Kansas City Faith Scribe Ponders Obituary Fact Checks

A missive about end game note accuracy brings up an opportunity to discuss a somewhat recent online trend regarding the toll of war . . . Doom scrolling one night, this gave a TKC reader a moment of pause and here's a summary the search engine AI offers:

An epitaph on the tombstone of Gene Simmers, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. His gravestone, located in Newark, Ohio, bears a deeply personal and remorseful inscription that reads: 

"IN MEMORY OF THE ELDERLY WOMAN I KILLED IN VIETNAM FORGIVE ME. I'M SO SORRY. — GENE SIMMERS". 

Simmers, who was a decorated combat medic and was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry, passed away in November 2022. The message highlights the profound psychological burden and lasting impact of war, particularly the anguish over a civilian casualty that haunted him for the rest of his life. His tombstone serves as a public testament to his conscience and a final plea for reconciliation.  

The only problem . . . That info isn't corroborated in any other publication and mostly exists via social media. So it's fair to be skeptical about it . . . Even if the message is powerful and haunting.  

Accordingly . . . 

Here's the big picture from a longtime newsman and top ranking local scribe on all manners related to faith & morals . . .  

"Obituaries, it turns out (not surprisingly), reflect the culture in which the person who died lived. And just as there are no fact-checkers at funeral to interrupt the eulogies with the truth, so there are fewer and fewer fact-checkers today on obits published in newspapers or on the online sites of funeral homes."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

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