The Sun Journal Nov. 13 contained a story headlined “Guard member from Iraq welcomed home,” followed by a pullout quotation in large, italicized print, “I don’t believe what we’ve been doing in Iraq is right, but I believe in what our troops are doing.” How many readers assumed that the story was about a soldier who did not support the mission in Iraq?

Those who were not skimming headlines would have instead found, with some difficulty, that the quote associated with the headline was not from a soldier, but from a civilian cousin of a guardsman. The only quote from a returning soldier stated, “We worked very hard over there. We acted professionally.”

The story itself, compiled by The Associated Press, also reported that despite very dangerous assignments, the Guard unit suffered no deaths or major casualties and that its members were proud to have helped Iraq establish a stable society and democratic government.

Why would the Sun Journal spin such an uplifting story with a demoralizing quotation in the caption? The same story appeared in The Boston Globe and other papers, except with only the headline “Families, friends overjoyed at Guard members’ return from Iraq.”

Scott Gardner, Auburn