Ted Koppel Memorial Day Nightline a Public Service

Washington, DC — I just don’t get or support the harsh conservative media criticism that followed Ted Koppel’s last show devoted solely to reading the names and showing the pictures of the American soldiers who died in the Iraq war.

Tonite’s show — the same format, entitled "The Fallen" — was very powerful.Koppel 

Any objective viewer of the American faces that passed across the screen saw a broad cross section of white, black, hispanic, asian warriors; every possible ethnic background. Many were female. Most seemed to be 21 years old or younger. Some were as old as 48, perhaps older.

Ted Koppel made the point in his wrap-up that most of us, unless we know someone in the Iraq theater, don’t think much about the horrendous news stories from Iraq. We should.

On Memorial Day, 2005, we honor our soldiers’ service and our families’ sacrifice. Thank you.

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