Air Force Dumped Ashes Of More Troops’ Remains In Va. Landfill Than Acknowledged

[Steve]

This is total BS!

Air Force dumped ashes of more troops’ remains in Va. landfill than acknowledgedThe Air Force dumped the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill, far more than the military had acknowledged, before halting the secretive practice three years ago, records show.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.The Air Force had maintained that it could not estimate how many troops might have had their remains sent to a landfill. The practice was revealed last month by The Washington Post, which was able to document a single case of a soldier whose partial remains were sent to the King George County landfill in Virginia. The new data, for the first time, show the scope of what has become an embarrassing episode for vaunted Dover Air Base, the main port of entry for America’s war dead.The landfill disposals were never formally authorized under military policies or regulations. They also were not disclosed to senior Pentagon officials who conducted a high-level review of cremation policies at the Dover mortuary in 2008, records show.Air Force and Pentagon officials said last month that determining how many remains went to the landfill would require searching through the records of more than 6,300 troops whose remains have passed through the mortuary since 2001.“It would require a massive effort and time to recall records and research individually,” Jo Ann Rooney, the Pentagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel, wrote in a Nov. 22 letter to Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.).Holt, who has pressed the Pentagon for answers on behalf of a constituent whose husband was killed in Iraq, accused the Air Force and Defense Department of hiding the truth.“What the hell?” Holt said in a phone interview. “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?” He added: “They just don’t want to ask questions or look very hard.”Senior Air Force leaders said there was no intent to deceive. “Absolutely not,” said Lt. Gen. Darrell D. Jones, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for personnel.This week, after The Post pressed for information contained in the Dover mortuary’s electronic database, the Air Force produced a tally based on those records. It showed that 976 fragments from 274 military personnel were cremated, incinerated and taken to the landfill between 2004 and 2008.An additional group of 1,762 unidentified remains were collected from the battlefield and disposed of in the same manner, the Air Force said. Those fragments could not undergo DNA testing because they had been badly burned or damaged in explosions. The total number of incinerated fragments dumped in the landfill exceeded 2,700.A separate federal investigation of the mortuary last month, prompted by whistleblower complaints, uncovered “gross mismanagement” and documented how body parts recovered from bomb blasts stacked up in the morgue’s coolers for months or years before they were identified and disposed of.

[Old55]

I agree Steve just goes to show what those clowns in DC think of the people who fight and die for our freedom.

[Steve]

I just hope they turn the area into a memorial park now

[Jollygoodfellow]

In reality or at least for the unidentifiable remains which are just bits and pieces,what else could they do with them?

[Steve]

In reality or at least for the unidentifiable remains which are just bits and pieces,what else could they do with them?

The y could of expanded this.http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tombofun.htm

[Old55]

In reality or at least for the unidentifiable remains which are just bits and pieces,what else could they do with them?

Two things, handled the body parts more carefully and RESPECTFULLY so they would not become unidentifiable or inter them in an honorable manor. The fact is they just don't give a flying F!Yes, I am pissed off and angry.

[Jollygoodfellow]

In reality or at least for the unidentifiable remains which are just bits and pieces,what else could they do with them?

Two things, handled the body parts more carefully and RESPECTFULLY so they would not become unidentifiable or inter them in an honorable manor. The fact is they just don't give a flying F!Yes, I am pissed off and angry.

I think the story said that these parts are like burnt or blown to pieces so could not be identified,think about it, a bomb will shatter pieces everywhere and might be as small as a one peso coin.I think the remains they are talking about are cremated so are just ashes and its only bones that make ashes. I'm not saying they have done the right thing so dont get mad at me, I'm just looking at what the reasons might be.