Much has been said recently about The Amazing Race using the downed wreckage of a B52 in a Hanoi lake as a prop for their TV scavenger hunt.  CBS just came out with an apology for the producers lack of taste in choosing a scenario which was offensive to veterans and others alike. They were right to apologize because when you think of the magnitude of the situation, that B52 represents a lot.

If you read my novel Beauty Rising, this may sound familiar. Martin arrives at that very small lake with the B52 wreckage and is quickly overcome with the gravity of the situation. He parallels that site with the war experiences of his father and comrades. It becomes a symbol of the tragedy of war that destroyed the lives of many fine soldiers and alters the lives of many more, like a Martin’s father.

How much better would it have been to use that wreckage to teach the contestants about the sacrifice and cost of war.  But instead they chose to disrespect it.

It is too bad they didn’t think it through.