Remains of 274 US Troops dumped in landfill

[Flying Razorback]

This is sick.

http://news.yahoo.com/remains-274-us-troops-dumped-landfill-report-081234306.html

I am sick to my stomach over this, I am furious, and I am very disappointed in my service and the lack of leadership.  Many heads should roll over this.

Coming home with honor, and the respect and dignity of me after I die for my country is the fundamental foundation that makes you stand up and charge an uncertain situation.  Once that foundation is shaken, it's hard to get it back.

I can't believe this happened to those fallen heroes.

Here's to them, a toast to the host.

[Ftsmithmike]

No way man. I'm sick over this.

[DOGALUM]

Unbelievable.....unacceptable. 
heads should indeed roll.....anyone who had any knowledge of this.....truly sickening.

Those in command should be ashamed and obviously have no appreciation for sacrifice.

This country owes the families of those heros an apology and so much more.

[DOGALUM]

darned USAF!  The United States Navy would never let this happen......Lord I hope not.

[Flying Razorback]

Unbelievable.....unacceptable. 
heads should indeed roll.....anyone who had any knowledge of this.....truly sickening.

Those in command should be ashamed and obviously have no appreciation for sacrifice.

This country owes the families of those heros an apology and so much more.

I'm very upset.  All service members have an internal core belief that our country will bring us home no matter what when they send us away.  There's a very core and internal mechanism that makes us all serve, it's very similar to religious belief.  However, some of that sacred belief has been exposed to be a fraud.  That hurts.

I am still very disappointed and disgusted at the lack of leadership displayed.  There were so many better ways to handle this.  It would not have taken anything to have an internment place at Arlington for unidentified or late returning remains.

[Old Tusk]

This is not the first time this has happend. Every sad!

[82abn Ard]

Totally unacceptable, someone or many need to hang for this one

[sooieet]

What would you do with random pieces of remains that were unidentified, and not found until after the rest of the body had already been buried?  Not saying this is right, but don't know what else you could do with the fragments. 

[Arctic Hog]

What would you do with random pieces of remains that were unidentified, and not found until after the rest of the body had already been buried?  Not saying this is right, but don't know what else you could do with the fragments. 

I don't care if the parts are identified or not, dumping remains in a landfill with common garbage is disrespectful.  Cremate them and sprinkle the ashes off a ship or something.  Pretty much anything is better than what those idiots did at Dover.  As a 25 year, retired AF veteran, I'm ashamed for my service.

[bellavistamike]

You'd treat all the parts of fallen US military personnel with honor and respect, not just throwing them in the trash. Group cremation and a respectful resting place is one idea that beats the trash pile.

And yes, heads should roll over this crap. I'm the most liberal person in most of the rooms I'm in but this has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with honor and respect. Get it right!

[Flying Razorback]

What would you do with random pieces of remains that were unidentified, and not found until after the rest of the body had already been buried?  Not saying this is right, but don't know what else you could do with the fragments. 

I saw this same question come up in another forum I follow and I know it's a serious question.  In fact, on the form the family completes there is a box asking what the military should do if further remains are identified at a later date and I'm guessing most chose Option 2 that says they leave it to the military to deal with them appropriately.

However, like Arctic and bellavista say, there are many respectful and "appropriate" ways to deal with the disposition of remains.  There's basically no way they can claim that dumping the remains in a dumpster was the "appropriate" disposition as Option 2 led the families to believe.

My answer would be to have them scattered at sea or have some sort of group disposition place at Arlington. 

We man the tomb of the unknown soldier 24/7/365 at Arlington, we spend millions bringing home fragments and following clues in Vietnam and the Pacific, and yet at the end of the trail they thought it was right to throw them in the garbage to be dumped with the kitty litter, trash, and other debris in a landfill???

There were correct ways, and there were only a couple of wrong ways.  They straight chose a wrong way to deal with this.

[snappy]

On my work vehicle I have a decal stating (Proudly served USAF) now I'm not so sure!

[RyanLR]

Yeah that's pretty terrible. And apparently they've been doing this for years.

[Ftsmithmike]

On my work vehicle I have a decal stating (Proudly served USAF) now I'm not so sure!

Dont throw out the baby with the bath water. Your service is still meaningful to your country.

[DOGALUM]

Dont throw out the baby with the bath water. Your service is still meaningful to your country.

True......even if it was in the USAF. 

[GolfnHog]

Though not a service member, nor have I ever been, this is absolutely criminal. What sickens me is that the very POS(OBL) that resulted in these brave men to die was given greater dignity in death than our very own.

[Ftsmithmike]

Though not a service member, nor have I ever been, this is absolutely criminal. What sickens me is that the very POS(OBL) that resulted in these brave men to die was given greater dignity in death than our very own.

Don't misunderstand the situation. This is a separate issue from memorialized remains. These troops received proper burial but these remains we're not identified at the time of transfer to the family. These later identified parts or perhaps unidentified should get the same care we already provide our troops. It's inexcusable to dump them but we don't want to engage in hyperbole if the goal is a policy change.