Soldiers' Empty Casket Joke Outrages Military Families, 2 National Guard Members Suspended (PHOTO)
Soldiers' empty casket joke caused two service members to be suspended from the Wisconsin National Guard Wednesday after a picture of the prank went viral. A group of soldiers at the National Guard training camp in Arkansas decided to pose jovially in front of a flag-draped casket, which is usually designated for military men and woman who have died in action.
The soldiers in the empty casket photo smiled, laughed and roughhoused in front of the draped coffin, then posted the picture to social media accounts on Monday.
"We put the FUN in funeral your fearless honor guard from various states," Spc. Terry Harrison of the Madison, Wisc.-based 1st Battalion, 147th Regiment, the National Guard told the Associated Press. Harrison, who hails from Milwaukee, was suspended Tuesday.
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The act shocked and outraged both military members and civilians alike as the picture was reposted again and again long after Harrison had removed it.
"It was like somebody slapped me in the face. I've never in my life seen such disrespect for the fallen or the families," said Judy Vincent of Poteau, Okla., whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004. "It raises questions in your mind. What did they think of me and was my loved one treated with respect?"
Vincent and hundreds of others posted on the Wisconsin National Guard's Facebook page, forcing higher-ups to take action. Harrison was suspended from her honor guard duties, and when another soldier, Sgt. Luis Jiminez, attempted to defend the photo on social media, he was also suspended from the honor guard.
"For those of us who wear or have worn the cloth of our nation's uniform, this story cuts like a knife," Maj. Gen. Donald Dunbar, leader of the Wisconsin National Guard, said in a statement Wednesday. "I deeply regret the pain this has caused, and personally apologize to the entire military family."
The National Guard is now protecting Harrison, as she has received death threats since the offensive photo, AP reported.
