I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 269 

To require the Department of Defense to grant access to accredited members 

of the media when the remains of members of the Armed Forces arrive 

at military installations in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2009 

Mr. JONES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Department of Defense to grant access to 

accredited members of the media when the remains of 

members of the Armed Forces arrive at military installations in the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fallen Hero Com5 memoration Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MEDIA ACCESS TO ARRIVAL CEREMONIES FOR 

2 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO 

3 HAVE DIED ON ACTIVE DUTY. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Members of the Armed Forces swear an 

6 oath to support and defend the Constitution of the 

7 United States. 

8 (2) The Freedom of the Press is protected by 

9 the First Amendment to the Constitution and is one 

10 of the fundamental freedoms enjoyed by Americans. 

11 (3) In each generation, members of the Armed 

12 Forces have selflessly given their lives to secure the 

13 freedoms Americans enjoy today. 

14 (4) Americans must never forget the sacrifice 

15 that was made, and continues to be made, by mem16 bers of the Armed Forces on behalf of the United 

17 States. 

18 (5) During the Vietnam War, images of arrival 

19 ceremonies and flag-draped caskets of members of 

20 the Armed Forces appeared regularly on television 

21 and in print news sources. 

22 (6) In 1985, the media covered a ceremony at 

23 Andrews Air Force Base for members of the Armed 

24 Forces killed in El Salvador. President Reagan at25 tended the ceremony and pinned Purple Heart med26 als on the flag-draped caskets. 


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1 (7) The practice of permitting media coverage 

2 of the return of the remains of members of the 

3 Armed Forces killed overseas was changed by the 

4 Department of Defense in 1991, during the Persian 

5 Gulf War. Department of Defense policy stated that 

6 ‘‘Media coverage of the arrival of remains at the 

7 port of entry or at the interim stops will not be per8 mitted . . .’’. 

9 (8) However, in 1996, the media photographed 

10 the arrival and transfer ceremony at Dover Air 

11 Force Base for the remains of Commerce Secretary 

12 Ron Brown and 32 other Americans killed when 

13 their plane crashed in Croatia. President Clinton 

14 was present to receive the flag-draped caskets. 

15 (9) In 1998, the media photographed the ar16 rival ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base for 

17 Americans killed in simultaneous bombings of 

18 United States embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. 

19 (10) In 2001, the Department of Defense re20 stated the ban on media coverage at Dover Air 

21 Force Base and at Ramstein Air Force Base. How22 ever, in 2002, the media was permitted to photo23 graph the transfer of flag-draped caskets at 

24 Ramstein Air Force Base that carried the remains 


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1 of four members of the Armed Forces killed in Af2 ghanistan. 

3 (11) In 2003, the Department of Defense ex4 panded the no-media policy, stating that ‘‘There will 

5 be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, 

6 deceased military personnel returning or departing 

7 from Ramstein Air Base or Dover Air Force Base, 

8 to include interim stops . . .’’. 

9 (b) ACCESS.—The Secretary of Defense shall grant 

10 access to accredited members of the media when the re11 mains of members of the Armed Forces arrive at military 

12 installations in the United States. 

13 (c) ACCREDITATION.—The Secretary of Defense may 

14 establish the policy for accreditation of members of the 

15 media for purposes of granting access under subsection 

16 (b). 

Æ 


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