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I have learned one thing in the decade and change that I have served as editor of this newspaper.
Ignore the accomplishments of our men and women in uniform at your own peril.
Don’t even consider the notion of allowing June 6 to go by without talking to those precious few remaining survivors of D-Day.
A lot of people have already put the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan behind them.
Not our readers.
They constantly call and complain that our soldiers are getting short shrift, that too often criminals dominate the front page, and the events taking place across the globe are shunted to the back of the paper.
When soldiers are killed in the line of duty, it is big news in this county. Readers want those stories to be given the kind of play and respect required for someone who has laid down their life in service of their country.
We have mercifully lost only a handful of local soldiers in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Recently, we have been able to offer another aspect of a soldier’s life.
The members of the Army’s 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Strykjer Brigade Combat Team, have returned home after finishing their tour of duty in Iraq.
We featured two of them on today’s front page. Army Sgt. 1st Class James Mergott was reunited with his wife and family in Swarthmore.
Staff Sgt. John Dell, an Aston police officer, was given a hero’s welcome after doing a year in Iraq with his Army National Guard unit.
The truth is I have been trying to determine just how many of these stories we will do. I want to be sure to offer each saga equal treatment. Today we used photos of both soldiers on our front page. We will be there this weekend when another soldier returns home.
The stories are emotional, but I sometimes wonder if at some point they start to blend together, the same story with different names. I wonder if they should be played on Page One every day.
Then I watched this video. Staff photographer Julia Wilkinson captured it as Mergott returned home to surprise his kids.
I dare you to watch and not tear up a little.
Welcome home, soldiers. Your local newspaper salutes you.
Ignore the accomplishments of our men and women in uniform at your own peril.
Don’t even consider the notion of allowing June 6 to go by without talking to those precious few remaining survivors of D-Day.
A lot of people have already put the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan behind them.
Not our readers.
They constantly call and complain that our soldiers are getting short shrift, that too often criminals dominate the front page, and the events taking place across the globe are shunted to the back of the paper.
When soldiers are killed in the line of duty, it is big news in this county. Readers want those stories to be given the kind of play and respect required for someone who has laid down their life in service of their country.
We have mercifully lost only a handful of local soldiers in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Recently, we have been able to offer another aspect of a soldier’s life.
The members of the Army’s 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Strykjer Brigade Combat Team, have returned home after finishing their tour of duty in Iraq.
We featured two of them on today’s front page. Army Sgt. 1st Class James Mergott was reunited with his wife and family in Swarthmore.
Staff Sgt. John Dell, an Aston police officer, was given a hero’s welcome after doing a year in Iraq with his Army National Guard unit.
The truth is I have been trying to determine just how many of these stories we will do. I want to be sure to offer each saga equal treatment. Today we used photos of both soldiers on our front page. We will be there this weekend when another soldier returns home.
The stories are emotional, but I sometimes wonder if at some point they start to blend together, the same story with different names. I wonder if they should be played on Page One every day.
Then I watched this video. Staff photographer Julia Wilkinson captured it as Mergott returned home to surprise his kids.
I dare you to watch and not tear up a little.
Welcome home, soldiers. Your local newspaper salutes you.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:48 AM
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