Honor -- Army Quartermaster Museum statue commemorates mortuary affairs function

Photo By Terrance Bell | First Sgt. Rebecca Smith, Mike Company, 266th Quartermaster Battalion, poses next to her likeness at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum during the Mortuary Affairs Exhibit Unveiling Aug. 11. The statue of Smith, a mortuary affairs specialist, is the fourth of five statues recently cast to represent the various departments of the Quartermaster Corps.  

UNITED STATES

08.17.2017

Story by Terrance Bell  

Fort Gregg-Adams

FORT LEE, Va. (Aug. 17, 2017) -- First Sgt. Rebecca Smith proudly stood next to a statue of her likeness at the Quartermaster Museum during the Mortuary Affairs Exhibit Unveiling Friday commemorating quartermaster functions and the Soldiers who represent them.

Smith was privileged to see the life-sized figure beforehand while it was still lying in its crate, and was overcome by the moment’s peculiarity.

“(It was) definitely surreal,” said the Mike Company, 266th Quartermaster Battalion’s top enlisted Soldier. “It’s kind of odd seeing yourself staring back at yourself.”

Smith’s statue is the fourth-of- five depicting quartermaster Soldiers. The collection was merely a concept 18 months ago when handpicked post Soldiers posed for plaster casts in New York, but over the past year, most took their post as centerpieces of museum exhibits.

Generally, the statues depict Soldiers performing tasks associated with their professions. Smith’s figure cradles a folded flag, symbolic of the mortuary affairs’ tradition of presenting the colors to loved ones at funerals and memorial services.

While the statue is modeled after Smith’s physical being, it is representative of all mortuary affairs specialists – past, present and future – and the work they perform in bringing home the country’s fallen, said the ceremony’s guest speaker to about 75 people gathered in a multi-purpose room prior to the unveiling.

“Today, as we unveil the statue, not only do we honor her but all graves registration and mortuary affairs (personnel) past and present,” said William Ellerman, director of the Joint Mortuary Affairs Center here. “Your service has been one of compassion and has laid our nation’s fallen to rest with dignity and honor. These honors remind us of service, sacrifice and valor and our examples of the dignified way we take care of those who defended and protected our freedoms.”

Within the audience were members of the Quartermaster Corps leadership, mortuary affairs students and members of the Graves Registration Service/Mortuary Affairs Veteran Association, who were attending their annual reunion. The occasion also served to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Graves Registration Service/mortuary affairs career field.

Retired Sgt. 1st Class Harold Walker, an 87-year-old member of the GRS/MAVA, was chosen to represent roughly 50 members of his organization who were present during the unveiling. He stood next to Smith, smiling and showing just as much pride as his active duty counterpart.

“It is a good feeling to come here and look at the number of Soldiers who have went through the same field as I did,” said the Dinwiddie County native and graves registration specialist who served from 1951-1965. “They did what they had to do, and they did it with dignity and pride.”

Smith, who was accompanied by her mother and two of her three children, has earned a Bronze Star and other awards during several deployments to Southwest Asia. She said the job of processing remains is not exactly envied but one executed by those who have the highest regard for the loss of life.

“It is somewhat gruesome and hard, and hard to explain,” she said. “… but you never forget, you never stop being humble and you never stop loving what you do – with all of its ugliness and glory.”

Mortuary affairs specialists have processed the remains of more than 5,000 U.S. military members and others during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The last statue in the quartermaster series, food service, is scheduled for an unveiling early next year, said Paul Morando, museum director.

• Date Taken: 08.17.2017
• Date Posted: 08.17.2017 08:50
• Story ID: 245124
• Location: US