FROTH AND BITCHINESS OVER THE POSSIBLE FINDING OF SEAN FLYNN’S REMAINS IN CAMBODIA
April 14th 2010 06:29
Some journalists who served as correspondents in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War years have become precious and disapproving of attempts to find the remains of Dana Stone and Sean Flynn who disappeared in Cambodia after being last seen on April 6, 1970.
Last Sunday, an article by Perry Deane Young of the McClatchy News Service appeared in the Miami Herald headlined, “Efforts to recover bodies of missing journalists in Cambodia spark ire.”
Young wrote, “Now, suddenly, almost out of the oblivion of time, their names are back in the news with reports from Cambodia that Flynn's remains may have been found.
“I emphasize that word ``may'' because there's no evidence whatsoever that the remains are Flynn's. He would have hated this kind of sensationalism. The son and spitting image of actor Errol Flynn, Sean loathed the superficial celebrity that went with a name that was only partly his own.”
Young then claims, “An international group of journalists has been outraged in recent days,” with the manner in which the search was conducted.
Young writes, “Two ‘bounty hunters,' as the London tabloids described them, took a backhoe to a site where as many as 12 Westerners were thought to have been buried. Neither of them had any credentials as archaeologists or forensic researchers. One is an Australian adventurer; the other is a British-born bar owner in Cambodia.”
Later in a long article Young writes, “In recent years, Flynn's closest friend, legendary war photographer Tim Page, has picked up the search for the remains of Flynn and others. In a British documentary, Danger on the Edge of Town, Tim found some remains that he thought were Flynn's. They turned out to belong to one of the mutineers.
“At the time, I was appalled by Page's digging and coming out with what may have been pieces of our old Saigon roommate. Page may need that kind of closure, but I don't. Still, at least Page did what he did with great respect, even reverence. I shared his outrage over the desecration caused by these recent headline seekers.”
Earlier, on March 29, the Phnom Penh Post ran a story about the reported findings and quoted Tim Page. The article said that Page expressed reservations about the way in which the search had been conducted.
The Phnom Penh Post quoted Page: “It was not a forensic dig; they used an excavator and uncovered a full set of remains, which they removed from the site and have been taciturn about handing in.”
The article said that Page added that it was premature to “tout” the remains as Flynn’s when numerous other foreigners are thought to have been killed nearby.
Coincidentally at the same time Young’s article circulated on the McClatchy wire, reports were coming from Australia about the finding of the bodies of missing Australian soldiers in Indonesia.
Australian newspaper articles about the findings were in stark contrast to what was being reported by Young and his friends in regard to the Flynn saga.
As is almost always the case in articles about the finding of missing servicemens’ remains, the reporting was celebratory and upbeat in an “our-boys-are-finally-coming- home” manner. Absent were suggestions that finding the remains was somehow ghoulish or that the methodology used to find the remains was unseemly. Also absent was the bitchy tone of comments about the possible findings of Flynn’s remains.
On April 12 AAP reported, “Two Australian soldiers, lost during a secret mission in Indonesian Borneo 44 years ago, are on their final journey home to be buried with full military honours.”
The article reported that Major General McOwan said a ceremony marked the beginning of Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff's final journey home.
"Today we bring home two SAS patrol members who rested in the soil of another land for 44 years," he said. "The return of these men to Australia closes a chapter in the Special Air Service (SAS) history.
"The SAS is a family and now two of our brothers are coming home. Their Regiment and patrol mates have never forgotten them and for 44 years they have been living with the pain of leaving their mates behind."
The two soldiers, Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff, were lost on March 21, 1965 when swept away as they and two other soldiers attempted to cross a flood-swollen river while on a covert mission inside Indonesian territory.
Recently the bodies of the two soldiers were found by Indonesian villagers who helped a joint Australian-Indonesian team find where they had been buried.
It seems that the rule is that finding the remains of missing soldiers is okay, but the remains of the journalists who covered the activities of soldiers at war are sacrosanct. Especially if they are famous.
Last Sunday, an article by Perry Deane Young of the McClatchy News Service appeared in the Miami Herald headlined, “Efforts to recover bodies of missing journalists in Cambodia spark ire.”
Young wrote, “Now, suddenly, almost out of the oblivion of time, their names are back in the news with reports from Cambodia that Flynn's remains may have been found.
Young then claims, “An international group of journalists has been outraged in recent days,” with the manner in which the search was conducted.
Young writes, “Two ‘bounty hunters,' as the London tabloids described them, took a backhoe to a site where as many as 12 Westerners were thought to have been buried. Neither of them had any credentials as archaeologists or forensic researchers. One is an Australian adventurer; the other is a British-born bar owner in Cambodia.”
Later in a long article Young writes, “In recent years, Flynn's closest friend, legendary war photographer Tim Page, has picked up the search for the remains of Flynn and others. In a British documentary, Danger on the Edge of Town, Tim found some remains that he thought were Flynn's. They turned out to belong to one of the mutineers.
“At the time, I was appalled by Page's digging and coming out with what may have been pieces of our old Saigon roommate. Page may need that kind of closure, but I don't. Still, at least Page did what he did with great respect, even reverence. I shared his outrage over the desecration caused by these recent headline seekers.”
The Phnom Penh Post quoted Page: “It was not a forensic dig; they used an excavator and uncovered a full set of remains, which they removed from the site and have been taciturn about handing in.”
The article said that Page added that it was premature to “tout” the remains as Flynn’s when numerous other foreigners are thought to have been killed nearby.
Coincidentally at the same time Young’s article circulated on the McClatchy wire, reports were coming from Australia about the finding of the bodies of missing Australian soldiers in Indonesia.
Australian newspaper articles about the findings were in stark contrast to what was being reported by Young and his friends in regard to the Flynn saga.
As is almost always the case in articles about the finding of missing servicemens’ remains, the reporting was celebratory and upbeat in an “our-boys-are-finally-coming- home” manner. Absent were suggestions that finding the remains was somehow ghoulish or that the methodology used to find the remains was unseemly. Also absent was the bitchy tone of comments about the possible findings of Flynn’s remains.
On April 12 AAP reported, “Two Australian soldiers, lost during a secret mission in Indonesian Borneo 44 years ago, are on their final journey home to be buried with full military honours.”
The article reported that Major General McOwan said a ceremony marked the beginning of Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff's final journey home.
"Today we bring home two SAS patrol members who rested in the soil of another land for 44 years," he said. "The return of these men to Australia closes a chapter in the Special Air Service (SAS) history.
"The SAS is a family and now two of our brothers are coming home. Their Regiment and patrol mates have never forgotten them and for 44 years they have been living with the pain of leaving their mates behind."
The two soldiers, Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff, were lost on March 21, 1965 when swept away as they and two other soldiers attempted to cross a flood-swollen river while on a covert mission inside Indonesian territory.
Recently the bodies of the two soldiers were found by Indonesian villagers who helped a joint Australian-Indonesian team find where they had been buried.
It seems that the rule is that finding the remains of missing soldiers is okay, but the remains of the journalists who covered the activities of soldiers at war are sacrosanct. Especially if they are famous.
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