Legacy Matters
Gateway Pundit has more on how the remains of Casey Sheehan were handled in Busted! Cindy Sheehan's Story Hits a Snag
On Tuesday, April 11, 2006, Cindy Sheehan wrote:
* Her son arrived in California in a cardboard box
* Her son was carried over to the dock by a forklift
* Her mortuary refused to pay the cemetery
* Her son was treated as an over-sized piece of luggage
These are her words.
I will tell the world why Casey has no marker yet. In the first place, does anyone who is attacking me know how Casey was brought home from Iraq? We picked him up in the United loading dock in a cardboard box and he was off-loaded into a hearse without one honor guard. We had to wait for about a half hour on a curb near the United freight area for his one escort, who rode from Dover Air Force Base in a seat, while Casey was treated as an over-sized piece of luggage. Has anybody held her other sobbing children who are sitting on a curb in San Francisco, waiting for the remains of their big brother to be carried over to the dock by a forklift?
Here's what the Department of Defense told Gateway Pundit.
Cardboard boxes are never use to transfer soldiers!
"Crates" have not been used since Vietnam. Fallen soldiers today are moved in steel or aluminum caskets to their home of record (hometown). Further, the escort inspects the casket when it is unloaded. Since arrangements are made before each fallen soldier arrives to their home of record, the military would be shocked to hear that a forklift was used.
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Before any remains leave Dover, port mortuary personnel coordinate with the receiving funeral home to arrange that the remains will be met at their final destination. We've arranged transport for over 2300 OEF and OIF casualties. In every case, the transport was arranged in advance and the funeral home was available to receive the remains.
Remains traveling from Dover may be escorted by either a service member, or in some cases, members of the deceased family to the final destination, at a minimum a military escort accompanies the remains to the final destination. Typically, the escort carries the U.S. flag during the flight, and the flag is draped over the casket upon arrival and during transportation to the funeral home. Our normal policy is to have a small honor guard render military honors as the remains of the deceased service member are taken off the plane.
Army Statement:
"The Army ensures that the remains of our fallen are treated with dignity and respect at every step of their journey home. Our dead are transported to Dover Air Force Base at which point families make known their desires for final arrangements. In order to expeditiously meet the needs of our families, the Army typically uses domestic airlines and the local mortuary meets the plane at the airport. These are the same arrangements that mortuaries use when transporting the remains of civilians. Later at the memorial service and funeral, the Army extends its final tribute to the Soldier and continued condolences to their kin."
Gateway Pundit also called the mortuary director who said
"The casket arrived in San Francisco from Dover which is 67 miles from Vacaville. Sacramento would not have been as far. The casket was a beautiful hardwood casket, government regulation. It was covered in an "airtray" to protect it during the flight. It is a certified covering that all caskets must be covered in when they are flown from one location to another.
What about the forklift?
"There was no forklift. The military men present and the airport employees were very reverent in unloading the casket of this young man. They set the casket on a set of rollers and were very respectful in unloading Casey Sheehan."
Maybe it's still grief, but Cindy Sheehan is clearly is not in her right mind. I am just glad that the army accorded Casey Sheehan the respect he deserved even if his mother lies about it.
Posted by Jill Fallon at April 20, 2006 12:36 PM | Permalink