Front Page

Original Painting By Peter's Grandfather
E. Rimar - Date Unknown (pre-1980)

An American reporter from my days in Taegu, South Korea once said,
"The Internet's Nothing But A Vast Wasteland!"

In many ways, my friend was right. Truthfully, 95% of all BLOGS are published to follow the latest fad. However, for those that travel this planet, e-mail keeps family & friends electronically connected. With only a few keystrokes and a simple mouse click, a hello from Paris or Thailand quickly moves its way across cyberspace...

Perhaps one day, snail mail will go the way of the pony express. Indeed, it's possible books may go the way of the vinyl record.
The internet's allowed average people to publish a few thoughts & images to a world-wide audience.

Granted, this site rarely sees an electronic visitor...
It's like living in a cabin sixty miles north of Nome, Alaska...waiting outside in the winter air hoping someone drops by to say HELLO... Bonjour...Hallo! Even though I've reached over 16,505 unique visitors, sites like Google and MSN still get that many hits in less than a minute.

Anyhow, if you decide to continue traveling around this BLOG, please journey into the Chapters area (i.e. located directly in the sidebar section).
v/r
Peter

Post Script

During the passage of time, CHAPTERS ONE & TWO of Reporter's Private Notebook will remain mostly unchanged. To view this BLOGs latest updates, you'll have to venture deeper into the site. As of the date above, there are 33 pages contained within this BLOG. While I understand most people spend less than 5 seconds looking at a typical web page, hopefully, you'll take a few extra minutes clicking around this site (to include the folks working hard at Hughes Network Systems).


Page 1

Old Glory - The Truth

This photograph was taken somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean in June 2003. It was originally published on the DoD DEFEND AMERICA and AIR FORCE LINK websites in July & September 2003. Also, it was printed in the Army's SOLDIER'S MAGAZINE in November 2003 (Page 22):

Army Sgt. Osvaldo Ortiz sleeps next to the transfer case and gear of his fallen friend aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft bound for Dover Air Force Base, Del. Ortiz is accompanying the remains to the base and eventually back to the fallen soldier's home in Puerto Rico. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Rimar

Media Background: In the latest LIFE book Photography Exposed: The Story Behind The Image, the authors highlighted one story about a Tami Silicio. Working as a Defense Department contractor at Kuwait International Airport, Ms. Silicio became famous for snapping a series of photos of flag draped-coffins. Within 11 days of taking a few pictures, one photo found its way onto the front page of the Seattle Times. According to the LIFE article, as a result of Ms. Silicio's actions, both her and her husband were fired by Maytag Aircraft.

Since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq, the Department of Defense followed a strict policy regarding the photographing of coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. This DoD policy, initiated in 1991 by then-Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, included news coverage of the transportation and arrival of those killed-in-action. After a successful lawsuit (April 2005) brought by Ralph Begleiter, a University of Delaware journalism professor, more than 700 DoD images taken at Dover and other locations were released to the media.

The National Security Archive website, published by The George Washington University, provides further historical background on the original ban of media coverage of returning casualties.

THE STORY BEHIND THE IMAGE:
It was almost 2 a.m. when Erich and I finally boarded the C-17 for our long journey home. Actually, the day had started 20 hours earlier in northern Afghanistan .


Earlier in the week, we had traveled to the town of Konduz to film a humanitarian mission (see HometownLink ).

For two days, a team of U.S. Army Doctors and Nurses had set up a field clinic for the local farmers. It was a great story to cover. The whole affair was a scene right out of National Geographics.

Amazingly, some Afghanis had walked for days just to be seen by these medics.

As the Burka-covered wifes & daughters were being treated by the female medics...the local men showed-off their donkeys like Buicks at a classic car show. For this remote farming community, the circus had come to Konduz and everyone wanted to show up for the party...

Anyhow, despite all the excitement of the previous few days, when I boarded the plane at Bagram Air Base, the true human impact of this war was immediately put back into perspective. In that single moment, I came face-to-face with the continuation of 9-11.

Three flag-draped coffins...
Three fellow soldiers making their final journey home...

While SGT Ortiz sat beside me for the take-offs and landings, for most of the flight, he kept a close watch over his fallen buddys' gear. The Army sent SGT Ortiz home to accompany his comrade and give the family back his personal effects. Throughout the flight, he remained a loyal soldier and friend.

As for myself, I waited 17 hours for just the right moment to snap this picture. While I took more than 200 photographs in Konduz...the dedication and loyality displayed by SGT Ortiz on that flight created an enduring image...and touched my heart forever...


FINAL NOTE:
In 25 years of service as a military broadcaster, I have never been censored . My job is to tell soldier stories. For the record, NO ONE has ever confronted me for taking the Old Glory photograph. While I understand the reasons behind Mr. Begleiter's original lawsuit, perhaps his lawyers should have done some more homework. Photographs with flag-draped coffins had been released to the media.


The question remains: Where does a family's right to privacy end and the publics' right to know begin?


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