93henfan wrote:But seriously, if you read the whole story, which Cluck conveniently cropped and did not link, this story is more a matter of bad logistics and convenient publicity than an outright lie. The facility in question identifies remains of long lost POW/MIA. Some remains are at the facility over 10 years before they are released. What the facility does, rightly or wrongly, is hold regular ceremonies with transfer cases to publicize the fact they are processing the same number of unidentified remains. At least they are doing their best to do it with dignity. DoD can't win really. If they did no transfer ceremony at all, people would bitch about that too.
I happen to have been around Dover AFB for decades, as my mom worked and retired there and I worked there for five years. I have toured the mortuary, DoD's main and largest, and the folks working there are incredible. Have they made mistakes? Yep. Are they human? Yep.
I value the service they provide and the manner in which they do it. The attention they pay to each human remains is impeccable. It's a stark contrast to how it was done during Vietnam, when they'd literally have an airman drive a forklift or aircraft loader onto the flightline and they'd stack a dozen transfer cases or body bags and haul them to the mortuary with no ceremony.
Sorry about the lack of the link...I thought I included it.
However, it was portrayed as a lie...intentionally. There really is no way around that.
Be honest about your intentions and most people will understand. But to fool people, especially old veterans, is weak sauce.
