made that decision, he said.

Molino confirmed that the Air Force had released the
Dover photos to Russ Kick, who runs the Web site
www.thememoryhole.org.

\"I was not involved in the decision,\" Molino said. \"The
attorneys are looking into the case to see if that was
... an appropriate action.\"

Though upheld in a 1996 U.S. Court of Appeals decision,
the Pentagon policy on photographing coffins has been a
source of concern for First Amendment activists and
media. Some critics, including some members of Congress,
have said it is an attempt by the administration to
downplay the true cost of the war in human lives.

Molino bristled at those criticisms yesterday.

\"It\’s a policy the families say they like,\" Molino said.
\"And it\’s also a policy that has spanned more than one
administration, more than one political party.\"

Once a casket has arrived at a final destination, the
media are able to cover funerals with the consent of
families, according to Molino.

Air Force officials yesterday acknowledged they cannot
control what Kick now does with the images. But they say
they have put a hold on further release of the Dover
photos until word from the Office of the Secretary of
Defense.

\"They\’re not happy with the release of the photos,\" Col.
Jon Anderson, chief of public affairs at Dover Air Force
Base, told the Associated Press. OSD (The Office of the
Secretary of Defense) says that the release is not
consistent with their policy.\"

In coming days, there could be more coffin images
circulating as Kick\’s Web site offers \"high-resolution\"
Dover photos.

Some of the Dover pictures, already posted online,
depict rows of flag-draped coffins of American soldiers
killed in Iraq being unloaded from Air Force cargo
planes. Some show soldiers kneeling to adjust flags on
coffins.

In an interview, Kick said he believes the public has a
right to see the pictures, and that they are respectful
to grieving families.

\"I would make the argument that trying to hide the
photos of these people who gave everything for their
country is actually dishonoring them,\" Kick said. \"They
went over there in all of our names and died, and then
when they come back home, they\’re hidden behind a
curtain. I think that\’s wrong.\"

Kick, of Tucson, Ariz., initially filed his Freedom of
Information Act request in March 2003. The Air Force
denied that request. But after he filed an appeal, \"to
my amazement\" the ruling was reversed, he wrote on his
Internet site.

And on April 14, he received a CD with the 361 images.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com.

Ray Rivera: 206-423-4700 or rrivera@seattletimes.com

Copyright (c) 2004 The Seattle Times Company