Army Atrocity
 

Army Atrocity

A Tennessee man who has been sending medallions to the surviving relatives of servicemen and women and police officers who die in the line of duty says the U.S. Army has told him it can no longer help him because the mementos have Bible verses on them, reports WBIR-TV.

Bob Parker?s ?Fallen Friends? organization has been sending out the medals, which feature a Liberty Bell on one side and a verse from John about self-sacrifice on the reverse, since 1996. The Army recently informed him, however, that because of the religious reference it would no longer be able to supply him with names and ranks of the fallen.

Parker says that the Army, which did not confirm the gist of the story, has returned the last 16 medals he attempted to distribute.

Army Stops Obstructing Biblical Medallions

You can make a difference: After a public outcry, the U.S. Army has flip-flopped and will stop hindering a charity from distributing medallions that cite - cover your eyes and plug your ears - a Bible verse.

In May the service said it would end its 9-year-old practice of releasing to Fallen Friend the names of troops killed in the line of duty. The reason: The inscription "John 15:13" on the medallions sent to survivors supposedly might "offend" somebody.

The verse, which isn't even on the medallion, simply reads, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
The chief of the Army's Casualty Operations Division, Lt. Col. Kevin Logan, wrote to Fallen Friend President Bob Parker in an e-mail yesterday: "Upon further evaluation, it has been determined that while there is a Biblical reference on the medallion, this reference is not of such nature that it is likely to be offensive to most next of kin. I am sincerely sorry for any inconvenience our earlier decision made on you and your organization."

Parker expressed gratitude to all those who had bombarded the Army with letters and e-mails.

"This is what makes America beautiful," he told the Associated Press from his home in Clairfield, Tenn. "If people hadn't gotten involved, the Army wouldn't have changed its mind."

Hallelujah!!