This story just played on my local news . I realize Alito and SOTU is in the forefront of everyone's mind, but I bring this to light because I feel badly for this family.
I remember the diaries about what was thought to be the dishonorable way bodies of soldiers were transported..and the comments that pragmatically stated it was the most cost effective way to move a body and not necessarily a slight toward the family...but this goes a step further. The family's full story is
at Soldiers Plea
On August 15th, 2005, my brother, Sgt. Paul A. Saylor of the 48th Brigade, 108th Scout Division lost his life while fighting for our country in Iraq. A HUMVEE he was in accidentally rolled off the road and fell down an embankment into a canal. He was knocked unconscious and drowned. Paul was 21. He was, is, and always will be a hero like every other soldier fighting for America. Upon his return home my family was told that my brother's body would not be viewable. We were told he was non-viewable due to injuries sustained from the accident. This was not true. We asked our funeral director to open Paul's casket and see if there was any way we could view him to say our last goodbyes.
He notified us that there was no way he could repair or cover the damage done to Paul due to neglect and no refrigeration. Paul was non-viewable not because of injuries he sustained, but because our United States Army failed to care for his body. ... In truth, upon his death my brother's body was left to rot like a dead animal on the side of the road.
This sounds eerily like the complaints in the Gulf..after Katrina.
The Army should have proper mortuary facilities in Iraq to prepare our fallen loved ones. When we asked why there are no proper facilities in Iraq, we were told by an army representative the following reasons: it would hurt troop morale; there is not enough manpower; and cost. How would troop morale be if they found out how their Brothers and Sisters in Arms were being treated after their deaths? There are certified funeral directors and morticians eager to volunteer to help our troops. There may even be some in our Army's brand new 30 million dollar complex that want to "volunteer" to help their Brothers in Arms. Finally, an embalming machine cost is between 2,000-2,500 dollars. This cost is much less than letting one more of our troops be disgraced by their own.
Now I realize that in a war, gruesome becomes the norm. My Dad was part of a group that did recovery during WWII, and he will not watch any TV show with graphic forensics scenes because it brings back memories of trying to piece parts of guys together. Still, with the technology available, I would hope families would not have to go through what these folks have. Our troops deserve better.
We deserve better.