To the editor:

With due respect for Lance Cpl. Farnsworth’s recognition for his exceptional service to our country, I am critical of the editorial decision to place a photograph of a young child with his finger on the trigger of an assault rifle on the front page of the April 15 issue of the ADE where hundreds of children can see it.

Don’t we have enough tragedy in this country with accidental or intentional shootings involving children? Despite its value in telling this worthy story, an image such as this is impossible to erase from a child’s (or for that matter, an adult’s) mind once it has been seen.

The story of the Marine’s honor could have been told as well without an image that is distressing to me and likely other parents and potentially suggestive to children.

David A. Johnson, MD

Saranac Lake