Soldiers Bringing Fallen Comrades Home to Loved Ones

Photo By Pfc. Carlee Ross | Spc. Erik Dexter, far right, Pfc. Jeremy Wiles, center, and Staff Sgt. Larry Johnson, of the 111th Quartermaster, 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CCSB) out of Fort Lee, Va. are currently stationed in Iraq, on Contingency Operating Base (COB) Speicher helping with the war on terror by bringing fallen comrades home to the United States. Here Dexter shows Wiles a piece of personal affects while he annotates it in a document that will accompany the remains.  

TIKRIT, IRAQ

10.19.2006

Story by Pfc. Carlee Ross 

25th Infantry Division   

by Pfc. Carlee Ross
25th ID PAO

TIKRIT, Iraq – Accounting for the remains and personal affects of a service member who has passed and bringing them home together is never a light subject.

The process of getting the fallen to their loved ones starts with the Soldiers from 111th Quartermaster, 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CCSB) out of Fort Lee, Va. who are currently stationed in Iraq helping with the war on terror by bringing fallen comrades home to the United States.

"When someone is brought here we process the remains and personal affects through mounds of paper work and get them ready to be sent to Kuwait," said Staff Sgt. Larry Johnson, a native of Moss Point, Miss., noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of the 5th collection point which is located at Contingency Operating Base (COB) Speicher.

The unit receives all kinds of casualties including U.S. service members, civilians, contractors, local nationals, coalition forces and even anti-Iraqi-forces (AIF). They also receive personal affects, such as military gear, and personal items like wedding bands, pictures and letters. These things are all inventoried to accompany the remains to Kuwait.

The Soldiers try not to find out what happened to the casualty and stay emotionally uninvolved.

"One thing that can really get to us is going through all their stuff, reading their letters and looking at their pictures to make sure nothing is being sent to the family that shouldn't be," said Spc. Ron Boyd, a mortuary affairs (MA) specialist from Belmont, N.C.

"We want to protect the integrity of every fallen comrade," said Boyd.

A sense of humor is a must have in this environment, said Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Hayes, the Task Force Lightning MA NCOIC, from Munford, Tenn.

These young men are a tight knit group, Hayes added.

Although they are laid back and mostly soft spoken, all of the Soldiers will tell you they are proud of what they do.

Spc. Erik Dexter, the assistant NCOIC for the collection point, was a civilian funeral director in Bremerton, Wash. for 10 years before he joined the Army.

When Dexter joined at the age of 30, he wanted to bring his knowledge into the Army. Other than the paper work the Army requires, there wasn't anything he hadn't experienced, he said.

When U.S. Soldiers and civilians are ready to be sent home, MA contacts the Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) to schedule what they fittingly call a 'Hero Mission', said Boyd.

"The second day we got here we had a hero mission, the whole crew was lined up along the Blackhawk," Said Dexter. "A chaplain was here, it was a big deal."

In most cases a chaplain will be present to bless the remains and the whole unit will line up and render their honors with a five second salute while the helicopter flies away, one step closer to their journey home.

Among the thoughts running through their minds when a comrade flies away are the MA motto, dignity, reverence and respect, and the Soldier's Creed, never leave a fallen comrade, said Boyd and Dexter.

Pfc. Jeremy Wiles, a soft spoken MA specialist from Mesa, Ariz., dutifully agreed with his buddies about their job.

"I am glad to be deployed so I can actually put to use all I have been taught and have been able to realize how interesting my job is," Wiles added.

"When people find out what we do we get one of two reactions, a curious asking questions kind of person, or the one who seems disgusted and stand-offish, you can see it in their eyes," stated Dexter.

These Soldiers don't care what other people think about their job. There is a lot of honor and respect running through this unit. They get their satisfaction from knowing they are the ones who send the fallen back to their families.

When the fallen are sent home, they aren't just shoved off as quickly as possible, said Dexter. All their personal affects are in pristine condition, clothes have been washed and gear has been rid of the dust that collects out here. Everything is dress-right-dress, said Dexter.

"We leave no Soldier behind," said Johnson.

• Date Taken: 10.19.2006
• Date Posted: 10.19.2006 09:31
• Story ID: 8062
• Location: TIKRIT, IQ