Nightline Is Honoring “The Fallen” Again, But Names Won’t Be Read This Year

By Brian 

In May 2004, Ted Koppel invited controversy when he read the names of the 721 service men and women killed in action and in non-hostile situations in Iraq since the start of the war there. In May 2005, Koppel did it again, reading over 900 names that “have been released by the Defense Department since last year’s broadcasts.” A photo was shown along with each name. In 2005, Nightline was extended from 30 to about 45 minutes to fit all the names.

This year, Nightline is preparing another Memorial Day broadcast, but it won’t include a reading of the names. ABC is moving that component to the Internet, in the form of an online database. “ABCNews.com will list the more than 2,450 service men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since the start of the wars there,” a press release said yesterday.

Instead of reading names, Terry Moran will anchor live from Arlington National Cemetery, where he will intro three pieces. Click continued to read about them…




Quoting the press release: “For both Nightline and World News Tonight, ABC News’ Dean Reynolds will profile veterans of the Iraq war now serving in the Honor Guard, the elite Army unit that guards the Tomb of the Unknowns. Terry Moran will report on section 60, the area designated by Arlington for those who die in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how the rules regulating what can be left on the individual grave sites have been loosened. And ABC News’ Jeffrey Kofman will report on the increased survival rate among soldiers returning home.”

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