Happened during the Bush administration. So much for supporting the troops. Thanks Republicans.... "The Post's investigation found the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 troops were sent to the landfill between 2004 and 2008, and the total number of incinerated fragments of body parts that were dumped exceeded 2,700." http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/us-troops-landfill-idUSTRE7B71ON20111208
"Incinerated partial remains of at least 274 troops were reportedly dumped at landfill between 2004-08 by the largest military mortuary in the US. The Washington Post report was based on data from Dover Air Force Base, the main entry port for US war dead. The newspaper first broke the story last month, but it was not known how many remains were dumped at landfill." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16081240
"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." http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...edged/2011/12/07/gIQAT8ybdO_story.html?wprss=
"Gari-Lynn Smith, the widow of an Army bomb-disposal expert killed in Iraq, began asking the military in 2007 what happened to some of his remains that were identified after his funeral the previous year. After four years of letters and phone calls she received a letter from the mortuary in April informing her that her husband's partial remains had been disposed of in the King George County landfill, reports the Post. "I hope this information brings some comfort to you during your time of loss," read the letter." Yikes. I believe it's standard practice in a civilian setting for indigent remains to be buried in "potter's fields". It would be fair to assume that unclaimed military personnel's remains be buried with honor and dignity befitting their service in a similar manner. But this is most telling: "The procedures took place at a time when the mortuary was shielded from public scrutiny because media coverage of fallen troops' return to the air base was banned between 1991-2009." Which demonstrates why it's important to allow the media to cover their return home. We allowed this to happen by not fighting the administration's bs as much as we should have.
Geez....if we could just get a republican in the White House (somebody smart and truthful, like GW 2)...man....just think, we could fix all this stuff. Plus we could get rid of the death tax...maybe invade another sovereign country for profit??? That should pick up the economy and keep the shoe throwers at bay huh??
Where is the evidence that "Bush" or "the Republicans" were responsible for this travesty? From what I read, the mortuary had more than a few issues and only a few individuals were responsible for the policies that were associated with the "gross mismanagement" (the word used in the report, not mine). What happened was unutterably despicable, but I'll bet you that there are many more civilian hospitals that have similar or worse policies that will never be seen in the public eye. It is necessary for all hospitals to be investigated for their policies in regard to the disposal of remains.
