A King's gaffe?

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) - A recent comment by Stephen King during a lecture to high school seniors suggesting that those who can't read can join the Army has riled up the military.

King told a group of high schoolers at a recent Library of Congress lecture, "If you can read you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq - I don't know."
His depiction of Army soldiers as illiterate drew a strongly worded response from the U.S. Army."America's soldiers are proudly serving and fighting for us all. We can be proud of our Soldiers' selfless service, their skill and their ingenuity. They certainly are role models for every high-school student in America considering a noble career ? and many book authors."
Local soldiers were also offended by the comments, calling them elitist and insensitive.They noted that King's books were very popular in the small libraries that can be found in frontline military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Repeated requests sent by NEWS NOW to King's publicist for a response or clarification of the comments have gone unanswered as of the time this story was written.

Written by Armando Trull
NEWS NOW