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Kyle Reyes and MassLive misappropriate photo of fallen Marine

by Jonn Lilyea••53

Update; MassLive has finally removed the picture of LT Fuller.

MassLive wrote an article about Kyle Reyes, whose conservative politics got him uninvited to Southwick-Tolland Regional School’s Veterans Memorial Foyer. For some reason, MassLive used an image of Marine 1st Lt. Travis J. Fuller;

The positioning of the photo and the caption gives the impression that it’s a picture of Reyes. As near as we can determine, Kyle Reyes has no military service. The family of Lieutenant Fuller tells us that Reyes asked for permission to use the picture of Lieutenant Fuller for another different media gig, and they refused to grant their permission. No one asked their permission for this particular article.

According to Military Times Lieutenant Fuller was killed in a CH-53 crash in Iraq along with 29 other Marines and a sailor on January 26, 2005. Kyle Reyes was not.

The family has tried to contact MassLive and Mr Reyes to remove the image and disassociate the picture from the article, but they’ve been unsuccessful. It appears that the author of the article is Hope Tremblay.

Update; MassLive has finally removed the picture of LT Fuller.

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53 thoughts on “Kyle Reyes and MassLive misappropriate photo of fallen Marine”

  1. WITAF Hope Tremblay?

    Run a damn retraction, you’d much rather lose a little face, than lose a lot when those of us in the Vet community start on you.

    Kyle Reyes, do the right thing.

    2. Kyle has never claimed military service. He’s a stand-up guy. We’ve emailed back and forth numerous times previously. He’s an ardent supporter of the US military. This is all on the way the MassLive site has published that story.

  2. so a guy who is not a veteran is not invited to speak at a dedication to something for veterans?

    If I have that right, Kyle Reyes can fuck right off no matter what his political views are.

    1. If I don’t have that right, Kyle Reyes can still fuck right off for using the valor of a better man to insinuate that he shares anything at all in common with the LT.

      What a douche nozzle.

      1. Ah, seek to understand before being understood grasshopper. You are dead wrong on this.

        1. “The positioning of the photo and the caption gives the impression that it’s a picture of Reyes. As near as we can determine, Kyle Reyes has no military service. ”

          Did I read that wrong, or is this about a never served dude appropriating from a hero?

          1. It looks like it’s more about a reporter making it appear that a guy who never served is claiming something he never claimed. Could be carelessness or purposeful, but either way it’s on the “journalist.” The pic is of one of the honorees of the event. The story is about someone else.

          2. Kyle didn’t write the piece. The reporter did, and the way the article is laid out, it makes it seem like it’s a photo of Kyle. Kyle has never claimed military service. Calm the fuck down.

  3. There is much more to this story.

    Kyle and his crew are a very patriotic bunch.

    Check out Whiskey Patriots and their nonprofit.

    This story was blown up because Kyle was disinvited to the event by the “Crazy Eye’d” school superintendent who cited Kyle’s “unapologetic Christian conservative” views.

    Yeah, more to this story for sure.

    Grab a photo of Crazy Eyes, those optics tell the rest of the story.

        1. I’d hit it, just to make it an even one time. I’ll just give her the phone number to Wrigley Field’s Box Office.

          No shame in this Squid’s game.

              1. That movie scared the crap out of me. I wasn’t married then. Now … I have no desire to try something strange … I keep thinking about the bunny.

    3. I wish I’d been up on this earlier to nip this right in the bud.
      To back up Master Chief, Kyle is a stand up guy if I’ve ever met one. Never had he attempted to claim any valor and is VERY respectful when it comes to our military culture.
      He’s given a huge amount of goods and services to police, military and civic organizations pro bono, out of the goodness of his conviction.
      If he or SPM are in the wrong, I have no doubt he/they will own it.
      I’m not spun up on all the facts but this looks like an error of one of our ‘professional journo’

  4. Full disclosure: I know this crew. They are all solid, especially Kyle the LMFP in charge of Whiskey Patriots and a very productive nonprofit that takes care of LEO’s, first responders and military in need.

    1. MCPO. Why, then, has the photo of a Fallen Marine been co-opted and used by this guy against the express wishes of the Marine;s family?

      1. Air Cav,

        I am a lover not a fighter.

        Again, Kyle (a hard core patriot) was invited to speak at an event and Crazy Eyes disinvited him because of his beliefs. MassLive writes a story using a fallen Marines photo, family understandably get leaves and gets drawn in to a frame/controversy that they never sought or want. So, who was first to use the photo …. ask the VFW, school or news rag. But to blame this all on Kyle is not right. IMHO.

    2. Yep! Bingo!

      He’s also known for administering a “Snowflake Test” to candidates wishing to work for his company. That went viral a couple of years ago, which is when I got to know him. I blogged about it when I still had my blog.

  5. “The family of Lieutenant Fuller tells us that Reyes asked for permission to use the picture of Lieutenant Fuller and they refused to grant their permission.”

    There is low and then there is abysmally low, so low it is unimaginable. Is there not a decent bone among the lowlife SOBs responsible for this? Cripes.

    1. Thank you!

      The photo was to be part of the event.

      The news rag grabbed the photo.

      End of story.

      PS: I have read every inch of this story since it started. Crazy Eyes is to blame.

    2. Ditto. I doubt they gave him editorial control over the content of their article, including the use of the picture. Plus, one of the commenters on the article says Reyes denies he instructed Masslive to use that picture in their article.
      “Surprise, Surprise, Sergeant!” says a certain USMC private; a purported news org publishes something misleading.

  8. MassLive can bite the big one. I had intended to give better feedback on what might be a layout error, but the greedy little pod people at MassLive don’t allow reading the actual story if you have ad block enabled.

    What seems to be going on is that some nitwit at MassLive was using Fuller’s image as stock art. A this-is-what-a-Marine-looks-like kind of thing. This might have been because Reyes was asked to provide a photo to go with the story.

    How the photo was placed with text in the toned box is also a rookie mistake. Normally if you provide a toned box with text, it’s to use a pullquote or liftout from the main story to break up boring expanses of type. What alters things is if you include a photo in the box, the copy can change to acting as a photo cutline to describe the photo.

      1. Just to be clear, I might also have mentioned that the use of Fuller’s photo was completely inappropriate without the permission of the family. His image is likely not in the public domain, it’s not a mug shot, and he wouldn’t be considered a public figure. MassLive could be looking at a bend-over-and-grease-up lawsuit if the family wanted to push it.

    1. Nice to see something like that here in the DPRM. Makes me think that this state still has a chance.

    2. And they re-used the same picture and Reyes ID in this 2nd article/update. Are they purposefully targeting the family of the fallen?

  10. “Reyes and the VFW are trying to keep the focus on the three veterans being honored — William Alamed Jr., class of 1966, Steven B. Wentworth, class of 1981, and Travis J. Fuller, class of 1997.”

    Yes, that provides a very different perspective.

  11. I withdraw all of the mean and nasty things I wrote. Evidently, the photo was obtained for one purpose and used for another.

    1. 1 Pint of Guinness
      2 Hail Marys
      3 Our Fathers
      4 Shots of Jameson
      5 Pull UPS

  12. Scratch the Jameson from above and make it:

    4 Shots of Whiskey Patriots brand of whiskey

  14. Second picture, top right:

    “Springfield Man Tried to Gobble Cocaine ‘Hungry-Hungry Hippo’ Style Durin…”

    Where’s the story for THAT??!!

  15. Kyle is the man. He’s done more for me and my Vet buddies than just about anyone else I know.
    Thanks for all you do, Kyle!!!!

  18. MassLive leaves a great deal to be desired as a source for news. You can fill volumes with stuff they get wrong and never get called on or are late to. Turtleboy Sports is hilarious, and pulls no punches; sadly their sources are more trustworthy than those in the mainstream media here in the People’s Democratic Republic of Massachusetts. MassLive needs to issue a HUGE mea culpa, but don’t hold your breath.

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