Military mortuary open to media for first time since 1991

The Obama Administration has reinstated media coffin coverage, and I think that it's a good thing. Media coverage of military coffins was suspended in 1991 after President George H.W. Bush was criticized for appearing too jovial as the first casualties of the first Iraq War came home.

I'm glad that the coverage of these dead soldiers is being reinstated, because these images help to make the wars abroad real for people here in America. The fact of the matter is that lives are being lost, and seeing the flag-draped coffins ought to be a constant reminder of that:

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the first time since media coverage was banned in 1991, the return of the body of a fallen member of the U.S. armed forces was opened to news outlets late Sunday. The U.S. Air Force informed media on Sunday that the family of Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers consented to allowing coverage of his casket being returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Virginia, was a member of an engineering unit based in Britain. He died Saturday in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military reported.

In February, President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates overturned a policy that dated back to the first Persian Gulf war. They agreed to allow reporters to observe the remains of American troops being returned to the U.S. military mortuary at Dover, as long as families agreed." Source: CNN

Do you think that the media should be allowed to film the coffins of soldiers returning from the wars abroad?