Report: Air Force dumped remains of 274 troops in landfill

[Warthogg]

Without comment.

Wart


By msnbc.com staff

The incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops were dumped in a Virginia landfill, according to government records, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Air Force officials said that the dumping was hidden from families who had given authorization for the remains to be disposed of in a respectful and dignified manner, according to the newspaper.

There were no plans to inform families, officials told the newspaper.

New information revealed that the practice, exposed by The Washington Post in November, had become very widespread until it was halted in 2008, the newspaper reported.

Last month, Pentagon and Air Force officials said that figuring out how many remains were sent to the King George County, Va., landfill would take combing through the records of more than 6,300 troops.

Air Force morgue lost body parts from war dead

"It would require a massive effort and time to recall records and research individually," Jo Ann Rooney, the Pentagon's acting undersecretary for personnel, said in a Nov. 22 letter to Rep. Rush Holt (Dem.-N.J.), who has pressured the Pentagon for information on the issue on behalf of one of his constituents, according to the newspaper.

Holt reacted angrily to the news, the newspaper reported.

"What the hell?" he told the Post. "We spent millions, tens of millions, to find any trace of soldiers killed, and they're concerned about a 'massive' effort to go back and pull out the files and find out how many soldiers were disrespected this way?"

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/08/9290603-report-air-force-dumped-remains-of-274-troops-in-landfill

[samiam]

you're doing a heckuva job Brownie

[mriddick]

Never mind trusting the government to do the right thing is sort of stupid, they ought to find the officers that ordered that disposal and bust them a good one if not every one else involved that knew.

[Mark Ducati]

It would require a massive effort and time to recall records and research individually,"

If they can sift through God only knows how many tons of 9/11 building hazardous rubble for 3200 people, surely sifting through a pile of safe landfill and records for 6300 servicemen wouldn't be that difficult.

[Helen Keller]

DISPOSAL??

Like they were a human piece of trash.



Anyone involved in this needs to be doing some time.

[mriddick]

DISPOSAL??

Like they were a human piece of trash.



Anyone involved in this needs to be doing some time.

Do I understand it correctly in that this was ashes of cremated remains?

[El Laton Caliente]

No disrespect intended...

We are one of the very few countries that puts this much emphasis on corpses. Aruba when I was there I discussed this and they intern a body in a family crypt, then empty the remains when it is needed again and place the old remains in the city (island) dump. Most countries bury repeated family members in the same crypt or grave and only "rent" the casket.

[Kadmos]

Do I understand it correctly in that this was ashes of cremated remains?

Yep, there is pretty much no getting those back.

The article is a bit misleading if not read closely, these were extra body parts and fragments that were not found or cataloged before the servicemen's funerals.

To put is crassly, you have the main corpse most of the time, with some missing bits, you bury the body and you end up figuring out who the bits belong to sometimes months later.

Obviously most people don't want the body dug up and casket opened to add in a ziplock bag full of bits.

Even telling the family "hey we found some more of your son" is bad enough.

It's a delicate situation

Not that I am excusing the landfill, that was pretty damn stupid.

[Warthogg]

Yep, there is pretty much no getting those back.

The article is a bit misleading if not read closely, these were extra body parts and fragments that were not found or cataloged before the servicemen's funerals.

To put is crassly, you have the main corpse most of the time, with some missing bits, you bury the body and you end up figuring out who the bits belong to sometimes months later.

Obviously most people don't want the body dug up and casket opened to add in a ziplock bag full of bits.

Even telling the family "hey we found some more of your son" is bad enough.

It's a delicate situation

Not that I am excusing the landfill, that was pretty damn stupid.


The landfill dumping was concealed from families who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a dignified and respectful manner, Air Force officials said. There are no plans, they said, to alert those families now.


Disposal was neither dignified nor respectful as was apparently promised to the families.



Wart