What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
My mother always liked Veterans Day and would spend the holiday telling me about all of our family members who had served in various wars. Her small town in Missouri where she grew up would pull out all the stops for Veterans Day and how everyone would gather at the local halls for celebrations.
That was in the early 1950s. And now I read this:
The Dover Air Force Base mortuary for years disposed of portions of troops’ remains by cremating them and dumping the ashes in a Virginia landfill, a practice that officials have since abandoned in favor of burial at sea.
The mortuary in Delaware, the main point of entry for the nation’s war dead and the target of federal investigations of alleged mishandling of remains, engaged in the practice from 2003 to 2008, according to Air Force officials. The manner of disposal was not disclosed to relatives of fallen service members.
The story is rough to read. The Air Force didn't tell the landfill owner what they were putting in the landfill. Family members, already grieving over their dead, are further wounded by how their family member's remains were handled.
I don't even understand why the unidentified remains are buried at sea -- Osama bin Laden style -- rather than in a grave so marked. The Air Force has been mum about just who was responsible for the disposal of remains and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced he's investigating whether discipline was sufficient.
Lack of respect for the remains of war dead is not a good sign for a people. Let's hope this gets straightened out and that responsible people are held responsible as soon as possible.
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May '10
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
I'm not sure what to think about this.
It was obviously wrong for them not to consult with family members before disposing of anything belong to the deceased.
But if I was blown to bits by an IED and most of me was buried in a proper grave, would I care that they found my severed hand later and didn't bury it with the rest of me? Dumping it in a landfill seems a bit callous, but I wouldn't expect any ceremony or complicated measures to dispose of my scraps (for lack of a better term).
One person, one burial. No?
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
Aaron,
Well, traditionally we've been much more careful about these things. Ours is not the first era to have unidentified body parts that need to be handled. But do we put them, as we used to, in graves marked that the parts are known only to God? Or do we dump them in the trash? What do these choices say about how we view the sacrifice of men and their families?
I had a friend whose father died testing the stealth fighter. Top secret stuff so his family wasn't allowed to know what he was doing, much less that there was no body to recover. The lack of remains, and lack of knowledge about the lack of remains, have been difficult for a family who lost a beloved husband and young father of four.
Oct '11
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
If they are truly conducting a burial at sea, I think it would be a perfectly appropriate way to deal with these remains. Navy veterans to this day can opt to be buried at sea, I believe, and while I was stationed on a ship, we conducted one such service.
Sep '11
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
The standard procedure of caring for our service members' remains is very respectful. The movie Taking Chance is an excellent portrayal of it. And the fact that this is actually being investigated and dealt with indicates that we as a country take this sort of behavior seriously.
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
Man did I love that movie. Love that movie.
Dec '10
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
Before this story broke, I'd spoken with a young woman at my church who did a 6-month tour at the mortuary in Dover about her experience. The care taken to train these mortuary workers and the reverence for the fallen and their families she described is so incongruous with this story, I really didn't believe it at first.
I think it is important to emphasize these were not whole bodies disposed of in landfills, as Drudge's hyped headlines suggest. Rather, they were bits and pieces which were never going to be identified with a soldier.
I know it sounds like excuse-making, but the military treated these cremated and incinerated remains as medical waste. I prefer the burial at sea they've instituted in its place, but I'm concerned that we're causing unnecessary anguish for already suffering families by overreacting. Perhaps the emphasis should be on the virtue of a nation which bothers to recover bits and pieces of her fallen from the battlefield, rather than on how the scant ashes which remain are disposed of.
Dec '10
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
I've participated in burials at sea, and those who perform them afford the moment the same respect and dignity they hope to receive. It is taken very seriously even by routinely unserious people.
Sep '11
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
My father was an Air Force pilot who died in a flying accident in Germany during the Cold War. They did not let my mother view the body, and the casket was closed.
Did they find every scrap of human tissue? Did they consult with the family about whether they found everything? Please--let's not be morbid about this. (Gosh! Did they dig up the soil where he landed, since that was soaked with his blood?)
My father died. My father's body was returned home. He is buried in Newton, Massachusetts. If some small, unidentifiable portion of his remains somehow failed to make the trip--that's a shame. But it's not a tragedy, it's not a travesty, and it's not a front page story.
May '10
Re: What Our Treatment of War Dead Says About Us
Going back to Mollie's first paragraph, since I have no background or knowledge to contribute regarding the remains question, does anyone else remember when it was "Decoration Day", and in school they would read "In Flanders' Fields"?
Man, I feel old.