Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jamarius Fortson | U.S. military personnel and civilians deployed by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. (Oct. 17, 2018) -- Four Fort Lee Soldiers recently returned from Europe where they supported an effort to account for U.S. service personnel killed during a World War II aircraft crash.
The troops – all 92M mortuary affairs specialists assigned to the 111th Quartermaster Company, 11th Transportation Battalion – traveled to eastern Germany in July to assist the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in an operation to recover artifacts from a downed aircraft.
The mission, which has concluded, yielded much evidence; some that could be human remains and thus lead to the possible identification of the missing, providing an accounting of the incident and closure for families.
Capt. Herman T. Tisdale Jr., 111th commander, said his troops went about their duties with such purpose and enthusiasm that he has received various messages of gratitude for their outstanding support.
“They’ve earned accolades as high as the deputy director over there (in Germany), who actually wrote a personal letter for each of our Soldiers saying how hard and diligently they worked,” he said.
During the mission, the 111th QM Co. Soldiers assisted a roughly 25-member DPAA team consisting of civilian and military subject matter experts and others. The troops’ work required them to mostly tote buckets of sand and soil from point to point, then sift through them using screens to reveal artifacts.
Sgt. Dwayne Watson, one of three noncommissioned officers who made the trip, said the tasks related to searching for and recovering artifacts and human remains falls under the mortuary affairs military occupational specialty, however, they are not frequently performed.
“As far as disinterment goes, I’ve never received this level of training in my entire career,” he said, describing the mission’s emphasis on detail. “This was the best on-the-job experience I could’ve possibly received that was hands-on and by-the-book.”
Among the lessons he learned were the process in which bone becomes fossilized and distinguishing it from other artifacts, said Watson.
“I learned so much,” he reiterated.
For Sgt. Triston Norman, the mission went far beyond training value. He said the entire DPAA team was in sync and its mission was embraced by all participants.
“It was a great experience all around,” he said.
Norman and Watson both said the mission was revelatory and will serve as a point of reference that can be used to share information and help develop junior Soldiers.
“It gave me a better understanding of what disinterment really is,” said Watson. “In turn, I can teach my young 92Ms how things are really done, what the book says and what it looks like full-scale.”
For another member of the team, the mission was an eye-opener. Spc. Kimika Martin, who has long requested this type of training, said the DPAA operation was refreshing.
“I never thought I would get to go on one of these trips, and to have such a positive experience was pretty cool,” she said.
Martin added the best thing about the mission was “that we’re still looking for people,” referring to the country’s ongoing efforts to account for missing servicemen and women.
The 111th QM Co. has supported DPAA in the past, and the agency has requested the unit support more missions in the future, said Tisdale.
Sgt. Darius Denson-Holmes also made the trip to Germany but was unavailable for comment.
DPAA employs various resources at its disposal to “provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation,” according to its website. In fiscal 2018, it recovered the remains of 203 personnel from various conflicts and wars. DPAA and preceding agencies have recovered and identified thousands of U.S. military men and women since World War II. More than 82,000 individuals are still listed as missing.
The 111th’s parent battalion is an element of the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. The Fort-Lee-based company is one of only two active duty mortuary affairs units in the Army.
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2018 08:51 |
| Story ID: | 296722 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Mortuary affairs Soldiers support search, recovery mission in Germany, by Terrance Bell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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