ChristiansUnite Forums

Soldiers' pictures banished from hometown post office
Spokesman: 'It's not a place to post things or make displays'


Members of the U.S. military have been vilified for their service and have faced criminal charges for battlefield decisions and congressional accusations of rampant "hate crimes." Now a California post office also has banned photographs of local soldiers who are defending their country.

"It's an emotional issue and people look at their post office as a hub of the community, but the post office is there to do postal business and it's not a place to post things or make displays,” postal spokesman Richard Maher told the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

The newspaper reported that "a customer" had complained that the display, which over the years has featured dozens of photos of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, including many whose relatives use the Paso Robles Post Office, was pro-war.

The "complaint" made its way to the regional post center, where officials asked Paso Robles postmaster Mike Milby to remove them, for being in violation of a rule against displays of non-postal business material.

Signs at the countor this week said: "We are being forced to remove the pictures from our wall of our boys and girls in the military. Please ask for your pictures back."

The newspaper reported clerks were facing a barrage of questions, mostly from people expressing dismay.

The action also caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.

"Supporting our local heroes' bravery and sacrifice is common sense. That is why I am troubled with the Paso Robles Post Office's removal of pictures honoring the sacrifice of our brave men and women serving in the Armed Forces," he said. "I am in contact with the Postal Service to get a clear answer of why this happened and determine what actions can be taken."

His spokesman, Nick Bouknight, said McCarthy will try to restore the photographs, even if it requires changing postal rules to do that.

Participants in a forum set up by the newspaper were fuming.

"What an outrage that because a person has an opinion that opinion takes precedent over everything else. I have an opinion that the person who made the statement causing the display to be removed is ignorant and completely without compassion. I think they should lose all the freedom that comes with being an American citizen. Oh but wait! That's just MY opinion!!!" wrote "lavenderbabe."

Added "Jmbreland," "No surprise here. As a JAG officer in the U.S. Army Reserves, one of my jobs is to help soldiers resolve problems with their employers when they are deployed. Believe it or not, the U.S. Postal Service is one of the worst about giving its employees grief when they're called up to serve. I wouldn't expect anything better than this from them."

"This has the ACLU's filthy fingerprints all over it," said "DowntownBob."

A retired Marine, Melvin Leppla, called for simple humanity.

"There is one aspect that some are overlooking here. It's called the human factor. The pictures of our servicemen and servicewomen on display aren't propaganda posters promoting pro-war, these are pictures of human beings, fellow Americans, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, aunties, and uncles. They bleed, they cry, they miss their loved ones without measure and all those faces in those pictures have one commonality. They do not want to be forgotten.

There are those that [cry], we must follow the postal regulations, yes, just like we must follow the speed limit, feed the parking meter, and not fudge on our taxes. We are the most over-regulated society in the world, but please tell me what harm is there in having pictures of relatives, friends and neighbors of Paso Robles on display?"

Attacking members of the service has been popular of late. As WND reported, Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., recently trashed the collective reputations of millions of U.S. military service members in order to advance their "hate crimes" legislation, which would make it a crime to utter a negative opinion about homosexuals or their lifestyle, a pro-family group says.

The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment by Kennedy and Smith to install in federal law a ban on such expressions of religious and personal opinion. The amendment was added to the Department of Defense Authorization bill, which is needed to keep funding worldwide U.S. military operations.

"[The] senators humiliate[d] our brave men and women in uniform by alleging that America's military is a haven for bigots committing 'hate crimes'," said Wendy Wright, the president of Concerned Women for America.

"The Defense Authorization bill has been twisted to shamelessly smear our military. Alleged crimes by military members are already prosecuted, so the point of an amendment accusing military members of committing 'hate crimes' is to create the perception that America's military is rife with violent bigots," Wright said.

The "hate crimes" plan has been pending for some time, but to make the plan pertinent to the military spending plan, the senators cited the immediate need for such remedies in the military.

WND also reported that a number of Marines are facing court hearings from their battlefield decisions in Haditha, Al-Anbar province, Iraq, after U.S. Rep John Murtha, D-Pa., incited by an inflammatory "Time" magazine headline accusing Marines of "massacring" civilians, described the Marines as killers.

WND also reported when former president candidate John Kerry used soldiers' funerals to solicit campaign help.

He solicited the families of slain soldiers at their sons' funerals as part of his campaign to undermine the president's policy in Iraq, charged Melanie Morgan and Catherine Moy in their new book "American Mourning".

Moy said the book documents an April 2004 incident in which a Kerry campaign representative visited parents of a fallen U.S. soldier at his funeral to ask them to speak out against President Bush.

"A woman, who had also lost her son in the war and who represented the local Kerry campaign, approached the Johnsons at their son – Justin's – wake. Justin was laid out in his Army uniform as the woman began her speech about hating Bush and helping Kerry. She asked the Johnsons to speak out against President Bush," the authors said.

May God bless all of our Soldiers and Sailors! These brave men and women deserve nothing but respect not persecution by those very same people whose freedoms and safety they are defending, putting their own lives on the line to do so.

See a Soldier or Sailor  ... Thank them for the freedoms that you are still able to enjoy ... do it loud so all can hear.

Amen Pastor...
This is what i was trying to imply on another post:
Most of America has forgotten those who have died and continue to do so!
If the Dems. get their way, people will start acting as if we're in the 60's & 70's again!
We did'nt lose the War in Viet-Nam,
we won almost every battle we encountered, even tet of 69'...
Thats when we we're told that it was a war "unwinable".
The main stream MEDIA & Dems. broke the will of the American people,
Just like their trying to do today!
If these people we're in office back in WW2, We would be under Nazi Occupation right now!

It will be worse than the Viet Nam era treatment of our Troops.

Liberty outraged over grave desecration
Police seek suspects for the damage done at Marine's plot

To Jeremy Burris the word "liberty" was more than the name of his hometown. It was something worth fighting for.

An all-American kid from a little all-American town, the 22-year-old Marine lance corporal died heroically in Iraq. More than a thousand people turned out Wednesday as a white hearse carried his body to burial in the historic 1800s Cooke Memorial Cemetery.

Within hours, the grave was desecrated. About 30 sprays of flowers were ripped apart, petals strewn over the loose earth. Flags decorating the gravesite were also torn down and sentimental notes and posters shredded.

"It looked like a big debris field about 40 feet square," said Liberty Police Chief Mike Cummings. "This wasn't done by the wind or animals. It was obviously intentional. We don't know if someone did this for a stupid prank or they were anti-war or what."

Burris was killed Oct. 8 by an explosive device in al-Anbar Province.

Minutes before his death, he rescued two soldiers wounded when a device exploded under their military vehicle. When Burris returned to the vehicle to retrieve some sensitive equipment, another bomb detonated, killing him, his family said.

Burris' family is well known in this county seat about 30 miles east of Houston, where his mother regularly sings country and patriotic songs at the Liberty Opry. He spent much of his youth around the town square — especially at the Opry, housed in a remodeled 1930s movie theater, with a large American flag painted on the entrance wall.

On Wednesday, Main Street was lined with people paying their respects as his procession went by. Many in the courthouse halted business, schools let out and shops closed.

Hundreds of flags, including giant ones draped from fire trucks, and posters with encouraging words were waved by the crowd.

U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, who attended the funeral, described in a congressional speech how moved he had been to see weeping people salute or hold their hands over their hearts.

Burris was not afraid to die when he joined the Marines a year and a half ago, Poe said in his speech.

"He told his youth minister he would rather die young while he could still give 100 percent," Poe stated."He was also an unapologetic person of faith."

Burris, who was home-schooled, was nicknamed "Jesus" by the other soldiers, according to his MySpace Web site. His site also stated that the Bible was his favorite book and that Jesus and "my dad" (Brent) were his favorite heroes.

Burris often enjoyed leading praise and worship services for his youth group at his church, his pastor said.

That's why his mother, Carala, cannot understand why anyone would desecrate his grave.

"I can't believe this is anything specifically against us. The town has been so supportive," she said quietly from her home.

"Our strength comes from the Lord. This is what is getting us through all this. God is in control, not whoever did this. We don't have to worry or get revenge."

Burris was the oldest of her seven children.

Two other sons have enlisted in the military; one is in Iraq and another will be headed there soon.

Linda Paulson, who owns a gift store next to the Opry, believes the vandalism might have been done for political reasons.

"It makes me very sad that people don't show respect for a grieving family, no matter what their political beliefs are," she said.

A nearby florist, L'Dairs, offered to fix the vandalized gravesite, but Allison Funeral Service employees had already restored it.

"The town is very angry," said Mary Ann Got. "There's not anybody I know that's not upset about what happened."

Carol Smart, a customer at a beauty salon on the square, agreed. "This boy lost his life fighting for our freedom and it's heartbreaking to know something like this happened."

She said she was proud that the court dismissed her temporarily from jury duty so that she could pay homage on the day that the hearse passed.

"I never saw so many somber people. You could hear a pin drop," she said.

Cummings is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact him.

"We don't have a whole lot to go on," the chief said. "No leads yet."

Man, this kinda stuff sets me on fire!
Their are 3 things i am willing to die for,
GOD, COUNTRY & FAMILY(spiritual & physical ones)
That poor family, not only to lose there son, But to have that done to his gravesite,
I WILL kick someones ... if i caught them doing something like that..(sorry)
Maybe that's why God keeps me away from the public? >:(
Forgive me my anger lord,
comfort those families that are in sorrow for the lose of loved ones,
Reassure their Hearts that you are still with them, Remind them Father, Those are your footprints and you have not forsaken them!
In Jesus name we petition you too sooth our Hearts of your loved ones!

I can understand the anger. This sort of thing riles me also. As much as it hurt I think that the families response to it was a wonderful testimony to the Lord.