Letters: 'Final Salute,' November 18

Published November 18, 2005 at midnight

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Editor's note: One week ago, the Rocky Mountain News published "Final Salute," the story of a band of United States Marines stationed at Buckley Air Force Base who help the families of their fallen comrades cope with the loss of their loved ones.

'Final Salute' superb, thought-provoking

I want to express my appreciation and congratulations to the News and to writer Jim Sheeler and photographer Todd Heisler for the special section "Final Salute" in the News of Nov. 11. It was excellently reported and well-written, the photos were of a quality that well-expressed the mood and emotions of the story, and it moved me to a great deal of thought.

Until I read the story about the "casualty assistance calls officer," his team and the families whose lives are touched by this most grim result of war, I never really realized what the words in war coverage and popular war books really meant.

Whether or not we support the Iraq war, or the political reasons for being there, or the moral necessity of staying or leaving, each American needs to realize the hard truth that we are there, and that there are Americans who have gone there to do their jobs.

The men and women of our armed forces are brave people who have chosen to willingly perform a dangerous job if called on to do so, knowing from the get-go that there is a good possibility they will be seriously injured or killed doing that job. And those of us sitting here, in relative security and comfort, simply accept this. We listen to the politicians spin facts and to the pundits in the media who pontificate on why we should or should not do one thing or another, and we hear the 6 o'clock news give the latest statistics on how many were maimed or killed in the latest rounds of insanity, but we don't stop to think about the ones who are doing the job or the job they are doing, and doing quite well, I feel.

We need to all stand up and say to our men and women in the service - over there in harm's way or over here doing a more mundane job, or something truly trying like notifying families of the sacrifices their loved ones have made: "You are all the sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers of all of us. We don't tell you this often enough but . . . thank you."

Jon A. Rogers

Aurora

Beck and his Marines are true heroes

Wow! Parents, if you want to show your children a true hero, just read "Final Salute" (Nov. 11) by Jim Sheeler of the Rocky Mountain News.

Thank you, Mr. Sheeler, for the story you wrote about Maj. Steve Beck and his Marines. They take a very tough job and prove to everyone they come in contact with that the Marine Corps does not leave a Marine behind and that we are a band of brothers that also includes these Marines' families.

Although Veterans' Day has passed us by for another year, we should all thank a veteran for his or her service to our great country. To the families of Beck and the Marines under his command, thank you for your great understanding of your Marines' job, because without them life would be much harder for the families that lose a United States Marine. Semper Fi.

Aaron Rhoades

U.S. Marine Corps, 1988-1997

Brighton

Story needed telling and News did it well

A heartfelt well done to the Rocky Mountain News for its excellent coverage of the work of Colorado Marines in honoring their fallen. The "Final Salute" feature by reporter Jim Sheeler and photographer Todd Heisler sets a new standard in coverage of the war in Iraq and its toll at home.

Maj. Steve Beck and the Marines under his command in Marine Air Control Squadron 23 have worked tirelessly in the unenviable role of casualty assistance. Remarkable, too, are the resources dedicated by the Rocky Mountain News for over a year to ensure that the story gets told fully and fairly. It is clear from the story that Sheeler and Heisler were with the Marines at all hours and in very trying circumstances.

It is a story everyone wishes did not have to be told. Since it does, no one could ask for more thorough reporting.

Well done.

Col. Steve Ward

U.S. Marine Corps

Littleton

Urgent, moral, elegant

Thank you for "Final Salute" (Nov. 11). The package is pitch-perfect. Every word. Every photo. Every moment. Every brick, indeed, is level. This work is urgent, moral and elegant. Congratulations and thank you for telling this story so right and so well.

Patricia Raybon

School of Journalism and Mass Communication,

University of Colorado

Boulder

Utmost respect

Friday morning, Nov. 11, I sat at the kitchen table and read "Final Salute." It took about an hour and a dozen Kleenex tissues to finish. At no time did I think about my own feelings about the war. I was only immersed in the incredible humanity of the article. My utmost respect to the families, the military personnel, and to those who reported it.

Jon Haacke

Lakewood

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