EDITORIAL: Apology to our veterans

The image on the cover of the Veterans Day insert in our Nov. 11 edition of the Coeur d’Alene Press offended many, and we are deeply, deeply sorry for that.

It was a grievous mistake, a human error. It was not intentional, nor was it done with malice.

This does not mean we take this lightly. We understand the gravity of this incident, and we have been heartsick about it since it occurred.

We are most sorry for having offended men and women who have fought to defend and protect our nation and our American way of life.

Many of us here at the newspaper have people in our own families who are serving or who have served our country; some of us have served ourselves.

The Coeur d’Alene Press has great respect for our veterans. We publish a monthly Veterans Press section with important information for veterans and their families, and we frequently share stories honoring veterans in our community.

To our veterans, we remain deeply grateful for your service.

We thank you for the personal sacrifices you have made to protect our freedoms, including a right that touches us every day. Without the First Amendment and freedom of the press, we would not be guaranteed the right to report freely, without government intervention or censorship.

Thank you, too, to the many veterans who are not actively serving, but who continue to serve here in our cities and towns by helping other veterans in need of assistance and by providing help to our other neighbors in need. You make our North Idaho communities better places to live.

We heard from many veterans about this, and we know that an apology is not enough. We must also make amends, which we are doing by taking steps to avoid an error of this magnitude in the future.

We are committed to learning from this mistake, so we can be a better newspaper for our readers, but most importantly, so we never again offend and hurt our veterans and their families, who deserve our respect and gratitude every single day.