Liberal Columnist Calls for Ending Military Funeral Honors for Vets: “Most Veterans Did Nothing Heroic”

Writing for the St. Louis Dispatch, Bill McClellan suggests that America does not owe military honors to veterans who die. Unsurprisingly, the leftist, 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning paper published McClellan’s offensive opinion piece. Here are few excerpts:

Both the federal government and the state government are broke. So why are we providing military funeral honors for all veterans? It is a nice gesture we can’t afford.

Certainly, men and women killed in combat deserve full military honors. It’s a way for the country to say, “We honor the memory of those who died in our service.” These military honors — and the thought behind them — are intended to provide some solace for the families of the fallen.

But what about the guy who spends a couple of years in the military and then gets on with his life? Bear in mind that most veterans did nothing heroic. They served, and that’s laudable, but it hardly seems necessary to provide them all with military honors after they have died. In fact, it seems generous enough to provide veterans and their spouses with free space and headstones at a national cemetery.

Why not let the veterans organizations provide military honors at the funerals of their members? If a person gets out of the Marine Corps and wants to stay connected, he can join the Marine Corps League. I’m sure the 101st Airborne has an association. In a more general vein, we have the American Legion and the VFW. . .

Dropping these military funeral honors would not be a slap in the face to veterans. If these honors are important to a person, he or she can join a veterans organization.

(Read the leftist opinion piece, “End Military Funeral Honors for Vets: ‘Most Veterans Did Nothing Heroic'” HERE)

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