---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We didn't see what happen when Marines…"
description: "\"We didn't see what happen when Marines fired M-16s... We didn't see what happened after mortars landed, only the puff of smoke. There were horrors that..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ashleigh-banfield-37066_coverage_we-didn-t-see-what-happen-when-marines-f_12215.jpg"
---

#  We didn't see what happen when Marines fired M-16s... We…

![“We didn't see what happen when Marines fired M-16s... We didn't see what happened after mortars landed, only the puff of smoke. There were horrors that were completely left out of this war. So was this journalism? Or was this coverage?” quote by Ashleigh Banfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ashleigh-banfield-37066_coverage_we-didn-t-see-what-happen-when-marines-f_12215.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ashleigh-banfield-37066_coverage_we-didn-t-see-what-happen-when-marines-f_12215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ashleigh-banfield-37066_coverage_we-didn-t-see-what-happen-when-marines-f_12215.jpg)

> “We didn't see what happen when Marines fired M-16s... We didn't see what happened after mortars landed, only the puff of smoke. There were horrors that were completely left out of this war. So was this journalism? Or was this coverage?”

[Ashleigh Banfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-banfield/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote critiques media coverage that omits the brutal realities of war, questioning whether such selective reporting constitutes true journalism.

**In simple terms:** War reporting often sanitizes violence.

Key Takeaway

Media can obscure war's horrors.

Themes

war journalism media ethics truthfulness sensationalism public perception

Mood

somber critical reflective

Type

critical observational questioning

When to use this quote

- battlefield reporting
- newsroom editorial decisions
- public consumption of war news
- government briefings

Key Concepts

propaganda censorship human cost information control

Practical Applications

- investigative reporting
- documentary filmmaking

Questions to Reflect On

- How does selective coverage shape public opinion?
- What responsibilities do journalists have to depict war fully?

A Different Perspective

null

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[Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Left out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-out/) [Marines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marines/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

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