War Dead Cremations At Pet Crematorium

May 9th, 2008 Posted By drillanwr.

1

I’m sighing very heavily here … and it’s NOT a pleasant sigh. It’s one of those completely disgusted sighs you would get from your mother when she knew YOU knew you had fucked up big time … and she also knew that YOU knew you were fucking up at the time you did it … but did it anyway.

There is just NO excuse for this. At what point does the Pentagon start crossing their damn “T”s and dotting their damn “I”s ???

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review of the handling of the remains of US war dead and apologized after learning that some were cremated in a commercial facility that also cremates pets, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said there was no evidence that any US servicemember was cremated in an incinerator used for pets.

But Gates believed that the use of a commercial facility that cremated both humans and pets, albeit in separate incinerators, was “insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen,” Morrell said.

“The families of the fallen have the secretary’s deepest apology,” he added.

An unidentified army officer complained earlier Friday after visiting the military’s mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pay respects to a comrade who had been killed in combat, officials said.

He discovered that the soldier was to be cremated at a facility off the base that had a sign outside saying it was a pet crematorium, they said.

The officer sent out an email with photographs of the facility that prompted Gates’ action, a senior army officer said.

The facility, owned by the Torbit’s Funeral Home Crematory, had been contracted by the air force to cremate remains of soldiers brought back from Iraq and Afghanistan through Dover, officials said.

Morrell said the cremations were performed at a separate site that had two incinerators for human remains and one for pet remains.

“We have absolutely no evidence whatsoever at this point that any human remains were at all ever mistreated, were ever not cremated where they were supposed to be cremated,” Morrell said.

“That said, the secretary believes that it is inappropriate, even if though permissible under the rules, to cremate our fallen, our heroes in a facility that also cremates pets,” he said.

“We just believe our heroes deserve to be treated better than that.”

The air force halted the use of the crematorium and directed that only facilities co-located with funeral homes be used in the future, and that there be a military presence at the facilities, Morrell said.

Gates also ordered David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel, to conduct a review of the handling and cremation of remains of US military personnel, Morrell said.

(AFP)


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6 Responses

  1. Dbo

    I didnt know the military did cremations. I thought there responsibility was to get the body back to the family and that was all.

    Servicemembers get a burial fee, which I guess would be used for cremation if the servicemember put that is wish in their will. Most young guys like me never filled out a will. We didnt believe we could die, and we didnt own anything anyway.

    Anyway, if the military is cremating servicemembers for some reason, at a place that cremates animals as well, well that is just poo. Unfuck that shit!

  2. Ivan the Kafir

    This is outrageous and add that to prior distaste in regard to cremation. If you’re going to cremate a soldier, make sure you do so in a fashion befitting his status as a warrior. The Vikings had it right when they cremated their fallen warriors on funeral biers with offerings, weapons, etc. Don’t let a warrior be humiliated by being stuffed into some Auschwitz-like oven. If you need anymore hints on the proper treatment of warrior dead, read the end of Beowulf.

  3. mindy abraham

    Ok, who,let this happen :mad: even though they were cremated separately, this is very innappropriate.

  4. Steve in NC

    “That said, the secretary believes that it is inappropriate, even if though permissible under the rules, to cremate our fallen, our heroes in a facility that also cremates pets,” he said.

    >I like Gate’s focus on our service members treatment.

  5. Mr. Standfast

    Another dip shit accountant picking the lowest bidder. What the hell do you expect? The system is set up to make these sort of mistakes and bean counters don’t have balls enough to do the right thing. “we have to go with the lowest bid….” Ah crap, do the right thing and risk losing your job. Sooner or later someone up the food chain will call off the dogs.

  6. Marc Stockwell-Moniz

    Somebody needs to be fired. No respect is something that cannot and will not be tolerated by the American people.
    How could the decision maker not know this was an animal place?

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