Udall: Investigate All War Dead Who Went Through Dover

The Air Force is admitting Thursday that it sent more sets of military personnel remains to a Virginia landfill that it originally acknowledged.

Backtracking on initial information about how it handled the remains of American service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Air Force now says the cremated body parts of hundreds of the fallen were burned and dumped in the landfill.

Earlier, the Air Force said only a small number of body parts had been buried in a commercial landfill and claimed it would be impossible to make a final determination of how many remains were disposed of in that manner.

The Washington Post broke the story Thursday, and the Air Force now confirms that body fragments linked to at least 274 fallen military personnel sent to the Dover Air Force Base Mortuary were cremated, incinerated and buried with medical waste. That procedure was in place between November, 2003, and May 1, 2008. The Air Force also said that 1,762 body parts were never identified and also were disposed off, first by cremation, then by further incineration and then buried in a landfill.

Thursday, after hearing the reports, U.S. Senator for Colorado, Mark Udall, demanded that Air Force officials immediately search the records of every fallen service member who passed through the base since 2003 to determine exactly how many troops’ remains were desecrated. Dover is the point of entry for most American troops killed overseas, including hundreds from Colorado. Udall also renewed his call from last month for the immediate firing of the officials involved in the practice, which went on between 2003 and 2008.

In a statement, Udall says: “As more details surface from the Secretary of Defense’s investigation, I demand an investigation into every file of every fallen service member who passed through the base since 2003 – we need to know exactly how many troops’ remains were desecrated. The excuse that it would take too much time and effort to accomplish this simple task is staggeringly callous. These young people died for their country, and their families deserve to know what happened once their bodies returned home. Dover personnel and the Department of Defense owe them that accountability. If family members inquire whether their loved one’s remains were thrown into a landfill, they are entitled to an immediate answer. I’m also renewing my call to immediately fire the personnel who were involved in this shameful practice.”