Military Coffins in Public Eye in U.K.

by lisa ~ July 20, 2009

July 20, 2009 - A grassroots movement in a southern English town is attracting attention to the U.K.’s growing number of war dead and making government officials uncomfortable. As flag-draped coffins are returned to Royal Air Force (RAF) Lyneham, thousands of people gather in Wootton Bassett to honor these “repatriations.”

An RAF base secretary calls Town Hall, where employees then reach out to dozens of others. The Wall Street Journal estimates that as many as 7,000 are turning up to pay their respects. “Now, the repetition of these sad processions is testing the U.K. public’s patience for the war -  and throwing up another potential obstacle to continued support for U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan,” it said.

Despite these unofficial populist ceremonies, the war still has a high level of support in the U.K. “Support has increased by 15 percentage points since 2006, partly due to a campaign by the U.K. government and military to shore up support generally for the British armed services,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Obama administration wisely decided to relieve public pressure and allow photos of coffins returning to the U.S. Pres. Bush had banned journalists from taking photos, supposedly to avoid the negative public relations surrounding the return of Vietnam veterans to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and Travis Air Force Base in California.

Photos of the coffins of U.S. war dead are now allowed if relatives agree. USA Today said this yesterday: “Since April, journalists have been permitted to cover what the military calls ‘dignified transfers’ of bodies from incoming flights to the mortuary. And, in a less-publicized change at the same time, the government began to pay for relatives’ travel here for such arrivals. News organizations’ interest or ability to cover routine transfers quickly faded; only the Associated Press regularly assigns a photographer.”

To read the Wall Street Journal’s article “British Coffins Raise Ire Over Afghan Push,” click here.

Lisa Tibbitts is a corporate communications professional with an MBA in marketing. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FinancialPR.

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