Nat'l Guard Soldier Gets Death Threats for 'Funeral Fun' Pic

Wisconsin soldier pulled from military funeral duties
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 19, 2014 4:05 AM CST
Updated Feb 19, 2014 6:50 AM CST
National Guard 'Funeral Fun' Pic Sparks Outrage
This photo posted to the instagram account belonging to Spc. Terry Harrison shows a dozen soldiers clowning around a casket draped in a flag at a National Guard training facility in Arkansas.    (AP Photo)

A National Guard soldier has been suspended indefinitely from military funeral duties after a picture of her and other soldiers clowning around a training casket surfaced on social media. "We put the FUN in funeral," read the caption on the photo posted on the Instagram account of Spc. Terry Harrison, Fox 47 reports. The Wisconsin National Guard member has been shifted to other duties pending an investigation and the Guard says it has taken steps to ensure her safety after death threats, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Another photo to spark outrage shows Harrison in a car, with a comment complaining about the cold and saying, "Somebody's getting a jacked up flag." The photos and comments drew condemnation from the soldier's superiors all the way up to the Pentagon, where the chief of the National Guard Bureau called them "deplorable," Stars and Stripes reports. "These duties are sacred. America’s fallen deserve nothing less than our deepest respect," he said. (More National Guard stories.)

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