Air Force dumped remains in landfill

If this is indicative of the norm, the military has changed quite a bit... I find it hard to believe it's become that different, being based on tradition and all.

Personally, I'd be okay with being mixed with others' ashes and dropped into a landfill, but am angered by this cavalier treatment of some other human being's mortal remains. There is a lack of decency here that not only has no honor, but is sickening at gut level.

I wonder if the long, pointless wars and constant death hasn't broken some in the ranks?

What a disgusting display by my former branch of service. Zaph...thanks for bringing it to light in this small recess of the Internet. Even though it may be a small subset of people, it still brings information.

I wish I had an explanation, but this is just laziness. Laziness to do what the military should always do. I don't care if it is just a finger nail. You provide those soldiers a grave and a stone, with no cost to the family that paid the greater sacrifice.

it would have been easier if they just stuck the body parts, any body parts, in the coffin, any coffin. We wouldn't be talking about this today. What we are talking about here is probably small bone fragments, a kneecap here, a bit of flesh there.

Body parts and partial remains are scattered all over the globe. I'm pretty sue they will be finding bone fragments on rooftops 50 years from now in Manhattan. Will they still have the will to identify those parts then???

The incineration and burial in landfill of unclaimed, unidentified body parts happens a lot more than people realise.

Hospitals do it, and those body are actually identified, since the hospital is the one that cut them off. Bear in mind that body parts are technically bio-hazardous waste, they have to be disposed of safely, and the safest way to dispose of them actually is incineration.

Once incinerated, all that remains is bone (which is usually fed into a grinder), and ash.

What, in your opinion, would be the best way to dispose of this bone and ash? Given that they are unidentified, they can't be put into coffins and given burials. Think about it, they would have to give each individual body part its own coffin and its own burial plot, as they don't know what parts, if any, came from the same body. I suppose they could DNA test the tissues to figure that out, but that'd be hellishly expensive.

They could scatter the ash and bone on some kind of memorial garden I guess, but like it or not, those body parts have to be disposed of.

So, what do you consider to be a practical, safe, reasonable and respectful way of disposing of the body parts?

a reply to: BMorris

Since so many were unidentified put them into the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in one casket. They said they'd never be able to identify them due to DNA damage.

As for the others bury them as part an Iraq/Afghanistan Memorial.

I know they had to be gotten rid of properly, but they told these families they would be disposed of properly and respectfully, and then spent years lying about it.

My problem with stories like this, is that everyone has their own idea about what constitutes 'respectful disposal'.

I will grant that a landfill is probably nobodies idea of respectful disposal, which is why I asked what people would consider to be respectful.

But yes, they shouldn't have told lies about it.

a reply to: BMorris

As bad as the landfill was, if they had come out and said, "This is what we did, and this is why we had to do it" that would have been one thing, and while there would have been outrage, they could have controlled things to an extent.

But to lie about it for years, and then tell a member of Congress that it would be too difficult to identify who the remains belonged to, because it would require a difficult search through records is unconscionable.

They move heaven and earth to find the smallest fragment of remains of people missing since WWII, but they can't look through their records?

All involved should be drawn and quartered and tossed in the same landfill....

You gotta to have balance.
These were unclaimed bits and pieces.
Ask yourself what happens to most cremated people after the relative dies.

Much a due about nothing.

a reply to: Zaphod58

As a veteran I am completely disappointed in my government. I have few words at this moment, especially with Veteran's Day coming up.