The parents of fallen Navy SEAL Aaron Vaughn are disappointed with the release of a White House photo taken when the remains of soldiers killed in Afghanistan last weekend came home Tuesday. The family was promised by Pentagon officials that they wouldn't be releasing any photos of the solemn event at Dover Air Force, but, the White House did it anyway, violating the wishes of the families who lost loved ones.
A White House photographer was allowed to take and widely distribute a photo from the ceremony Tuesday for the return of the remains of 30 American troops killed in a weekend helicopter crash in Afghanistan despite the Pentagon's claim that any public depiction of the scene would violate the wishes of bereaved families.
News media coverage of the ceremony had been banned by the Pentagon over the objections of several news organizations.
Pentagon officials had said that because 19 of 30 of the American families of the dead had objected to media coverage of the remains coming off a plane at Dover Air Force Base, no images could be taken. In addition, the Pentagon rejected media requests to take photos that showed officials at the ceremony but did not depict caskets.
An official White House photo of a saluting Obama was distributed to news media and published widely. It also was posted on the White House website as the "Photo of the Day." It showed Obama and other officials in silhouette and did not depict caskets.