Fantastic piece on a heartbreaking tale

That's as strong a piece as you'll find. The part about the dusty overalled baggage handler saluting the casket blindsided me. Excellent, excellent work.

 

Wow, just wow. Amazing story and as well put together as anything I've read in awhile.

 

That was amazing. I got about 12 words in and started bawling. It was a fantastic piece.

 

Thanks everyone.

Probably a little overboard, but I do appreciate it.

john

 

JOHN!

Thanks so much for coming. Would you indulge us by answering a few questions about the piece?

As a learning tool, I'm interested in the writing process. Any info you can share about the outlining of the story? Did the final product reflect the original outline, or was it much different? How many rewrites?

And since Thomas French is one of my favorite writers, I was wondering if you consulted him at all. I would put this right up there with his Angels & Demons.

John, thank you so much for doing this piece. The reporting was incredible, the writing superb, and the editing flawless. This was your perfect game.

And no, I don't think we're not being over the top.

 

yes, very touching.

 

No, not overboard, trust me on this one. I just forwarded it on to a slew of people and already got two responses that mirror what has been posted here.

Top-notch, and I'm commenting again to prevent this thread from dropping off the front page here. It deserves more exposure. ;D

 

This is the part that got me:

So humanizing. So amazing.

 

Uhhh no. Nothing overboard about any of it, John. The kudos is not out of line.

The reviews keep coming in. Ex boss -- a former editor at the Virginian Pilot, Riverside Press-Enterprise, Desert Sun and Inland Valley (LA) Times -- said:

"It took about two hours for me to read it -- I had to keep walking away to get my emotions under control. This is what real journalism is all about, and why it's still relevant.... If it doesn't win a Pulitzer, there's no justice in the world."

Even though it took me "only" 45 minutes to read it in a golf media center, I couldn't agree more.

Feel free to comment on Ira Schoffel's questions and we'd love to hear some insight on how this transpired.

 

Makes me so proud to know that journalism does still exist.

So powerful, so sad, so necessary for everyone to read -- regardless of how you feel about the war.