-Caveat Lector- >From LA TIMES > Friday, July 23, 1999 > > > Commentary > Coverage a Senseless Tragedy in Itself > By HOWARD ROSENBERG, Times Television Critic > > > <Picture: I>f you dare to raise questions about any of this, > you're immediately branded a heartless, soulless, mindless > cretin. However . . . Now that John F. Kennedy Jr. and his > wife and sister-in-law have been buried at sea on live > television--delivered there Thursday like heads of state and > eulogized by somber celebrity anchors against a medley of chopper > pictures from the heavens and file footage of a toddling > John-John--doesn't this set a precedent? The thunderous > homage to the late Princess Diana notwithstanding, these are > really uncharted waters. It's a grim thought, and of course, > here's hoping it doesn't happen. But holy hypothetical! What if > Ron Reagan Jr.--son and namesake of another beloved > president--should die as prematurely as John F. Kennedy Jr., and > his family would want to have him buried at sea too? Would > this spectacle recur? Would we go through this again . . . and > again, with the cameras, commentators and choppers on call as the > occasion demands? Or would the media say no, because the Reagan > family's record of suffering doesn't match the Kennedys? In > other words, this is all a bit crazy and hysterical, don't you > think? To say nothing of manipulative. Television had > already explored to the hilt the Kennedys' perilous, oft-lethal > encounters with flying. Now, on to something else. The sea. > "And John Kennedy Jr. goes down to the sea for the last > time," concluded a Thursday profile on CNN set to melancholy > music. To music. Because their staffs have to shut their > yaps once in a while, some of the networks on Thursday also reran > an audiotape of John F. Kennedy Sr.'s monologue about humankind > coming from the sea and "going back from whence we came." In case > you didn't catch the irony--the adult son's death and burial now > giving meaning to the father's words--MSNBC delivered it with a > sledgehammer by simultaneously showing grainy footage of > 2-year-old John-John at the wheel of a boat. If only some of > these TV people would go back from whence they came, for this was > one more cheap emotional whirlpool in a sea of them. Moments > later, ever-present New York Daily News columnist Mike Barnicle, > a neighbor and friend of the Kennedys--as many reporting and > commenting on this story on TV appear to be--said he was sure > that JFK Jr.'s uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, the senator from > Massachusetts, could "hear his family's history on the wind." > That is if he could hear anything above the roar of inflated > rhetoric. And you wonder why they call the Kennedys mythic. > The facts are that John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, > and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died tragically, delivering an > unthinkable blow to their families and causing much of the nation > to feel very sad about the loss of this trio of beautiful, > accomplished 30-somethings. It's the shameless litter of the > surrounding coverage that's so maddening. That includes TV > reporters repeatedly asking the obligatory question: "Who will > carry the Kennedy banner now?" As if JFK Jr. had done that. And > as if his uncle's senatorial career were chopped liver. It > also includes TV dwelling on long lines of bouquet-bearing > mourners sadly queuing up in long lines outside Kennedy's > residence in New York's TriBeCa district. As if they represented > mainstream America. On Thursday, CNN read the signs some had > brought with them, including: "John-John, God has voted you > president in heaven." Now there's perspective. You look at > these long faces and see, in essence, the same worshipful > pilgrims who travel annually to Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion > in Memphis to tearfully light candles on the anniversary of his > death. The same ones who continue to hang out at the graves of > James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The ones who stand outside and > shout at stars arriving for the Emmy and Oscar ceremonies. The > ones who because of some internal void find meaning and personal > expression only through the lives of celebrities, instead of > living fully themselves. If Kennedy was as grounded and > straight-thinking as many now say he was, he would have despised > all of this. That includes the relentless fawning over his image. > CNN's star reporter, Christiane Amanpour, who also works for > CBS, was on "60 Minutes" Sunday, being interviewed by Mike > Wallace about her close friendship with JFK Jr. since college. > And her easy, relaxed way of recalling him as someone she adored, > without elevating him to divinity, was not only full of intimate > insights, but also departed refreshingly from the swollen > verbiage of many other newscasters. Yet her appearance also > symbolized a media phenomenon of the last couple of decades that > may explain some of TV's detail-by-detail obsession with JFK Jr. > as a person who transcends his family's long litany of personal > tragedies dating to World War II. One that transcends, also, the > high ratings that this coverage is drawing. Publishers and > network owners have always rubbed shoulders with the high and > mighty. But now, through television, has come the wealthy > celebrity journalist, the Diane Sawyers, Barbara Walters, Tom > Brokaws, Peter Jennings, Dan Rathers and Mike Wallaces, who find > themselves covering the same VIPs they live near, socialize with > and bump into at swank restaurants. In effect, they're reporting > on themselves, royalty covering royalty. It happens even on > the lower rungs, indicated by Thursday's introduction granted > Jonathan Alter, the Newsweek writer who also works for NBC and > MSNBC: "You're a journalist, but you also have friends in the > Kennedy family." Meanwhile, the burial of the plane victims > and journalistic standards continued. "When you think of how > much the Kennedy family loves the water," a CNN anchor said > gravely, "it all makes sense." Actually, none of it makes sense. > > > Copyright Los Angeles Times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >From http://www.fastlane.net/~springer/burial.htm USS Saratoga Page > > An alternative to burial at sea from a naval vessel/aircraft is > > burial at sea from a United States Coast Guard (USCG) vessel. > > The USCG has more stations along the coasts of the United > > States than does the Navy. > > Burial At Sea > > > > Retired Navy members and their dependents are entitled to burial > at sea. Anyone desiring burial at sea should indicate that > preference in writing. At the time of demise, the > executor/executrix of the estate should contact: > > Office of Medical/Dental Affairs (MEDDEN AFFAIRS) > Mortuary Affairs, Bldg 38H > Great Lakes, IL 60088-5200 > Toll Free: 1-800-876-1131 ext. 629 > > > If the preference for burial at sea was not put in writing by the > retired member, the person responsible for disposition of the > remains may authorize burial at sea. > > The following documents must be submitted to the "port of > embarkation" which will be listed in the information package > available from MEDDEN AFFAIRS: > > a. Certificate of cremation or transit permit issued by the > appropriate civil authorities at the place of death; or b. > Photocopy of Civil death certificate; and c. Signed > request/authorization for committal from the primary next of kin > or executor of the estate. d. Photocopy of retirement orders. > > > The authorization should include the decedent's full name, grade, > Social Security number and file/serial number (if available); > branch of service; date of retirement or dates of service and > date of death; type of religious service desired; and whether > scattering of cremated remains from a naval vessel/aircraft, or > committal of casketed remains is desired from a naval vessel; and > the body of water in which the cremains/remains should be > committed. > > Most retirees are not entitled to mortuary services. There is, > however, one category of retiree which is eligible: a retired > military member who dies at an inpatient medical facility of the > Armed Forces. Under chapter 55, Title 10, United States Code, the > primary next of kin can request the government to transport the > remains of the retired member, or seek reimbursement for such > costs, from the military hospital to the place of burial or other > final disposition. > > Section 1490, Title 10, United States Code, as amended, also > authorizes the Uniformed Services to transport, or pay for the > cost of transporting, the remains of a military retiree's > dependents to the point of burial. The dependents must have died > while in a military medical facility in the United States or its > territories or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. > > Transportation at government expense may not be made to a place > further from the place of death than the decedent's last > permanent residence (last legal domicile), nor to a place outside > the United States. > > Also, advance arrangements cannot be made because compliance with > the request would depend upon weather conditions and the > availability of a ship at that time. Service on board ship while > in port may be permitted on a "not to interfere" basis; however, > civilian personnel cannot be authorized to attend services at > sea. Any expenses incurred for delivery of remains/cremains to > the point of embarkation on board a naval ship must be borne by > the estate of the deceased. Remains to be committed should be in > a state of preservation that will allow them to be stored fro 60 > days. For more information please call or write MEDDEN AFFAIRS. > > An alternative to burial at sea from a naval vessel/aircraft is > burial at sea from a United States Coast Guard (USCG) vessel. The > USCG has more stations along the coasts of the United States than > does the Navy. In areas where the nearest naval activity is > hundreds of miles away, the cost to the family of transporting > the remains and family members to the service could be > prohibitive. In addition, the USCG's mission provides much more > flexibility and availability of vessels to accommodate burial at > sea, and when mission obligations and weather conditions permit, > civilian personnel are permitted to attend the services at sea. > As with the Navy, advance arrangements cannot be made. Interested > persons should contact the nearest USCG station, which is usually > listed under the Department of Transportation in the local > telephone directory. > > > > "This Article compiled from information provided by MEDDEN > AFFAIRS, Great Lakes, Illinois, and is reprinted in its entirety > from Volume 40, Issue 3, Fall 1995, edition of Shift Colors". <<And then there are any number of other options, ranging from commercial to private sea-going vessel ... >> A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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