June 2008 - Posts
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A few days after the New York Times published a story detailing network reporters’ concerns about war coverage, three soldiers wounded in Iraq expressed a dim view of how they see the war depicted on television.
"You always hear about the explosions or people being killed, but you never really hear about how the people are being helped, or how much they appreciate it," Spc. Hein Tran, 28, of Milpitas, Calif., said after receiving a Purple Heart today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for wounds suffered May 10 in an explosion northeast of Baghdad.
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| John R. Chew/ Walter Reed |
| Spc. Hein Tran, center, at the Purple Heart ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday. |
Pfc. Alex Knapp, 22, of Shelby Township, Mich., who lost both legs in a roadside bombing on March 14, agreed with Tran.
"It's a little on the negative side because all we really hear about are deaths and injuries," Knapp said.
Sgt. Francis Collins III, 24, of Laurel, Md., also wounded by a roadside bomb, said some things are accurately depicted on television, other things aren't.
"Sometimes it's dramatized, sometimes it's not enough, as far as what they show on TV," Collins said after being awarded his Purple Heart.
Some journalists would agree. Earlier this month, the New York Observer published an article in which many journalists who cover the war expressed frustrations about the difficulties of getting their stories on air or in print. "There’s a marked drop-off in the appetite for stories from Iraq," ABC News correspondent Terry McCarthy told the Observer.
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By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leon Abbott made a startling discovery while rummaging through his late mother Sarah's personal effects last December.
"She was instrumental in launching the POW/MIA movement, and it turns out the bracelet she wore was John McCain's," Abbott said in an interview. "Pure coincidence."
Sarah Abbott and millions of other Americans began wearing the copper bracelets in 1970 to draw attention to the plight of U.S. service members missing or taken prisoner in Vietnam. She wore hers until McCain and his fellow POWs were released by North Vietnam in 1973.
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By NBC's Rehema Ellis and Patrice Fletcher
Today, as we did liveshots from the West Seneca, N.Y., park named for our beloved Tim Russert, a steady stream of people dropped by to leave flowers in remembrance of Tim, and well wishes for our NBC crew of six. At one point, the owner of the Red Brick Inn down the street drove up in his catering truck. He offered us the use of the restaurant's bathroom facilities and left us with a stack of menus. Soon after, a West Seneca fireman showed up in a pumper truck with six barbecue chicken dinners from his department's Father's Day celebration. Then another man, who would only give us his first name, Steve, showed up with coffee and doughnuts. A few minutes later, Steve's wife brought us cold Gatorade on this 80-degree day. It seems that Buffalo wants to make sure that Tim's NBC family is taken care of. We are the beneficiaries of their affection for him.
After videotaping people leaving flowers, flags and notes, our cameraman Steve Delmonte, said the mourners treated him like family. "I feel like I'm an ambassador for NBC," Steve said. We told him that that's exactly what he is. It's what we all are -- stand-ins, here in Buffalo, for the man they call "Timmy."
Patrice Fletcher is the field producer for Rehema Ellis, who is reporting from Tim Russert Park near Buffalo, N.Y.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
WASHINGTON - Thomas and Romayne McGinnis were physically and emotionally exhausted after three days of ceremonies surrounding the posthumous awarding of the Medal of Honor to their son Ross.
Army Pfc. Ross McGinnis, 19, died Dec. 6, 2006, when he fell on a grenade in Adhamiyah, Iraq, saving the lives of four of his comrades. For his heroics, President Bush presented the military's highest honor to his parents at a White House ceremony on Monday.
Since the beginning of World War II, only 850 Medals of Honor have been awarded and according to the medalofhonor.com, there are only 123 living recipients.
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| AFP |
| President Bush looks on after presenting the Medal of Honor to Thomas and Romayne McGinnis, the parents of Army Pfc. Ross McGinnis, of Knox, Pa.on June 2. |
"It's been a rough week," his father said today, shortly before flying home to Knox, Pa.
"It's been very good, though," his mother said. "The Army has taken care of us, tremendously."
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