Paying respect — respectfully — to our fallen heroes

On Memorial Day, we took time to recognize and remember our military service men and women who died in the defense of this country. With each wreath that was laid, with each flag that was waived, we honored their ultimate sacrifice.

  Paying respect to our fallen military heroes is a time-honored tradition in our country and considered by many to be an obligation of an unpayable debt owed. And there is no more of a solemn occasion for that respect to be paid than at a funeral for a military serviceperson who has died while defending the ideals of freedom, liberty and democracy.

  Whereas this respect flows naturally for most, there are, unfortunately, a few individuals and organizations in this country that attend the military funeral of a killed soldier not to mourn the death but rather to protest the event. One such group is the Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka, Kansas, whose congregants routinely organize protests at military funerals throughout the United States. Such protests are meant to not only convey the group’s opposition to a given military action by the United States but also meant to demean and denigrate the funeral service, the fallen solider and the grieving family.

  Too many of us have seen the television footage of these military funeral protests on the nightly news. Our collective hearts break for the families of the serviceperson who must escort the casket of their loved one and our hero past these individuals who proudly hold signs that read “Pray For More Dead Soldiers," “God Hates America” and “Sin and Shame Not Pride.”

  Recently, the Westboro Baptist Church organized a demonstration at the funeral of Cpl. Kevin White that was held in Westfield, New York. In advance of the funeral, Westboro Baptist issued a news release that included the following statements: “Military funerals have become pagan orgies of idolatrous blasphemy, where they pray to dunghill gods of Sodom and play taps to a fallen fool.” The news release concluded with the brief message “Thank God for IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).”